In email prospecting strategies, one of the first things I advise is that you send yourself a draft before hitting the final send. That way, you get a sense of what it's like for your prospects to receive your emails. You can quickly see where you need to make adjustments to grab your prospect’s attention and get a reply.
This same checkup strategy works well for your cold calls, too.
Many of your best and worst phone habits are the ones you probably aren’t even aware of until you hear them. They’re the same habits that may be keeping you from closing more first appointments.
So, how do you assess your cold call effectiveness? Record them.
It used to be that only the largest companies had access to telephone recording equipment. These days, however, numerous recording options exist. Recording functionality may already be built into your company phone system. If not, at the very least, you can use one of the free conference calling options that record calls.
Depending on where you live, there could be legal issues that require you to notify your prospect that you're recording the call, so do confirm that first. And if recording cold calls makes you uneasy or isn’t possible, ask a peer to listen in while you make calls instead.
Here’s a quick checklist of 10 things you should listen for in your cold call reviews.
If you can refine your cold calling, you’ll get past gatekeepers more effectively, leave more compelling messages, gather more relevant information, and close more first appointments.
And who doesn’t want to do all those things?
Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert and author of the award winning book “Selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. Visit www.klagroup.com to download your free copy of the PowerProspecting Sales Kit valued at $216 and to subscribe to her newsletter. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KendraLeeKLA, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KLAGroup, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kendralee.