Would you talk to your company’s Cold Caller? - Prospecting Pros
Probably not, if you actually ever heard their pitch that is.
Despite that, for lead generation and new appointment setting, nothing works better than Cold Calling. NOTHING!! It shocks me though how few times I have ever received a really good cold call. Ask yourself about the last time you can remember a cold caller being GREAT at what they did. The last time it happened to me was around April of 2018. It was from, believe it or not, a life insurance salesman named Jeff. I was on my way home, cell phone rings and I did that thing we all do, I stared at it for approx 3 seconds, not recognizing the number but stuck in traffic. So I thought, “what the hell”, how bad could it be. So, I hit the Green Phone icon and said, “Joe here, what can I do for you”. A very clear intelligent sounding voice said. “Joe, hi, my name is Jeff Walker and I am with Genworth (I think it was) Life Insurance” … Then he did 2 things, or should I say, did not do 2 things that impressed me. He did not ask “How are you doing today” and he did not speak at all, did not say anything after his intro. The two biggest mistakes Cold Callers make. So, I politely waited the obligatory 3-4 seconds before I said, “Nice to meet you Jeff, I do have Life Insurance currently, so doubt you’ll have any luck here”. Then I stopped, knowing Jeff did not have much more time with me unless he had a solid next line. And he really nailed it. He said, “Joe, I know I probably caught you on the way home, so all I would ask is that you allow me to do my 20 second schpeel and then if there is no fit, no need, I wont bother you further. I said what almost everyone says in that situation… Sure, shoot! “Joseph, we are Genworth as I mentioned and our Term Life plan is X, Y and Z and he did keep it to 35 seconds”. I ended up giving him my email and even sending him a SCAN copy of my current quote which he just could not beat. The only reason I gave Jeff that chance was because I liked him. And I can promise you as sure as your reading this, I would have HUNG UP on Jeff if he had just kept talking and plowing thru that first 30 seconds. But once he did allow me to speak, once just a little dialogue started, I realized he was polite and attentive and not just another blowhard, 22 year old idiot with a script. And as far as Jeff is concerned, if he can get 5 of those, heck 3 of those types of calls a day, he is gonna make a lot of money.
My “TAKE AWAY” hope for you from this simple BLOG is this. If you have in house or outsourced cold callers, do a simple test. Have them call you and PITCH You. Yes, they will be a bit more nervous but OH WELL. Ask yourself a few questions after they pitch you. Ask yourself “Did I like that person”, “Did I want to talk to that person”, “Was that person pleasant and respectful of what I was saying”. If the answers are no, consider having them take my 5 hour workshop. They will come away with new skills and a confidence they never had before. Your benefit will simply be more appointments.