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IEEE CNNNJ Visitation Program: The Art of Cold Calling

05/25/06

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Receiving Cold Calls

• How many have received a cold call?

• How many agreed to make a donation?

• How many agreed to use a service?

• How many got off the phone as quickly as possible?

• Why?

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Making Cold Calls

• How many have you made cold calls?

• How many have felt success?

• Who never wants to make a cold call again?

• Why?

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Cold Call Fundamentals

• Reasons why not to Cold Call– Rejection– A lot of Work– Little and sometimes no reward

• Reasons why to Cold Call– Moving into new Territory– Generate Business around an existing client– Need more business beyond your network – Have extra time on your hands

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Fundamentals

• Remember!– You are NOT a Telemarketer– You are not looking for a “quick buck”– You are building a Long Term Relationships– You are trying to solve their problems

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When Phone Pitching

• Do the Opposite of Telemarketers• Think about Cold Calls you receive on the phone

(i.e., credit cards, insurance, stock brokers, etc.)– Learn to pronounce the name correctly.– Don’t rush or use a long sentence to avoid getting cut-

off.– Don’t be afraid to hesitate. If you get cut-off, this

indicates you need to rework your pitch.– Use a tape recorder or answering machine to practice

your pitch.– Practice on companies where its easy to get in and

you won’t do damage. (i.e., Target Industry but <$5M)

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The Goal of Cold Calling

• Getting Clients is a two Step Process– Creating the opportunity from a lead

(i.e., Turning a lead into a prospect)– Building a Relationship with the Prospect

(i.e., Turning a Prospect into a client)

• Cold calling helps develop the lead into a prospect.– Immediate Appointment (i.e., Engagement)– Plant Seeds for Future Work

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Getting Setup

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Where to Start?

• Develop a Contact List– Buy CNNNJ Labels– Buy a contact list for target market– Develop and expand the list

• Trade Show Exhibitors• Want Ads from newspaper and internet• Networking contacts (Warm)• Contacts from speaking engagements (Warm)• Add every lead you get!

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Setting Up the Contact List

• Setup an Excel data base for mail merge: Separate Line for each Contact– Company Name– Address 1, Address2– City, State, Zip Code– Prefix, First Name, Initial, Last Name, Title

• Additional Info– Phone, Fax, email, URL– Industry, Revenue, # of Employees

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Mail MergeStatus County Position Last_Name First

Title Company_Name Address_Line_1

Address_Line_2 City

State Zip Phone

1 Warren President Borcherding Don Mr NexSummit LLC 511 Hamilton Dr. HackettstownNJ 07840 (908) 684-8914

NexSummit LLC511 Hamilton DriveHackettstown, NJ 07840

Please place stamp here

Are Late Projects impacting your Bottom-line?

«Company_Name»«Title» «First» «Last_Name»«Address_Line_1»«Address_Line_2»«City», «State» «Zip»

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Additional Worksheets

• If you are going to send mailers– Mailer Log Worksheet

• Log for tracking When, Why and What type of mailers were sent

• Include File Names of the Mailers

– Mailer Contact Worksheet• A worksheet for each mailing with all the contacts

that the mailer was sent to.• Link contacts to Contact List. Don’t Copy!

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Identify your Targets

• County: – Allows better grouping by locality– Extremely important for On-site Cold Calling

• Size:– Less than $5M – approx. 115 Leads– $5M to $15M – approx. 255 Leads– $15M to $250M – approx. 135 Leads– Greater than $250M – approx. 10 Leads

• Contact Person– President, CEO– Head of Engineering

• Industry – Medical, Semiconductor, Defense, Software, IT, etc.

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Tracking Your Calls

• Cold Call Worksheet– Contact name, phone number– Time each call made and whether contact

was made– Result after contact made (Red, Flier or

Appointment)– Lead Status: Identifies the quality or

confidence of the lead

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Cold Call WorksheetMonday            

Before 9:00 9:00-11:00 11:00-12:00 12:00-1:15 1:15-3:30 3:30-5:00 After 5:00

    11:20        

    11:25        

    11:30        

    11:35        

    11:46   15:05    

    11:55        

           

        13:30    

        13:45    

             

        14:02    

        14:09    

             

             

             

             

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Making the Contact

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Qualifying a Contact

Send Letter, Postcard

(Optional)

2Networking

0Partial Contact

Information1

Contact Information

3Call Contact

RBad Lead or No

Interest

WWrong Contact

5Make

Appointment

4Add to Monthly

Flier

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The Maze

• Receptionist/Switchboard• Automatic Phone System

– Company Directory– “O” for Receptionist or General Mail Box

• Gatekeeper• Voicemail

– Out of Office– Phone Screen

• Personal Contact

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Validate the List (0)

• A lot of the contacts on a purchased list are wrong:– Wrong street address and/or phone– Contact is no longer there– Contact is not the right person

• A lot of the contacts are not real targets– Wrong Industry– Too big or too small– Not interested (i.e., don’t use consultants)

• Be ready for anything!!!

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Validate the List (1)

• Call the operator/receptionist(If automated phone system, “0”)– “I’m in the process of updating my mailing list

and I wanted to verify the mailing address; Is it ….

– Is “Mr. Smith” still the head of Engineering? or Who is the VP of Engineering?

• How do you spell that?(Needed for spell-by-name systems)

• Do you have their extension? (Very helpful with automated phone system)

• How do you Pronounce that?

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Validate the List (1)

• No Longer There– You’ll be dealing with a receptionist

• Ask for a substitute. • No telling who you will get

• Receptionist may ask “What’s is This About?”

• Tailor a pitch so the receptionist can provide the right contact.

• Be ready to give examples: VP of Operations

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Turning a “1” into a “3”

• To Mail or Not to MailJeffrey,Before making a "cold" phone call, should I "warm" up the prospect by sending a letter to introduce myself? Are such mailings a complete waste of time? I recently relocated, so I have to cold call to supplement my networking contacts.Taylor

Taylor,If the letter is self-serving, don't send it. If the letter is syrupy, don't send it. If the letter asks a question that could potentially spark engagement -- that could potentially make the customer interested in more than you have to say -- send it. Best regards,Jeffrey Gitomer

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To Mail or Not to Mail• A mailer may help the contact recognize

you and your company– Letter works better than a postcard– “Puffy” letter works better than a letter

• Something in addition to a cover letter that makes it look and feel different from a resume: Add, brochures, fliers, whitepapers, business card.

• Push the 1 ounce limit. Have it weighed at the post office.

• Send the first article to yourself. Review as if you are the intended President. Are you impressed?

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Postcards

• Professional Printing– Must buy a large quantity– Best alternative when message is clear

• Do-it-Yourself– Best alternative when message is not clear:

Many attempts before getting the right message.

– Buy a good color printer and blank stock from Staples.

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Where to Send Mailers?

Counties $15M-$250M $5M-$15M

CAT A - Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren

75Will receive a Letter

and Fliers

125Will receive a

postcard

CAT B - Bergen, Hudson, Mercer, Monmouth and Passaic

75 Will receive a

postcard

125Will receive nothing

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The Pitch-Content (3)

• Elevator speech (30 seconds)– Who you are, your company name and phone

number.– What you do. (Must be enticing)– Ask a open ended question.

“How do you keep your development projects from getting out of control?”

– Ask a closed ended question that will get the discussion started.“Do you have projects that over-run the delivery date?”

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The Pitch-Style (3)

• Credibility Approach– Tell who you are, what you do and your credentials – I made a 38% ROI in a flat market

• Problem Statement - Agreement– State a problem that they can relate too– Are your Projects Late? Of Course!

• Problem Statement - Turn the table– State a problem and question that gets them involved– Is it OK when your projects are late? Of Course Not!

• Adapt to match YOUR style. – Don’t try to be something that you’re not– Practice, Practice, Practice– Record your pitch

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Initial Call (3)

• No Solicitation Policy– You will always get someone who will hang

up.– Don’t take it personally. – It’s not you. – Think of it as a “No Solicitation” Policy. – No one will get through.

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Initial Call (3)

• Gate Keeper (All Presidents and CEOs)– Their job is to keep you out!– Tailor a pitch to the Gate Keeper

• Demonstrate what they perceive as corporate value. • Something they won’t get in trouble for passing through. • Discuss sending something via mail first. Confirm that they

won’t throw it out.

– Get their name. Margaret• Build a relation. It won’t be the last time you talk to them.• Use Humor

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The Second Call (3)

• Gate Keeper– Hi Margaret. I spoke with you last week.– I sent information to Mr. Smith. Do you know if he

received it?– Is he in? I wanted to follow up and see if there is any

interest.– When is the best time to reach him?

• Last resort: Call early or late when Gate Keeper is not there.– Make sure you have Company Directory Number!

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Making Contact (3)

• Use your Pitch (First 10 – 15 seconds)• Goal: Engage the contact

– Continue to ask questions– Listen carefully! – Don’t think about your response in advance!

• Just because you like to hammer, don’t use a hammer to drive a screw.

– Respond to their needs!– Use examples that show you are on the same

wavelength

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Making Contact (3)

• It Takes Practice. • Your first attempt will fail

– Critique your pitch. – Record your pitch.– Adjust your pitch and questions

• Build a script that describes situations and how you should answer…– When you get stuck, add the right response to

the script

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Tips for Making Contact

• Review Mailer Log and Information Sent– Be Consistent. Match what was in your letter. – Don’t Contradict.

• Smile when talking.

• Don’t call when tired or not feeling well.

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Closing the Call (4,5,W,R)• Verify the Interest Level

– In your firm– In the CNNNJ

• If Interest is High (i.e., Engaged), – Try to setup an appointment– Make at least 1 to 2 weeks in advance

Avoids them from saying their booked.

• Have a Fallback for Moderate interest– Don’t let the conversation end with a “NO”.– Offer an interim step: Monthly Newsletter

• Accept there is no Interest– Don’t take it personally

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Closing the Call (4,5, W, R)

• Document the Call– Add a comment to the Cold Call worksheet

• Time and Date• Other Comments

– Update Account Status– Follow though on commitments!!!

• Additional Information• Monthly Newsletter• Appointment

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Keeping Statistics

• 15 Cold Calls This Week– Contacts Made/Engagement: 3

• Appointments: 1• Send Info to email• Referred me to another

– Gate Keeper Contact: 5• Contact Email Address: 2• Send Letter to Contact:3

– Voice Mail (3 Times): 4– Out of town this week: 1– NO Solicitation: 2

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Cold Calls in Person

• The “Sales Bible” by Jeffery Gitomore– Make the cold calls “fun”– Walk right past the “No Solicitation” sign

• The CNNNJ Visitation Program– Cold Call with a partner– No more than 4 people works best

• Easy to Cold Call as an individual after Cold Calling with a Team

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On-Site Cold Calls

• Cold Call companies in area of existing Clients– Better use of time and expenses

• Cold Call when a good contact can not be achieved over the phone

• Goals: 1. See the Decision Maker2. Get the name of Decision Maker3. Get the name of Someone4. Do you want to do Business there?

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On-Site Cold Calls

• Hand-out Company Information– Mailer: Cover Letter, Brochure, Fliers, BCard– Tell receptionist that you have information for the VP

of Engineering and it will take just 15 minutes.– Ask if you can deliver it personally

• If contact is available, deliver information (15 mins)• If contact not available, make sure you get the contact name,

leave the information with the receptionist. • Get the receptionist’s name and confirm she will give it to

your contact. Make sure to thank Margaret.

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On-Site Cold Calls

• Follow-up on Cold Call– Hi Margaret. I met you last week.– I dropped off information for Mr. Smith. Do

you know if he received it?– Is he in? I wanted to follow up and see if there

is any interest.

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Contact Information

• NexSummit LLC

• Don Borcherding

• 908-684-8914

• dborcherding@nexsummit.com