Cold Calling for Chickens

Cold Calling for Chickens is really for the majority of sales people in every market; they are all just as chicken as you but you’ve had the courage to take the first step toward doing something about it by buying this book. There are some absolute certainties when making a cold call:
1. No prospective customer is waiting by the phone for your call.
2. Most prospective customers will have just as good a life without the service or product you provide.
3. Most prospective customers don’t really want the hassle of changing the way they do things at present.
4. Not a single prospective customer cares about the raw facts and features of your product, however fancy or new they may be.
5. Unless, during the call, you can sow a little FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in the mind of your prospective customer, by asking effective questions in areas where you know you have a solution, you simply will not get either an appointment or a sale.
6. You must never assume before you pick up the telephone that the person you want to call is going to be grumpy, miserable or not a prospect. If you have done your I.K.E.A. work that person is a qualified prospect who can make use of your product and make a decision to buy.
To create value in the mind of your customer, ask questions that force the person to think about their problems. The best cold call callers are just as chicken as you. They simply ask more questions and persist. It’s really as simple as that.

Stay Close Program.” It is not difficult to set up and it usually provides remarkable results if you apply it consistently. The original programs in the US were very simple but worked well.
All that is necessary is for you to design a very simple postcard and send it out.
The original stay close program cards had a simple message across the front which read, “We Like You!” Underneath that phrase, was the name of the company, their logo and their telephone number. On the reverse the name and address of the customer and space for the stamp. That was it.
Over 10,000 of these cards were sent out every week. Each month every current and past customer would receive an identical postcard. Remarkable as it may seem the results were spectacular. Sales kept pouring in just because the company worked on keeping their name familiar to the customers.

Clients, who are happy with what you have provided in the recent past, are generally 90% easier to sell to, and it is 90% cheaper to get more business from them. Not only that, but if you can cut, by just 10%, the rate at which regular customers in your existing customer base drift away from you, you can increase the profitability of your business by between 25% and 90%!

“It is 90% easier to sell more things to an existing happy client than to go out and find a new one.”

order to assist you a bit with this I have prepared some concern question prefixes which you can modify and adapt for your own use:
• “Are there any current issues with ... ?”
• “Have you ever had any difficulty with ... ?”
• “How much of a problem have you found ... ?”
• “How does this sort of crisis effect ... ?”
• “Have you every looked at the risks inherent in ... ?”
• “Is it difficult to manage this level of uncertainty in ... ?”
• “How much hassle does this cause when ... ?”
• “What are the costs to your company associated with ... ?”
• “Could not fixing this be expensive for you ... ?”
• “What sort of worries do you have about ... ?”
• “How upsetting have you found ... ?”
• “What level of panic does this cause when ... ?”
• “How painful has it been ... ?”
—“How unpleasant ... ?”
—“Does it make you miserable when ... ?”
—“Have you found it time-consuming when ... ?”
—“How much of a nightmare ... ?”
—“Does it cause you much concern when ... ?”

Concern questions

So-called “concern questions” are carefully crafted questions designed to get the prospective customer to think about the problem the caller’s solution could address

Getting through objections. delays and other things

Prospect: Send me a brochure.
You: That is why I want to see you—so I can give you the information you are interested in and avoid wasting your time. I have my diary here; would next ——day or next ——day be better?
Prospect: I really want to see a brochure first.
You: If I send you a brochure ... will you definitely read it?
Prospect: Yes (positive sounding—ask for address)
Prospect: Yes ... OK ... (sounding vague)
You: Mr Prospect as I don’t think you are really interested at the moment I won’t add to your junk mail this time but I will send you my card and keep in touch every few months. (Confirm address)
Prospect: I am not really interested / I have a similar service already / You’re wasting your time.
You: Exactly why I only want 10 minutes of your time. If you’re not interested after 10 minutes. I will go. Would ________day or _______day be better?
Prospect: I don’t have any budget left / We can’t afford anything else.
You: I appreciate that. At this stage it is important that we meet so that we can discuss your future needs regarding our training. Have you got your diary handy? I can meet you on _______day at __:40 or _______day at __:15?

You’re through NOW what?

You: Good morning Mr/Ms ‹Director’s name›. My name is Bob Etherington of SpokenWord Ltd. Do you have a moment?
Prospect: Yes (If “no” ask when would be convenient)
You: Can you talk? I saw the article about you in the FT this week. That is quite a challenging goal you have set. We are the professional training organization which is currently showing companies how to sell twice as much in the current tough markets.
Prospect: Oh yes, how are you going to do that then?
You: Well would you mind if I asked you a few quick questions?
1. Could you tell me, do you have a large salesforce?
2. Am I correct in thinking that you are responsible for it?
3. Do you do all your own sales training in house?
4. Are you currently completely happy with your level of sales?
5. Have you ever considered using a consultant to help improve results in any area?
6. Would you consider using a company like SpokenWord if we could show you the ways in which we can help bring in more business for you?
7. Would you like some information about SpokenWord and what we do?
8. Could I make an appointment to get your opinion on whether you think we could help in your business? Either _______day __:40 or would ______day at __:15 be better? (SHUT UP)

(If the prospect says “neither” have two other alternatives ready PERSIST—“no” is NOT forever)

Power script for an appointment

You: Good morning. This is Bob Etherington of SpokenWord Ltd. may I speak to Mr Head Honcho please ... Thank you! ... Oh that’s fine I will speak to his PA then ... oh by the way, could you tell me the person’s name please? Thanks.
You: (You’re put through) Good morning this is Bob Etherington of SpokenWord Ltd. is that ... Name? are you the PA for Director’s name I wonder if you could help me please? I wonder if you can help me please? I am very interested in getting some advice on how I should go about submitting a strategic proposition to your organization about the ways in which we could provide several services designed to double the effectiveness of your sales force in the next 10 weeks.
OR
You: Can you guide me to the best way of finding out who in your organization is in charge of strategy in the area of sales and marketing?
If sent straight to the Director’s voice mail
You: Good morning Mr/Ms ‹Director’s name›. This is Bob Etherington of SpokenWord Ltd. 0207 4000 7000. I have an issue about your sales team which I would like to discuss with you. Would you please give me a call at ________. Thank you Mr/Ms ‹Director’s name›.

The rule of commitment is based on the fact that once a person has verbally committed to take some action, it is more than 80% probable that they will take that action