There is no reason to try to make an appointment with a cold call. Think about it.
- Who will take the appointment? Only those already seeking a solution, so the moment you enter you’re already in a competition.
- You have no idea if the person you’re speaking with offers a fair/accurate representation of the buyer’s ‘needs’.
- You have no idea (nor do they, probably) if all the decision makers and influencers have assembled and offered their thoughts on needs – so you have no way of knowing if there is a real match between your solution and their need.
- You do now know what percentage of the Buying Decision Team this person represents – if any.
- You have absolutely no idea – none- what the person taking the meeting will do with your data/presentation. Who will they tell? What will they say? How will they represent you? To whom? When? Will it be used to compare other competitors? To give their internal folks data to use to design their own fix? You have no idea.
- You are merely dumping data on a hunch that if you give the right data to the right person at the right point in their comprehensive decision/change cycle, they’ll buy. But it’s all specious. You – and possibly they – might not know the full fact pattern of their needs.
Stop trying to make appointments. Use your cold calling to actually facilitate them in assembling all the folks you need to speak with to determine if it’s time for them to make a change, and help them – yes help them – figure out if they have a workaround they can use without buying anything. Once all that is taken care of, THEN ask for a meeting. The right people will show up, they will know what they need from you, and will be ready to hear it.
I can teach you how to make these calls. Sharondrew@sharondrewmorgen.com or www.buyingfacilitation.com
Sharon Drew’s new book on how to close the gap between what’s been said and what’s been heard is coming out December 8 – for free (with no opt in). Keep an eye out for What? Did you really say what I think I heard?
