Summary: Cold calling is an attempt to convince potential customers to purchase a product or service. Cold calling is usually done over-the-phone, with the salesperson not having any prior interaction with the customer. Dhananjay Parkhe shares 3 tips to make cold calls more effective.

As a startup business begins to gain scale, there builds a pressure on entrepreneurs to hyperscale due to focus on break-even, investor push etc. As a result, business owners begin to use some of the oft-repeated methods to bring the sales volumes up. One of these is cold calling.

Here are 3 common cold calling techniques that you should avoid:

Mistake #1: Centre the conversation around yourself and what you have to offer

In this old approach, you introduce yourself, explain what you do, and suggest a benefit or feature of your product. And then you close your eyes and pray that the other person will be interested.

Unfortunately, the moment you stop talking you usually hear,

"Sorry, I'm busy," or "Sorry, I'm not interested."

Let’s evaluate this rejection:

• You've started the call by talking about your own world and what your business has to offer. But realistically, most people aren't all that interested in you. When you talk about your company and your product, it's just another advertisement to them and they’ve probably received many more calls before yours. We haven't engaged them, so they often just "turn the page."
  
  
• Prospects are much more interested in themselves and what’s important to them. So, if you start the conversation by focusing on their world, they’re more likely to interact with you and this helps create a rapport with the prospect.
  
  
• So instead, talk about an issue or problem they may need solving. Focus on them rather than on what you have to offer. And see where it takes you.
  
  

Mistake #2: They say “Be confident that they should buy your product or service”

In the old cold calling mindset, you're taught to focus on the sale and be completely confident that what you’re offering is something the other person should buy.

• The problem with this approach is that you haven’t asked them to determine this assumption. So, think about it in the old mindset, you’re really deciding for someone else what is good for them. I know this isn’t intended, but that is exactly what comes across to your prospects and no one likes for someone else to make choices for them.
  
  
• So rather than being full of confidence and enthusiasm, stop for a minute and think about the other individual. Relax into a real conversation instead of moving into a persuasive strategy or sales pitch. Put yourself in their shoes and invite them to explore along with you whether what you have to offer is a match for them.
  
  
• Others really can distinguish the difference. You’re inviting them to see if you might be able to help them solve a problem. This makes for a much better connection right at the beginning, and you’ll get that immediate rejection reaction much less.
  
  

Mistake #3: When someone brings up an objection, try to overcome it

You know, one of the reasons cold calling is so difficult is that sometimes you may not be very familiar with the other person and their business. When you make that first call, you don’t know very much about their issues, problems, budget, and time constraints.

Chances are, not everyone is going to benefit from your product or service.

• So realistically, your company or product isn’t going to be a match for everyone. And yet, when someone brings up an objection ("we don’t have the budget for that," etc.), the old cold calling mindset trains you to "overcome," "bypass," or "override".
  
  
• But when you do that, you put the other person on the defensive. Something they’ve said is being dismissed. And here’s where rejection can happen very suddenly.
  
  
• So, it is much better to listen to their concerns and continue to explore whether what you’re offering makes sense for them. There are some wonderful phrases you can use that validate their viewpoint without closing the conversation.

So now you’ve discovered the three major cold calling mistakes people often make. See if you can shift away from those old self-sabotaging mindsets. When you do, you’ll notice that people will engage with you much more, and the immediate rejection you’ve grown so accustomed to will happen much less.

I hope this helps you on your next call to that potential buyer!

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