The Fear of Cold Calling!

So, you’ve got some phone numbers, a slight fear of cold calling, and you have never tried to sell anything before in your life.  You don’t know where to begin or how to close the sale.  You finally pick up the phone and, without even being prompted, you vomit your product all over your prospect.  You never ask for a sale or even try to find out what your prospect wants.  You end the phone call with something like “Yeah, go to the website and check it out!”

Does this sound familiar?  I have to admit that I was in the same boat when I first started, but I’m here to tell you that practice makes perfect! There are a few very important things to keep in mind when cold calling a prospect.

A Few Cold Calling Techniques to Help Smooth OUT the Rough Edges

1. You’re the expert and you’re in charge
2. They have to validate that they are worth your time
3. It’s better to make a sale in 10 minutes than 45 minutes
4. You are interviewing them, not the other way around
5. Smile while you are talking to them

Too many people with the poverty mindset talk on the phone like they are interviewing for a job.  They give their credentials, explain why the prospect should work with them, and they are the ones answering questions.  This is all COMPLETELY backward!!  People want to work with leaders.  Being a leader will go a long way.

When you get on the phone, the first step is to introduce yourself.  This is obvious, but it gives you a chance to see if the prospect recognizes you.  If they don’t, you’ll have to explain a little more about yourself.

Explain why you’re calling them.  They left their name and phone number on your website, so let them know that’s why they are getting a phone call.  Begin finding out more about them, starting with things like “Where are you from?” or “Do you have any kids?”.  You need to genuinely want to connect with your prospect. Do not think of this person as just another sale or another prospect. They will see right through you if you don’t care and will be completely turned off.

After you get to know them, then you can slowly transition into questions more pertinent to business, like “Do you have any experience in network marketing?” and “How serious are you about building a successful online business?”.

This IS the most crucial part of your conversation because it does 3 things. First, it shows that you are interested in them.  Second, you can better understand how to solve their problems.  Third, it puts you in charge of the conversation because you are asking the questions.  Asking the right questions is the key to the whole thing, so take some time and write down questions that will get you information that you want to know about your prospect.

All of these questions are NOT company specific.  In other words, don’t talk about your opportunity or product yet because then you sound like a salesman.  It is an awesome point if you find something they are struggling with and you have the answer! If you talk to them first about themselves, you sound more like a friend showing another friend a useful product.

Now it’s time to find out how much they know about your product and answer their questions.  Start this off by asking if they checked out the website they looked at after they opted in.  If they haven’t, tell them to go back and review the website (give them the URL in case they can’t find it) and set up a specific time and day to call them back.  If you have to spend an extra 20 minutes explaining every last detail you are not going to be duplicatable.

If they have reviewed it, ask them what they think and what questions they have.  Explain to them how the product will solve their problems.  Relate your product to something specific that they talked about in the beginning.  If they mention that they have been in MLM’s and haven’t had success, pinpoint why they think that is and relate it to the tools that your system has to overcome this. This shows that you are actually listening to the conversation and not just selling.

It is very important to listen for “buying questions”.  These are when they begin to ask you specific questions about buying the product.  These can be like “Can I pay with Mastercard?” or “So I can get my money back if I don’t want to keep it?”.  When you hear these questions, a ‘click’ should go off in your brain because this person wants to buy your product!

Closing is the easy part, but often overlooked.  If you don’t ask for the sale you won’t get it!  Say something like “How about we get you started?”  If you don’t ask them to get involved, many times they’ll forget about it, or even think they can’t get started because you didn’t invite them!

Don’t be afraid to get off the phone at any point along the way.  Your time is valuable, and as soon as you realize the prospect doesn’t want anything or if they are someone you don’t feel is a good match for your team, get off the phone!  Remember, they have to validate why they are worth your time.  I call prospects periodically that go off on wild tangents for 5 minutes as soon as I introduce myself.  Redirect the conversation back to the subject ASAP or end the call.

Smile and be confident. As soon as you pick up that phone before you dial you need to have a smile on your face. Put in a mirror in front of you if you need to. Because so much of what helps the buying decision is emotion you need to reflect the emotion they will have after purchasing and using your product. Happiness! There are a lot of people that might be offering what you are offering but not everyone is as happy and confident as you.

This is obviously a very loose sales script, but this should help you get started with your phone calls.  Plan and write down a script that works for you, and don’t forget to brainstorm good questions for your prospects.  When you get really good at asking questions, you can even get your prospect to basically explain to you why they need your product!

The fear of cold calling plagues many network marketers today

One of the best ways to overcome the cold calling fear is to practice, practice, practice. Take your biz to a whole new level and call with confidence.

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