Step 1: Only Call Prospects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I know what you\u2019re thinking: \u201cThat\u2019s obvious, Derek. Who else would I call?\u201d So let\u2019s talk about what a \u201cprospect\u201d really is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prospect <\/strong>is someone who WANTS to solve the problem you solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s it. If they don\u2019t already want to solve it, you\u2019re wasting your time by trying to convince them. If you want to be a cold calling badass<\/a>, start by making sure you\u2019re calling the right people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My team is lucky. We can see a lot of this information online. If you can, make sure you do. If you can\u2019t, you\u2019ll want to qualify the prospect as soon as possible (which happens to be Step 2 in this process).<\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>The Complete List of Sales Prospecting Tools<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n But let me give you an example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll start with the call-prep template. Use it for each person on your list to decide whether they\u2019re really a prospect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problem we solve:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why I believe this prospect has this problem:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why I believe this prospect wants to solve this problem:<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t overlook the third one, because it\u2019s critical: People buy things because they want a problem to be solved. They\u2019re willing to let problems continue to exist if they don\u2019t have the time, energy, or motivation to solve them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What that means is this\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you call someone, and they don\u2019t care about the problem you solve \u2014 even if they are experiencing it every day \u2014 they\u2019re not a prospect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how we teach reps at PatientPop:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problem we solve:<\/strong> getting patients for doctors<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why I believe this prospect has this problem: <\/strong>they\u2019re located in a competitive city where the population moves every few years<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why I believe this prospect wants to solve this problem:<\/strong> they\u2019re spending money on some online solutions now<\/p>\n\n\n\n The counter-example that we see with many new reps is that they want to find the doctor who doesn\u2019t even have a website. \u201cShe needs a website, and that\u2019s part of our solution!\u201d they say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the absence of a website (in 2020!) means they\u2019re unlikely to care about getting a website at all. Or even about being online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Step 1 is to verify that the prospect is ready to solve their problem. And if you can\u2019t figure that out from your research, answering that question is the next step in your process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our prospecting philosophy is, \u201cDon\u2019t prospect to make a sale. Prospect to start a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop selling when you\u2019re prospecting<\/a>. Shift your focus from \u201chow can I sell to this person?\u201d to \u201chow can I help this person?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you want to help, your tonality naturally shifts. You\u2019re curious, instead of assumptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let curiosity drive the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cold call is an opportunity to learn more about the prospect to see if you can help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let this mindset be the foundation for your prospecting approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>How to Be a Better Salesperson Through Relationship Selling<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you CAN answer the \u201cwhy\u201d from the template in Step 1, you will still need to get the prospect to tell you that they want to solve it<\/strong>. The best salespeople look at this as a disqualifying game: <\/p>\n\n\n\n How quickly can I get this person out of this step of my pipeline? They\u2019re either not a prospect and they\u2019re out, or they are, and I move them forward.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rapport-building<\/a> is fine in a cold call (and can be really important), but make sure you identify as soon as possible whether or not you should keep working with this prospect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start by telling them, in clear language (no jargon!), which problem you\u2019ve noticed or that you think they have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>How to Create Your Own Cold Calling Sales Scripts<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is simple if you can see the information online (like, whether they have a website, or whether it\u2019s optimized for search), but it\u2019s not much more complex if you don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, you can refer to industry statistics, telling them that X% of people in their industry struggle with (problem). You can also base it on observations you\u2019ve made about their website, their marketing, or a quote from one of their blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve identified the gap, you need to get creative with your opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard at some point that our attention span is about the same as a goldfish. Or that it\u2019s dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds since 2000<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, that\u2019s another misrepresented study<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our attention spans are task-dependent, meaning it depends on the task we\u2019re performing. Our role in that task (e.g., watching<\/em> a lecture vs. giving<\/em> a lecture) plays a big factor in our ability to pay attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How does this apply to your cold call opener?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have more time than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, you need to grab the prospect\u2019s attention quickly at the beginning of the call. But opening with your product pitch isn\u2019t the best way to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>8 Cold Calling Tips to Boost Your Success Rate (& Keep It Fun)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n You grab the prospect\u2019s attention by using an unconventional opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Successful cold calls are close to twice the duration of unsuccessful cold calls<\/a>. Your goal in the first few seconds of a cold call is to buy time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start your cold call out like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey [first name], this is [your name] with [company].\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then use one of these 10 openers. (The company or person mentioned with each opener is who popularized it. They may not be the creator.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cHow\u2019ve you been?\u201d Gong.io (best opening line according to their study<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cThanks for taking my call, do you have a couple of minutes?\u201d John Barrows, founder at JBarrows Consulting<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cI know you weren\u2019t expecting my call. Do you have 27 seconds to\u2026\u201d ConnectAndSell<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cIf I told you this was a cold call, would you want to hang up? Or would you give me time to tell you why I\u2019ve called today?\u201d Richard Smith, co-founder at Refract<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cCalling to introduce myself, and see if what we do might be useful to you in the future. How\u2019s my timing?\u201d John Klymshyn, found at the Business Generator<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cI was really hoping to speak with you briefly. Do you have two minutes?\u201d Tito Bohrt, CRO\/CEO at Altisales<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cI\u2019m the guy\/gal who sent you [reference email\/direct mail piece].\u201d Outreach.io<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cDid I catch you at a bad time?\u201d Christopher Voss \/ Aaron Ross<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83e\udc0a \u201cYou and I haven\u2019t spoken before, but the reason for my call is\u2026\u201d Jamie Carlson, SDR at athenahealth<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wrote a post on LinkedIn asking people about their favorite cold call openers<\/a> if you want more. Over 200 salespeople responded with their thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or you can get creative and come up with your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Avoid using these generic openers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about the times when you have the most social energy.<\/strong> Bring it back to your why.<\/strong> Remind yourself that what you\u2019re selling adds value.<\/strong> Put your favorite music on.<\/strong> Sit up straight.<\/strong> Try these tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, you need to get the prospect to tell you they want to solve this problem. THEY must say it, or it\u2019s worthless. Not <\/em>saying it is a strong signal they aren\u2019t committed enough to find a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And you have to do this quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Continuing to talk about something your prospect doesn\u2019t consider a priority is dying a slow death. Get their commitment with a simple question: \u201cDo you want to fix that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some ways to do this naturally:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI saw X, which led me to believe you\u2019re trying to (whatever problem you solve). Are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI saw that you were running Google ads for laser tattoo removal. That led me to believe you might be looking to bring in more patients. Is that a priority for you right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you CAN\u2019T figure this out before you get them on the phone, you need to uncover it right away<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost (role) that I talk to tell me that they\u2019re trying to do one of three things: (problem 1), (problem 2), or (problem 3). Does that sound like you at all?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost of the doctors I talk to tell me they are looking to either bring in a higher volume of patients, bring in patients for specific services, or just see more patients who pay out of pocket. Which of those is most important to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost VPs of Sales tell me they either have trouble generating enough pipeline or aren\u2019t sure the quality of it. Does that sound like your world at all??<\/p>\n\n\n\n A word of caution, here. \u201cProblem\u201d and \u201cfeature\u201d are not the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 99.99% uptime? That\u2019s a feature. Losing sales because your hosting isn\u2019t reliable \u2014 that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Better online reputation? Feature. Paying too much for a PR service that doesn\u2019t seem to move the needle \u2014 problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faster, bigger, prettier? Features. Not having time (or skill) to create landing pages that convert \u2014 problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do your features DO for the prospect? Translate them into more income, more savings, less worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, in order to get the information you need, first you need your prospect to actually answer your questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A super useful technique here is question stacking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s why you should give it a go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Chorus.ai\u2019s study of 5 million+ sales calls, they found that the most successful reps talk 40\u201350% of the time<\/a> in their cold calls. They also ask four questions, including 2\u20133 engaging questions that solicit responses of 30 seconds or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now if you look at Gong.io\u2019s data, it conflicts slightly with those numbers. Their studies show that successful reps talk 54% of the time<\/a>. And there was no difference in the number of questions successful vs. unsuccessful reps asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what you can take away from this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We teach our clients a method called question stacking<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s look at an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your company has a product that automates bookkeeping. Manually doing their own bookkeeping and account reconciliation through spreadsheets and multiple platforms are the biggest frustrations for most of your users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a cold call, you want to know if they\u2019re using multiple tools for their bookkeeping because that\u2019s where you can potentially help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany small business owners spend a few hours every week using tools like PayPal, Stripe, and spreadsheets to manually do their bookkeeping. I\u2019m curious. How are you handling bookkeeping at ABC Company?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first sentence provides context to the question in the second sentence. If you asked the second question without providing context, you\u2019re much more likely to get a generic response that doesn\u2019t give you the answer you need to set an appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a simple formula for asking questions that looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n [context]. ?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how to come up with your own questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure out what you need from the prospect.<\/strong> What requirements need to be met in order to have a quality sales conversation? It could be tech stack requirements or the number of employees they have in a particular department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany sales teams are using Salesforce these days. What tools do you guys use?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany of the small business owners I talk to are using Quickbooks for their bookkeeping. What are you guys using?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany of the sales teams I talk to are using sales engagement tools like Mailshake or Outreach.io to run their outbound cadences. What are you guys using?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at your notes from previous sales calls.<\/strong> Take a look at the notes or listen to the recordings from your past cold calls and discovery calls<\/a>. What pain points did prospects share with you? If you don\u2019t have anything good here, pay closer attention during the calls you make<\/a> moving forward. Write down, word for word, exactly what your prospects say when they\u2019re sharing their pain points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne thing I hear from delivery teams is that they\u2019re short on staff when it comes to MIM, Active Directory, or Office 365 expertise. How do you guys staff for these types of skill sets?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPersonalization at scale is what many sales teams are trying to do in their cold outreach right now, but many sales directors are worried about how long it takes. How do you guys approach personalization?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGetting in touch with decision-makers at companies your nonprofit doesn\u2019t have a personal relationship with can be challenging. I\u2019m curious, how do you guys approach companies you want to partner with?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Examine existing customers<\/strong>. What are the top three areas where your product\/service helps your customers the most? Take note of the value you provide them. This is a good opportunity to collaborate with your product or delivery team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne thing business owners tell me they really want is to spend less time working with spreadsheets and multiple software platforms when they\u2019re doing their bookkeeping. I\u2019m curious about how you guys handle your bookkeeping?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA trend that\u2019s big with prospecting right now is using tools like video and LinkedIn to set more appointments. I\u2019m curious about how you guys are using those tools to fill your pipeline?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany HR teams are looking for ways to spend less time manually tracking their performance management. I\u2019m curious about how you guys are using automation to better track and save time with your employee check-ins?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Has the prospect told you that solving the problem you solve is a priority? Go for the meeting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what happens with new salespeople (either new to the game or new to a company): They validated the gap, but they want to keep selling the prospect on why their solution is great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is called \u201cselling past the close.\u201d Don\u2019t do it. You may think you\u2019re solidifying the meeting, but in reality, you\u2019re putting it at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"who](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1-Only-Call-Prospects.jpg?resize=263%2C263&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nProspect to start the conversation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Find the Gap <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Be Creative With Your Opener<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"cold](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/2-Be-Creative-With-Your-Opener.jpg?resize=234%2C234&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nCold calling tips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For one of our clients, it\u2019s when he\u2019s at the Crossfit gym with his friends. Channel that feeling before your next cold call. This technique is called Imagery Training<\/a>, it works really well if you practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every prospect you interact with (including assistants) could be the ticket to your next big deal. Show up. Be present. Make a great first impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think back to all the customers you\u2019ve helped over the years. Talk to customer success about the results your product is creating for your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"your](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1-Physicality-drives-tonality.jpg?resize=278%2C278&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This is my go-to. For me, it\u2019s 80s rock and 90s hip-hop. Morgan Ingram put together a Keep Dialing playlist<\/a> you can check out as well. Put your favorite pump-up jams in a playlist to get your mind right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research has indicated<\/a> that physicality drives tonality. Put simply, your physical state affects your mental state. Simply sitting with good posture can put you in a better mood. And prospects will hear that on the other end of the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 3: Validate It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"cold](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-Validate-It.jpg?resize=263%2C263&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nQuestion Stacking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"cold](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/3-Question-Stacking.jpg?resize=243%2C243&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 4: Close!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"cold](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blog.kmbrian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/3-Cold-Calling-IG.jpg?fit=602%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n