Cold calling tip #3

#3 - Respect their time

When we get cold called, doesn't annoy you when the person on the other end is just talking a million miles and hour and not giving you an opportunity to respond? A lot of us just aren't rude enough to hang up - we're left feeling frustrated.

So the first step I take is to ask permission to talk. I ask them "have you got a couple of minutes to chat?".

Sure you'll get some people that say no they're busy - but that's no problem, just ask them when the next best time is to call them.

For those that say yes, that's great. The key here then is not to speak too quickly and throw everything at them before they can respond. You've now got permission to talk to them so take your time and have a conversation, not throw a sales pitch.

My rule of thumb here is to let them speak. Listen more than talk. Just because it's a cold call it doesn't mean you have to do all the talking.

The end result if it's all gone well is that they'll end up suggesting we meet. They already know that's what I'm after and it becomes natural once all their concerns are resolved.