4 steps to warm up cold calling conversations
Our thoughts are always the basis of our behaviors. If our thoughts are focused on the goal of closing a sale, then we are not really acting with transparency. We are not focused on the conversation or the truth of the situation. We are chasing people – or at least chasing a sale.
Here are 5 key steps to end the “game of chase” during cold calls.
Stop Reading from a Script
Life is not a script, just as normal conversations are not. When we read from a script, we are not natural. We are playing a role. And that means we are chasing a sale instead of enjoying the opportunity to get to know someone new and see if we can be of help to them.
Letting a conversation flow naturally helps you enter into a dialogue based on trust, which allows the potential client’s real issues to surface.
Formal scripts, on the other hand, do not give you the freedom to follow the direction the conversation might naturally take. And that makes it forced and awkward.
If you begin to see cold calls as conversations or dialogues, you will find it easier to let go of the idea of scripting. And you’ll feel an energy shift in the conversation as the focus shifts from the sale to the person you’re talking to.
So you need to generate a spontaneous, problem-based conversation that you can help the other person solve. This will lessen the feeling of being artificial and uncomfortable, allowing you to enjoy the process.
Addressing a Central Problem
People connect with you when they feel you understand their problems, even before you talk about yourself and your solutions. Identify two or three specific problems that your product or service can solve. And talk about them with the potential customer before you propose your offer.
When you present your solution without first engaging the other person by talking about a central problem they might have, you are focusing your attention on the sale instead of the conversation. And all your energy will push the interaction into a sales mode. Remember, when someone feels “chased,” they usually run away.
So stop for a moment. Communicate that you are a problem solver. Invite a mutual exchange of information to explore whether there is an opportunity to collaborate. Make it clear that your thoughts and goals are not focused on selling something.
Most people will welcome your interest in their problems until they perceive that you are operating with a hidden ulterior motive. So resist the temptation to talk about your offer right away and focus on your interlocutor’s world. Invite dialogue, show interest, and stop chasing the sale.
Discover the Truth of the Situation
Make it your goal to find out the truth about the prospect’s situation, and accept whatever the outcome-whether it is a yes or a no.
We can do this by checking from time to time during the conversation whether it makes sense to continue the dialogue. If we go on without doing this, we are in “chase mode.” And we may be pursuing something completely unrealistic for that client.
So we ask important questions such as, “Is it a priority for you to solve this problem right now?” We may find that the prospective client is very interested in working with us, but that there is insufficient budget or staff at that time.
We stop at different points in the conversation to make sure we are moving forward together. If our thoughts are focused only on our goal of closing the sale, we risk missing important signals that the other person has no intention of moving forward.
Where do we go from here?
Here’s something surprising: if you allow the conversation to end naturally, without chasing the other person to get a date or commitment, she will often be the one to take the initiative to contact you again.
So when you feel the conversation is coming to a natural conclusion, you can simply say, “Well, what do you think the next step might be?”
This question reassures the potential client that you are not using the conversation to satisfy an ulterior motive. It invites the other person to take charge of the direction to follow, and you will just have to follow it.
When you stop chasing the sale, you’ll be surprised at how often the sale comes naturally, by itself, within a friendly conversation focused on the other person’s needs.
