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4 Classic Cold Calling Mistakes
Featured Author:
Ari Galper
Ari Galper is the creator of Unlock The Game™, a new sales mindset that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today.
With a Masters Degree in Instructional Design and over a decade of experience creating breakthrough sales strategies for global companies such as UPS and QUALCOMM, Ari discovered the missing link that people who sell have been seeking for years.
His profound discovery of shifting one’s mindset to a place of complete integrity, based on new words and phrases grounded in sincerity, has earned him distinction as the world’s leading authority on how to build trust in the world of selling.
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Ari Galper
Have you noticed that the old “tried and true” cold calling techniques which were once successful have completely lost their effectiveness over the years? They just don’t work anymore. Nevertheless, many salespeople are still use them because that’s all they know. They’re working from that old, ineffective cold calling mindset. And they’re making the same mistakes over and over again.
These 4 classic cold calling mistakes will put you en route to a dead end if you’re not careful.
Mistake #1: You Deliver a Strong, Enthusiastic Pitch
People almost always feel “pushed” by sales enthusiasm, especially when it’s coming from someone they don’t know.
You see, a strong sales pitch includes the unspoken assumption that your product or service is a great fit for the other person. But think about it. You’ve never spoken with them before, much less had a full conversation. You can’t possibly know much about them at this point. To them, you’re just another salesperson who wants them to buy something. And so the walls go up.
A Better Strategy: Embrace modesty and assume you know very little about your prospects. Invite them to share their concerns and difficulties with you. Allow them to guide the conversation, rather than your pre-ordained strategy or pitch.
sjmahersr
2 months ago
6 comments
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jackpariseau
5 months ago
92 comments
Wow! This is an OK article, but be sure to scroll to the bottom and read all the comments. The education is there. Ari nice job getting the forum fired up. I agree that you should come back to us with a drill down on "gently dignified language." I've been searching for those words for decades and I've been known to write some pretty good scripts and ad copy. All the best
kmossgrove
5 months ago
20 comments
In step 4 you just contradicted yourself again. Getting over objections is the toughest part of the sales process. By using "gently dignified language" to get at the truth of the situation, you are in fact trying to find a way to circumvent the objection.
HarrietAlison
6 months ago
470 comments
Good tips. Thanks Good advice to follow
smile
6 months ago
232 comments
Great comments by all. But, I don't know if I agree with this part of your statement "Most traditional sales programs spend a lot of time focusing on overcoming objections. But these tactics only put more sales pressure on your prospect, which triggers resistance. And you also fail to explore or understand the truth behind what’s being said". Each and every prospect has to be approached differently. Yes, alot of time is spent on objections, but at the same time, time is spent on how to change your sales pitch so as to avoid or to find the "hiden objection". It was great that you gave us this information, but I would like to see some "script" as to what you yourself would say in a basic scenario, in order that new people to sales can forecast what might happen in an average call with an objection. I think Les has some great comments, some of which we should think about. I found this article interesting, but lack guts. In that, I mean don't just tell us, show us what you mean so we can apply it to a sales call. Thank you for your time.
Les_Thomas
6 months ago
6 comments
How can you expect someone to be interested in what you have to offer - if you don't first show an interest in them? Dobrasky is correct in stating that "All sales should start with questions rather than starting the selling process by boasting about your service or product and making assertions." I do, however, suggest we all try to find another analogy to use other than the "Used Car Salesman" approach to show the lowest form of being a sales person. It is fairly degrading to that profession. The true art of selling is positioning your service or product to fill the needs of the consumer - in such a way - that the consumer believes the idea to purchase from you was their idea all along. When cold calling - the art of getting the door opened to present your solutions begins with asking questions that show concern - and ends up "funneling" the main areas of interest or concern your client has. Then, and only then - show your prospect how your service or product would be the "ultimate solution". Before you can ever get to the close - you have to show genuine concern for their problem in the first place.
DLC
6 months ago
2 comments
Great points to think about. I find that more of my customers want to be "bought", rather than "sold". Developng a working relationship with an account is one way of generating repeat business.
dobrasky
6 months ago
4 comments
You pretty much restated the same thing four times. Who are you talking to? Most salespeople in good sales careers couldn't make one no less a career's worth of sales with this pitch mentality. It sounds more like you are talking to 23 year olds in boiler room operations. Most of us are not used car salesmen. Not worth the typing that went into this advice. All sales start with questions rather than boasts and assertions. No one wants to hear "my pitch" and if they do then they are looking for lowest common denominator criteria and who wants to do business with low margin buys who place no value on building trusted value and solution driven relationships?
dengelking
6 months ago
16 comments
Markdavidswanson. i was not in sales until the early eighties. the approach you so eloquently describe below is the one that i was taught by those that had been in sales for 30 years before me. what the author is saying is not the same-ole, same-ole. you are stuck in the past and have failed to evolve with the sales game. the prospects of today are the most informed, sophisticated and educated ones in history. they have heard your approach from thousands and when you start your pitch the think to themselves, "here we go again". to make the most of your time and be as productive as possible you have to change with the times. otherwise, why not just call them up and ask them if they want to buy yor product today?
dengelking
6 months ago
16 comments
at last an article that confirms most of the comments that i have made on this forum. bravo. out with the old and in with the new more sophisticated approach.
rodiehl
6 months ago
78 comments
I agree with all
mesralian
6 months ago
2 comments
Good comments; Always try to make personal connections with them and not push them. If you are polite and offer assistance rather than be pushy, they will think of YOU next time they need something and BANG, you got the sale. Be their partner, not their sales weasel. Mike E.
sbjtraining
6 months ago
2 comments
Straight out of "How to Win Friends and Infuence People" by Dale Carnegie.....still good info
Markdavidswanson
6 months ago
2 comments
Arg... More generic sales BS. This is the same stuff they have been saying since the 70s, just repackaged. Hey Ari, these are the same "old “tried and true” cold calling techniques" You agree with them because they work. This article is just restating what people have been doing for years. In the BIO it says he has the missing link that sales people have been seeking...I hope this is not it, if it is we have had it since the 70s...works fine. Thanks
It is called probe, listen, solve. That is all this article is saying, question is why bother writing it?
Point 4 has potential he says: you can uncover the truth by replying, “That’s not a problem.” Then, using gentle, dignified language, you can invite them to reveal the truth about their situation.
ahh...and can you write that language for us? I think we have been trying to so that for decades.
allpuck
6 months ago
2 comments
Goalie35 is way off... any product that "demands a one call close" is called a scam. This is what makes business difficult for those of us cultivating long term business through relationships.