I recently got this cold call:

D: Hi. I’m David, with Keller Williams. I’m calling to inquire about your property. Are you still looking to sell your place?
SD: Do you have a buyer for me?

D: Possibly. How did you determine your sale price?
SD: How do you know what price I determined? What is the context of this call please? Are you looking for a listing? Or do you have a buyer?

D: As I said, I’m David, from Keller Williams. I just want to know about your place.
SD: But before we discuss my place, I need a context. Are you seeking a listing or a property for a specific buyer?

D: I just want to know about your place.
SD: And I just want to know why you’re calling.

D: Obviously you’re not interested in selling. Good bye.

This guy either had a script or was trying to get data without disclosing his intent. He certainly ignored the rapport bit.

It’s possible to make cold calls to facilitate buying decisions. When I taught Buying Facilitation® at Wachovia the small business bankers started cold calls like this:

“Hi. My name is John. I’m a small business banker at Wachovia. I hope this is a good time to speak. I’m wondering how you’re getting your financial needs met when your current bank can’t get you the resources you require.”

37 out of 100 calls asked us to visit; we closed 30 within 12 weeks. With 100 cold calls asking for appointments to introduce new products we got 10 visits and closed 2 in 11 months.

If you make a cold call merely to get your own needs met – i.e. appointment, pitch, ‘understand your business [so I can pitch to you]’, prospects won’t respond. I regularly get calls that say: “Hi. Can you please get me to the person who handles X in your company?” Why would I take someone’s valuable time so a stranger can….. can do WHAT? Take care of their own needs?

Using cold calls to push solutions, or find folks with ‘needs’ won’t get you to the right person or get you answers, and you’d only speak to one of many people necessary to define a need. If you get an appointment you’d be wasting your time speaking with a prospect already talking to your competition or they wouldn’t have seen you. Use Buying Facilitation® at the beginning of every call and begin helping prospects consider the change they’d need if they sought excellence using your solution. Then gatekeepers will bring you in and get you to the right people.

Contact me to teach your folks how to get to the right people and find more prospects with cold calls: sharondrew@sharondrewmorgen.com