What are your business new year's resolutions for 2015? Be a more aggressive sales hunter? Get your foot in the door with more interested prospects? Sell more stuff? Whatever your resolutions are, chances are you want to connect with more good prospects and turn them into customers. One way to keep those resolutions is to become a more consistent, more successful cold caller. Use these 4 ways to motivate your team (or yourself) to cold call successfully!

2. Set More Phone Appointments in 2015:
How to Motivate Your Team (or
Yourself) to Cold Call Successfully

3. Question:
What are your business new
year’s resolutions for 2015?

4. Be a more aggressive
sales hunter?

5. Get your foot in the door with
more interested prospects?

6. Sell more stuff?

7. Whatever your resolutions
are, you want to connect with
more good prospects and
turn them into customers…

8. Here’s one great way to keep
those resolutions…

9. ...become a more consistent,
more successful cold caller.

10. How?
Use these 4 ways to motivate
your team (or yourself) to
cold call successfully:

11. 1. Make a Commitment

12. First, ask yourself:
Do you view cold calling as an
important tool in your biz-dev
arsenal?
(It’s fine if the answer is “no”—you shouldn’t waste time on
tactics that won’t create leads for your business!)

13. But if the answer is “yes,” you’ve likely
faced some of the following obstacles:
● You perceive cold calling to be
difficult/annoying
● You see cold calling as “beneath” you
● You don’t want to spend hours every day
trapped in a cubicle making calls

14. Fact:
Cold calling isn’t always easy or fun.
But if you don’t call, your competitors
will. And cold calling is a lot more
effective when you do it consistently.
Here’s why:

15. More dials = more
completed calls = more
appointments.

16. And with consistent cold
calling, you’ll develop a
picture of what works and
what doesn’t…

17. ...so you can track,
measure, and fine-tune.

18. Start 2015 with a commitment to making
a certain number of dials every day, week,
or month. Help each other (or push
yourself) to meet your objectives. Aim for
consistency over frequency.
Wise Guys Tip

19. 2. Set Expectations

20. Fact:
Cold calling works…
sometimes.

21. Unrealistic expectations can
sour your view of cold calling…

22. ...and scuttle your efforts
before you even start.

23. Cold Calling Guidelines:
● 3-7 dial attempts = 1 completed call
● 8-10 completed calls = 1
appointment
● Expect 2-4 completed calls per hour

24. But remember: even good cold
callers have unlucky streaks…

25. Be ambitious... but be realistic. Set
expectations for success. Don’t let short-
term failure derail your medium- and
long-term goals.
Wise Guys Tip

26. 3. Understand What Works

27. Fact:
If you use the right tactics, you can
set a lot of appointments on the
phone.
For example, if you…

28. ...spend your pre-call time wisely

29. ...call the right prospects

30. ...and say the right things

31. ...you’ll maximize your chances
of setting more appointments.

32. Call List Tips:
● Call prospects who resemble your clients
● Call groups of similar prospects to make your calls
faster, and to focus on shared challenges
● Cull your list frequently to ensure it only includes good
prospects
● 40-40-20 Rule: 40% of prospecting success comes
from your list, 40% from your offer, and 20% from
“creative” (words, tone, etc.)

33. Pre-Call Planning Tips:
● Don’t waste time researching individual
companies
● Profile your prospects according to categories
● Aim to set appointments with lots of prospects,
not specific prospects
● Prepare to accept “no” and move on to the next
good prospect

34. Tips for When You’re on the Phone:
● Focus on your prospect’s challenges and
priorities
● Ask questions to get your prospect talking,
and to overcome initial resistance
● Sell the benefits of a meeting, not your
product

35. Scripts that work...

36. Double Handshake:
“Hello, I’m [NAME]. We haven’t met, but do
you have a moment to speak with me?”
“No problem, is there a better time we can
talk today?”

37. T.R.I.C.:
“The reason I called _________”

38. Steer the conversation with questions:
“If changing your approach isn’t a top priority right now, what are your top priorities?”
“It sounds like your process is firing on all cylinders! Are there things about your process
you wish were better?”
“Wow, I don’t hear that very often. Can you share some of the details of what you’re doing
so I can understand what’s working so well (and maybe use it for myself!)?”
“It sounds like things are going pretty well. Are you ever concerned about [INSERT
COMMON PROBLEM]?”
“I hear that a lot. What’s the one thing you would change about your process if you could?”

39. “Boomerang” Message:
“Hi [prospect’s first name]. This is [your name], and
you and I have not met. I’m calling regarding
[competitor company]. Once again, this is [your name].
My phone number is [phone number]. Again, that’s
[phone number]. I look forward to speaking with you.”

40. 4. Role Play

41. Question:
What do you say when your
prospect says…

42. “What is this regarding?”

43. “How much does it cost?”

44. “Why don’t you send me
some information and I’ll
get back to you?”

45. To practice for these and other
scenarios and to hone your
skills, role play regularly.
Wise Guys Tip

46. Role Playing Tips:
● Practice a range of different scenarios
● Review recent real-world challenges
● Take turns playing the prospect role
● Play the “fly on the wall” role
● Offer positive feedback before, and more
frequently than, negative feedback

47. Question:
How are you going to use
cold calling to help keep your
biz-dev resolutions for 2015?

48. Dialing frantically with no plan?

49. Making a week of calls then
calling it quits?

50. Doing what you always do and
expecting better results?

51. ● Cold call consistently
● Set realistic expectations for success
● Learn and use tactics that lead to more appointments
○ use a good list
○ master efficient pre-call planning
○ ask questions
○ focus on your prospect
● Role play to discuss challenges and improve your skills
Or will you cold call your way to a
more successful 2015 by committing
to:

52. Set More Phone Appointments in 2015:
How to Motivate Your Team (or
Yourself) to Cold Call Successfully

54. © Business Wise Inc. 2015
Flickr Creative Commons images courtesy of:
Caden Crawford, Sascha Pohflepp, Koshy Koshy, Joe Haupt, tom_bullock, Phil
McElhinney, Robert Müller, Sean Ganann, David Goehring, Emilio Labrador, Pete, Tom
Magliery, Pets Adviser, Tax Credits, Paperama, Håkan Dahlström
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