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Part 1 of a four part series By Michael Hepworth, from choice Magazine
Sponsored by:
NEVER COLD CALL AGAIN - GETTING QUALIFIED PROSPECTS TO CALL YOU
Michael Hepworth is the StreetSmart Marketer; coach, mentor and author. The StreetSmart Marketer guides business owners to out-perform; their history, their competition and their expectations. More free practical marketing tips can be found at www.streetsmartmarketer.com
PART ONE: WHY COLD CALLING DOESN'T WORK FOR COACHES AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS
Are you still cold calling to drum up business? Even though the returns are incredibly low and the drag on your time is significant? Then read on!
Despite the fact that both sales people and prospects dislike cold calling and despite the fact that the return on effort is very low, cold calling continues to be a common if unpopular way to build your business.
This is true for commissioned sales people, solo-preneurs and professionals like coaches and consultants.
As a coach you are most likely a business owner. Time is unquestionably your scarcest resource and you need to use every moment wisely. So it stands to reason you should be focusing on taking inbound sales calls only
There was a time when outbound calling was an effective way to sell, but over the years it has become less and less efficient.
- Its time consuming calling all those people you don't reach and who never return your calls;
- Its difficult to make contact with your prospects, as many of them use voice mail to screen their calls or are so busy that they only have time to return what they consider important calls;
- It takes time to establish credibility, as there's too much competition from other people calling. Also the question arises; how could you be really good at what you do, if you have to make unsolicited cold calls to find your prospects?
- Your prospects have effortless access to information. They can look up anything they need or want, so why talk to someone who is going to give them biased information?
If you are still making cold calls or are only using referrals and networking to build your business, you are missing out big time and your productivity is certainly lower than competitors who know the secret I'm about to share.
One to one selling is still the most effective marketing and sales tool there is and so you want to reserve it for those prospects who are most likely to buy and not squander your time on people who probably want to avoid you if possible. Time is definitely your most precious and scarce resource!
Think about it! How much do you enjoy those calls at home in the evening, from someone selling burglar alarms or replacement windows, around dinner time or during your favorite TV show?
Well your prospects feel the same way about your calls, if you initiate them!
Developing a successful telephone program where prospects call you is all about developing a systematic sales and marketing process. It's about taking your most successful sales conversations and transferring them to copy that can be sent to your qualified prospects, reserving your one on one time for your best prospects; those who are calling you because they already want to do business with you and are qualified.
What's more if your prospect initiates the call, the prospect has a completely different view of you. In their minds you are an expert whose help they are seeking. If you initiate the call, you are just another sales person to avoid.
In Part II we'll cover how to get qualified customers to call you for help.
Michael Hepworth is the StreetSmart Marketer; coach, mentor and author. The StreetSmart Marketer guides business owners to out-perform; their history, their competition and their expectations. More free practical marketing tips can be found at www.streetsmartmarketer.com
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