Mr. Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters and welcomed guests. On the earnings day, C-level executive of your company announces that the company failed to meet its sales target for the 4th consecutive quarter. Wall Street reacts negatively to this news and your shares plummet. If you are in non-sales organization, you often wonder what is the problem with sales team? Why do they miss their targets? Well, selling expensive products takes lot of effort and time. Typically buyers are wary. In case of expensive products, the stakes are so high that they tend to be more cautious. Moreover, more than one person is involved in making the purchase decision. Sales people use a technique called “cold calling” to break this barrier and get a lead.
What is a cold call? Cold call is a process where sellers seek buyers typically over telephone. It is challenging because sellers try to change buyers to accept a new product/service. To add to it, buyers often think they do not have any need. Let me explain this with a short story. Few days back I went for a team dinner at a prominent restaurant. The project manager began ordering wines for the team. The waiter observed the order pattern for first few rounds. As time passed by, the order frequency declined. Now, the waiter sought the manager with a new bottle and asked “Sir! Would you like to try Red Zinfandel?” The manager accepted and this repeated for few times. I thought wine was inexpensive, but the total damage on that day was 1300 bucks. If he hadn’t made that cold call then he would have lost the sales and his commission (gratuity).
Now, lets see the three steps in cold call sales.
Research
First, invest in research. You got to be an expert in your domain. Research about the business, trends, your prospects and your competitors. With this information you will be able to help your buyer to improve their product effectively and economically. If you make their jobs easy, they will support you and make your job easier.
Script
Second, script your conversation. Do not open your conversation with questions such as “Is it a good time to talk?” or “How are you doing today?” Questioning is a powerful tool used in sales. Exercise caution during the questioning process. Ask questions that enable you to understand better your buyer’s situation. Avoid manipulative and/or defensive questions. Make your buyer comfortable and do not put him/her on the spot.
Review/Retreat
At the end of your conversation, review the next steps or action items. If the prospect still has any objections or concerns, pose more open-ended questions to understand their hidden problem and address it. If your buyer has a legitimate objection, then recognize it and make a friendly retreat.
Role Play
To illustrate the “cold call” sales, Ravinder and I are going to enact a short scenario. Ravinder is the manager in charge for full-size cars division at “Unique rentals” and I am the salesperson from Toyota Corporation.
[Address any concerns/objections. Review next steps.]
Conclusion
[Through series of questions understand the buyer’s situation – encourage buyer to discover that change is necessary – How does your product or service benefit the buyer – Review the action item – Address concerns, if any.]
“Always put the customer first.” To be a successful salesperson, always consider buyer as your priority and your job is to serve the buyer.
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Copy of this presentation can be found here.
Fellow Toastmasters and dear guests, imagine that – It’s your first day as a salesperson at a popular toy store. Your boss’ secretary comes and congratulates you for being the 25th person for that position. Wait a sec, 25th person. Are you kidding me? She says “No” and adds that Boss has your probationary assignment ready and will meet you shortly. Now, you get very anxious and start to stare at the door. Your boss, 6 ft 2 inches tall, a stout retired army general with petrifying eyes & smoking cigar in his mouth marches into your office and says, “Welcome aboard Alex! Your first assignment is to sell 2-dozen toys in a week. Either you sell it or walk out. By the way, 3 dozen will be awesome.” Other than few advertisements you have heard or seen you do not have any clue about selling a product. But, this is the job you dreamt for years and you cannot let go at any cost. Now, you begin to wonder, “How do I sell it?” Folks, I am going to present you the persuasive sales process that you can use at such situations.
