Quantity Begets Quality - And How Not to Make a Cold Call

Categorized | Cold Calling

Quantity Begets Quality - And How Not to Make a Cold Call

Posted on 07 February 2008 by grahamlutz

Sales Quantity

I wrote a few months ago in Quantity Begets Quality - And a New Direction for TheYoungCapitalist that,

What I’ve discovered is that as my quantity goes down, the quality of my best work goes down with it. When I write ONLY when I know I’m creating great work, I find myself less creative and less motivated overall when it comes to new post, new idea, and new work.

I think this translates well into the world of sales. I find that the more cold calls I make, the better my best ones get. Make sense?

If I only call what looks to be the “best” prospects, I end up being less successful than when I get a big huge list and get cracking. In sales, my saying holds true that “Quantity Begets Quality.” Sales is a numbers game. Granted, there are things you can do to increase your percentage of successes, but 25% of 20 is still less than 10% of 100 calls. The more you put in your funnel at the top, the more comes out at the bottom, regardless of how much you’re losing along the way.

How NOT To Make a Cold Call

1. “Could I take 10 or 15 minutes from you?” - No, I’m right in the middle of something

2. “I’m calling to see if maybe you might be interested in…” - No, I’m in a meeting

3. “Can I talk to the President?” - He’s not available. Side Note: He’s Never Available.

The problem with these questions is that they make it very easy for the person on the other end of the phone to say “No.” The alternative is to ask question that either make people want to say “yes” or have to say “yes.”

1. “I was hoping you could help me?” - Ok, what can I do for you?

2. “I have some info on (new product) that I would like to pass along. Who would make decisions on (said products)?” - You can send it to VPMarketing@prospectcompany.com

3. “I just got off the phone with (friend/coworker/colleague’s name) who said I may be able help you as I helped him.”

So Begins My Series on Cold Calling

You can Subcribe Here to stay up to date. I’ll be writing on “Making Cold Calling Fun,” “Warming Up The Cold Call,” “Getting to The Decision Maker,” and many others.

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