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Progress! Stop Selling! -Issue No.2 / March 2005

Dear Reader,

How do you accelerate your business? Are you in the lucky situation that more potential customers knock at your door than you can handle? If this is the case, congratulations!

For those of you who have not (yet) reached this enviable status, taking action to get business is a bare necessity.

One of the ways of taking action is by calling up people, perhaps even people you don’t know at all, i.e. cold call prospects. Today’s issue deals with this kind of interaction between potential buyers and cold calling executives. I hope you will enjoy this article. Any feedback would be highly appreciated!

Let's keep progressing!

Charlie Lang
Executive Coach and Founder of Progress-U Ltd.
Author of The Groupness Factor

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Stop Selling! Article

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How to Get Rid of Annoying Cold Callers
By Charlie Lang of Progress-U Ltd. & John Bower of St. George's Human Potential

Ring ring . . .

Potential Buyer (PB): Hello
 
Cold Caller (CC): Is this Peter Miller?
 
PB: Yes, who is this?
 
CC: Hi, this Amy of XYZ Company. How are you?
 
PB: OK, what is this about?
 
CC: Do you want to know about a totally safe way of increasing your net worth by 200% in less than 10 years? We have an absolutely unique product you certainly have never heard of. I am sure you must be interested in that. Here is how it works . . .

Do you ever get calls like this? If they annoy you at least half as much as they annoy us, then you have a good idea of what we are talking about.
 
A few days ago, Charlie found an online forum with a list of possible responses that could help you get rid of irritating callers in no time. Here are some of our favorites:
 
If they start out with, "How are you today?" say, "Why do you want to know?" Alternately, you can tell them, "I'm so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems. My arthritis is acting up, etc." When they try to get to the sell, just keep talking about your problems.
 
Cry out in surprise, "Amy, IS that you? Oh my God, Amy, how have you been?" Hopefully this will give Amy a few brief moments of terror as she tries to figure out where the heck she could know you from.
 
Tell them to talk VERY SLOWLY, because you want to write EVERY WORD DOWN.

If a female telemarketer calls your boyfriend's house ask her just why she's calling, act like you can "see right through this stupid cover-up!" and harass her for "secretly seeing" your boyfriend. Don't stop until she hangs up, or threatens to report you.
 
What is it that annoys us so much about these calls?

• Lack of respect: Most cold callers (CCs) don’t seem to care whether we are even ready to talk – or at least listen! – to someone. Perhaps they believe that the fact that we picked up the phone gives them the right to make use of our time.
  
• Most CCs don’t seem to care about what we really want: Most CCs (and many sales people, for that matter) believe that everybody should want their wonderful product and therefore pitch without hesitation.
  
• It’s about what the CC wants: Apparently, such CCs have only one thing in mind: a quick sale. That means the call is important mostly because they can benefit from it, even though they may also think that the potential buyer would possibly benefit.
  
• We don’t like being pressured: Pressure creates resistance. Even if the offered product might be something that we need, we tend to resist simply because most of us hate to be pressured.

Does any of that sound familiar to you? Have you ever wondered why many companies still use this sales method? The answer is simple: it gives them results. How?
 
Traditional cold calling is a numbers game, which could work as follows:
 
-   Make 100 cold calls.
-   Get 10 people to show some interest.
-   Get one or two of them to buy (the lucky strikes!).
 
Yes, despite all the negative feelings triggered by these calls, there will always be people who listen and might even end up buying. These buyers could’ve been looking for such a product and the cold call was simply a timely, convenient way to get it. So if you make enough calls, you’ll get some results that might make it worthwhile to continue with this approach.
 
What does it do to the CCs? Apparently, they must have a very strong self-esteem if they can keep using this approach despite being rejected 95 to 99 times out of 100.
 
What does it to the image of such companies? Needless to say, you can’t build a high-quality image by using this cold-call method.
 
Can cold calls be made in such a way that fully respects the person being called and does not create any pressure? Can you imagine talking to a sales person who doesn’t want to bully you into doing things his way as quickly as possible?  
 
The “Stop Selling!” approach consists of a unique mindset combined with certain skills that helps any sales person, including cold callers, quickly create and maintain trusted relationships. This approach incorporates the realization that the seller’s process, even when it leads to good results, is actually the limitation of even greater success.
 
Do you want to know more? Then don’t hesitate to contact John ( John.Bower@stghp.com ) or Charlie ( Charlie.lang@progressu.com.hk) . We would be happy to look at whether this new approach might support you in developing your business faster.  

 
Summary: Traditional cold calling is a numbers game and annoys most recipients of such calls. The “Stop Selling!” approach helps sales people quickly create a trusting relationship with prospects and customers. This is achieved through a very specific buyer-friendly mindset and skills that support this mindset.

For more information related to Progress-U's sales training & coaching programs please click here.

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