Franchise Money Maker

Increase Your Sales Fast by Warming Up Your Cold Calls
Copyright (c) 2009 Audrey Burton

There is an incredible amount of information on how to do
cold calls. I have seen 3, 4, 7 and 8 step processes.
While there are similarities, each expert’s process is
different. Based on my training and experience, I have
boiled it all down into a straight-forward process for
small business owners.

The basics include preparation, action and analysis.

Preparation:
Success in all kinds of marketing, including sales, is
contingent on selecting the right target market. Once you
have selected a clearly defined, viable target market, then
you are able to identify the leads you want to call on.
Targeting your leads makes it much easier for you to make a
connection with your words, warming up the call. After
creating or acquiring your list of leads, divide the list
into “A” and “B” lists.

Most professional salespeople use scripts when they cold
call. You should write a basic script for when the
prospect actually answers the phone and create other
scripts for other possibilities. For example, if you get
an answering machine, what will you say? List all the
possible ways the phone will be answered and write scripts
for each one.

NOTE: I don’t usually leave a message the first couple of
times I call someone and get the answering machine. It
saves me time, but the bigger benefit is to the prospect.
The prospect does not usually receive value from my
message, especially if they don’t even know me, and they
are not burdened with the request to call me back.

Before writing your script, make sure you understand what
your target market needs and what their problems are. You
will need to communicate why the prospect would want to
meet with you. Also, consider the reasons why they might
say no to the appointment and preempt them in your script
whenever possible.

The outcome you will almost always aim for with the script
is to set an appointment for a sales meeting. Be very
aware of your choice of words, and resist the urge to try
to sell your product right then and there. Avoid
conversations about price and other features of your
product. Just focus on making sure the person is right for
you and getting them to meet with you. The sales meeting
is where you will do your pitch and sell the product.

It’s a good idea to call your “B” list first, to try out
your script and make sure it works without worry.

One expert, Jim Noon, suggests sending a greeting card to
your leads before starting to make your first call to them.
This gives you an icebreaker when making the call. You
can ask, “Did you get my card?”

Action:
Once you have completed your script, you are ready to get
started. It is much easier to make a lot of calls at once
compared to making a couple of calls every day. After you
get started, you will gain momentum and it will get easier
and easier. It might even be fun!

Put a smile on your face and be interested in the person on
the phone with you.

Listen carefully to the answers your prospects give to your
questions. They will give you great information you can
use to guide them toward a sale, if your product is a good
fit.

Ask for the appointment. The ‘assumptive close’ works well
here and makes it very easy for the prospect. You assume
that they will want to meet with you. You might say,
“Would Tuesday or Wednesday work better for you? Morning
or afternoon? 10:00 or 11:00? If the prospect needs more
information or is just not interested, they will tell you
at this point.

Do not be concerned when you get a ‘no’ answer, even if it
happens often. Learn from this and continue. Don’t allow
yourself to take it personally and become emotionally
upset. The person on the phone with you doesn’t even know
you, so they are not saying no to you, only to the
appointment. Besides, as the true professional knows, the
more ‘no’ answers you get, the closer you get to ‘yes’!

Analysis:
Keep track of your progress with each call so you can judge
your success. Analyze what words, phrases or sentences
evoke a positive reaction or dialogue that lead to a ‘yes’
when you ask for the appointment. If possible, keep track
of the reasons people do not want to meet with you.

Adjust the script and make more calls!

—————————————————-
Now you need to close every possible sale. Improve your
sales skills; claim your copy of Audrey Burton’s popular
FREE Special Report, “Closing the Sale is Not Complicated!”
at =>
http://www.TigressCoaching.com .
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www.trufoods.com Fast Food franchises

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