Cold Calling

How Sales People Erect "The Wall" while Prospecting

Prospecting must be first analyzed and then viewed through different lenses, in particular from the viewpoint of the buyer. In order to change your results you first must be willing to change your own viewpoint and or opinion of this process.

Typically sales people make the mistake of opening when prospecting with a closed ended question such as "We are calling to determine if you have a need for..." This approach typically results in a closed ended answer: No!

Or the sales person says "I would like to know if you have a minute to discuss..." This is another closed-ended question that again results in a closed ended answer: No!

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Some Basic Problems Associated with Traditional Cold Calling:

1. You don't know, understand or have a methodology of how to to uncover problems the prospect is not aware of, to get appointments, or to close sales.
2. You don't know how to prevent the prospect's wall or what to say to a person when you get them on the phone.
3. You create your own walls by asking closed-ended questions when starting the telephone communication.
4. You don't know how to keep the conversation going by focusing on what is important to the listener (prospect).

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Examples of Closed Ended Questions: Do you have a minute?.....Could you tell me who handles...? Would you be interested in...? The prospect's sales resistance is typically aroused as soon as they hear your excitement, warm and enthusiastic greeting, followed by a canned but professional pitch.

The Pattern-Interrupt: We believe that prospects have a normal pattern they follow, either consciously or subconsciously where they erect a wall when faced with the dreaded sales person. Peak Performance works with sales management and sales professionals to implement what we refer to as the pattern interrupt, which dramatically reduces this wall, as does asking open ended questions which open discussions. Failure to use the pattern-interrupt and open ended questioning often results in many prospects becoming non-communicative, or too busy to talk, abrupt, sarcastic, or otherwise negative. All of these reactions cause most salespeople to feel rejected, and rejection creates future hesitation resulting in a failure to maintain cold calling consistency.

Almost all sales managers and trainers tell you that if you're not being rejected, then the prospects are merely declining the offer of your products or services. But who do you trust, your gut instinct or the trainer?

Why then do almost all salespeople feel rejected? Because they are so focused on themselves (me, myself and I), their companies, their features and their benefits. Sales people build themselves up so much when the prospect decides against buying the fall hurts so much more. Rejection-proof sales people do not focus on me, myself and I. They focus on the prospect, and their reasons for investing time with a sales person. They go deeper than merely assessing needs. They get to the root of why they will buy. And that is NOT your features and benefits!