How to Get Past the Gate keeper & Overcome Cold Calling Reluctance Part 3

There Are a Finite Number of People That Call a Company

Here is a breakdown of the types of people calling a company on any given day.

                Employees Calling in Sick

                Friends and Family Members of   Employees

                Customers

                Current Vendors

                Wrong Numbers

                Sales People Trying to Get to Decision Makers

How to Get Past the Gate Keeper.

The receptionist has been viewed by many cold calling sales people as the ENEMY. The receptionist is perceived as the person with the power to let you in or not. He/She is not the enemy.

The Receptionist Recognizes the Cold Calling Sales Person Just by Their Opening Lines.

Which is very different from a customer, current vendor or friend of an employee? The real enemy is the sales person’s opening line which in most cases is the answer to the key question; Can I tell him/her what the call is about?

Here is lesson number three in getting past Cold Call Reluctance.

Stop acting like a sales person making a cold call and relax.

If you were calling a company to speak with your friend or family member you would be relaxed and would most likely not tell the receptionist what your call was about and you would just say... Please put me through to his/her voice mail. I need to leave him/her a message.

Getting Past the Gate Keeper

Based on a survey I conducted, a number of years ago, I learned the average receptionist in an average company receives between one hundred to two hundred calls in a day.

The Unsung Hero

I learned from asking many receptionists that almost no one person ever took the time to find out their name or exchange any type of pleasantry.

The receptionist has a difficult job of directing calls, putting people on hold, getting back to them, taking messages and not to mention greeting people as they arrive for appointments and accepting deliveries.

How to Stand Out From the Crowd

When I make a cold call I always make it a point to ask the receptionist their name. Most of the time I will get their name which I then log in my Act data base for the next time I call.

Occasionally, when I ask, “Who I am speaking with?”, I will hear, “This is the receptionist”, to which I reply, “I know I was just trying to be polite and address you by your name.

I don’t imagine that many people take the time to ask you."

A True Story

The first time I called a prospect I learned that the receptionist name was Mary. When I called the fifteenth time and was still getting “He is in a meeting”, “Out of town”, “Not in today”, or “Left for the day”, I asked Mary a very tough question.

“Mary, whenever I call Mike he is never available. If he is telling you to tell me he is out of town, etc. because he just doesn’t want to talk with me, please tell me.”

How Mary Became My Ally

Mary said the following, “Every time you call you are always so nice to me. Mike is really always on the run and hard to reach. Sometimes I don’t see him for days. I will give you his cell phone number, I know he is in his car. I am not supposed to do this but you have been so nice.“

The Thing to Remember

You can create a relationship with the receptionist and she/he does not have to be your adversary.

Try This Cold Calling Strategy

Hello, Please put me through to, excuse me, who am I speaking with? This is Mary. Oh high Mary this is Al. Please put me through to Bob. I am sorry he is not in. That fine, just put me into his voice mail thanks Mary, make it a great day.

If you are like me you hate cold calling. It is hard to get started; we come up with a number of other things to do that seem important. But we are just kidding ourselves. We are looking to avoid something.

The first step in overcoming Cold Call Reluctance is to first recognize what is causing it. I have heard so many reasons why a good sales person won’t initiate a cold call or will stop making them. All the reasons boil down to the same issues which are we are afraid to fail, don’t want to be rejected or hear no.

Everyone wants to feel good and it is natural to avoid making that dreaded cold call.

You can have all the lead generation programs in place. It doesn’t matter if the leads are from mail, internet, or advertising. Eventually the call has to be made.

Here is lesson number one in getting past Cold Call Reluctance.

Sales people will avoid cold calling because they do not want to fail. When you don’t make or stop making the cold calls you create the very thing you are looking to avoid, and become the author of failure.

The first step in getting past cold call reluctance is to get past the fear. To get past the fear you must

1-      Pick up the phone and call a prospect. Any prospect will do.

2-      Your job is not to make an appointment or sell anything.

3-      Your job is to get past the fear of the first call.

My son Adam was in the pool having a great time. When he saw me inching my way into the water he said. “Hey Dad, don’t be a wimp just dive in.” The same holds true for cold calls. Don’t inch your way in. Just dive in, it is a lot less painful. Have fun and make it a great day.