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I was recently reading one of the many trade magazines that I receive — and lo and behold — the old "successful cold calling" article just happened to be in there. These old war horses need to be retired.
However, curiosity got the best of me, so I read it from beginning to end. Unfortunately, the article was filled with the typical develop a relationship — uncover the needs — provide solutions — (and the all important part) close the sale!
These recycled articles need to stay in the garbage permanently. I mean, give me something useful, will you? As a salesman, you're wondering if the person writing the article has ever sold a thing in his/her life.
Cold calling is not only a waste of time, but one of the biggest reasons that salespeople fail. Would you want to do business with a stranger who just walked through the door trying to persuade you to buy from them?
Today's customers aren't the guy down in the boiler room looking for conversation with an unlimited budget. People are busy and flat out angry when salespeople just drop by asking if they have "a few minutes." Who has a few minutes these days?
What an uphill battle the salesperson faces if they do get the time! They're starting a conversation with an annoyed buyer who has limited time. Are you kidding me? Just leaving the call with a developed (hopefully friendly) relationship is a victory. Through my many years of cold calling I often felt like a canvasser, running around aimlessly trying to time a sale. What a colossal waste of time!
The mentality
I've dealt with this ridiculous, cold-calling mentality from small sales organizations to Fortune 500 companies. The sad part of all of this is the browbeaten, demoralized salesperson continues this pattern because he/she does't know any better. Sure, there are times when a cold call turns into a sale, about as often as you hear a prospect say, "You should have been here two days ago; I just bought some of those" from your competition!
As a distributor, you have salespeople cold calling on you. How do you react? How much time do you give the salesperson? Let's assume you need office supplies, ink cartridges for your copiers, etc. Will you take 30 minutes to sit with the salesperson? Do you think you will even keep their card?
An alternative
On the other hand, would you open a letter hand-addressed to you from the owner of the local office supply business? What if this person explained who they were in the community, provided a list of local customers and presented a few free tips on how you could save money along with a great business offer. Do you think you would remember their name? Would you be more open to a conversation with them?
The point is, selling isn't a matter of getting your foot in the door, or having the "gift of gab" — selling is all about timing. Marketing to customers and prospects creates interest and draws people to you.
With gas quickly nearing $4 a gallon and no end in sight, it's time to look at other approaches to selling. Today's economy requires distributors to address long-term marketing strategies that give buyers a reason to choose you over and over again.
Utilize all of the talents of your salespeople and staff. You can build your own in-house marketing team if you just make it a priority. Put yourself in the purchaser's chair and consider what information they need from you to be considered the "vendor of choice." After over 12 years of cold calling, I discovered the power of marketing, and so can you.