In the old cold calling mindset, you’re taught to focus on the sale and be completely confident that what you’re offering is something the other person should buy.

The problem with this approach is that you haven’t asked them to determine this along with you. So think about it – in the old mindset, you’re really deciding for someone else what’s good for them. I know this isn’t intended, but that’s exactly what comes across to your prospects.

So rather than being full of confidence and enthusiasm, stop for a minute and think about the other individual. Relax into a real conversation instead of moving into a persuasive strategy or sales pitch. Put yourself in their shoes and invite them to explore along with you whether what you have to offer is a match for them.

Others really can distinguish the difference. You’re inviting them to see if you might be able to help them solve a problem. This makes for a much better connection right at the beginning, and you’ll get that immediate rejection reaction much less.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com. 

Let’s say you sent information to a potential client, but you haven’t heard back from them. You want to know what they thought and where you stand when cold calling. You might try saying something like this:

“I’m just calling to make sure that the information I sent addressed the problems you’re concerned about because I want to make sure it was on the mark.”

“I’m just calling to check and see if you have any questions about the package I sent in regards to your situation, but just keep in mind that I’m not making any assumptions that our solution is the right fit for you until you feel completely comfortable that it’s a match.”

“I was just calling in regards to the information I sent – not to move our conversation forward in any way, but just to see if any thoughts or questions have come up so far.”

Remember that follow up is just as important as the initial cold call. Showing the genuine concern when making the follow up call will help you and your company stand out in the mind of the potential client.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.

In the new way of cold calling, you make it unmistakably clear that your goal is solely to answer any questions that your prospect may have, without any intentions to move the sales process forward.

In every cold call, you’re having conversations with potential clients who don’t yet trust you. So you have to assume that, based on their experiences in the past, they’re going to think you’re going to try to pressure them – no matter how easy going you are.

So in this new cold calling mindset, it’s your job to assure them that you’re not trying to move anything forward.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could make cold calling pleasant for both you and the other person? Well, it’s very possible, if you’re willing to remove sales pressure from the interaction.

Why? Because sales pressure is the underlying cause of all tension in cold calling. You’re pressuring yourself to make the sale, and you’re also pressuring the other person to buy what you have to offer.

In the old traditional mindset, you’ve been trained to approach cold calling this way. You’ve been encouraged to be proactive, assertive, and maybe even aggressive in your sales efforts. But this creates sales pressure. It throws the entire conversation into a push-pull scenario instead of a relaxed, mutual exploration.

So if you remove pressure from your conversations, then your cold calling can become relaxed and productive instead of stressful and tense. But first it’s important to recognize some of the many hidden ways you can create pressure in your cold calls.

Below is on of them:

“Get the Sale” Tunnel Vision

If you’re like most people who make cold calls, you’re hoping to make a sale – or at least an appointment – before you even pick up the phone. The problem is that this mindset short-circuits the whole process of relaxed conversation. Whenever there’s a goal, there’s also an underlying “win or lose” tension that your prospects experience as sales pressure.

But when you’re focused on building a conversation, there’s no tension. You’re simply exploring whether you can provide a solution to someone’s problem. This provides a stress-free environment for a productive, mutual exploration.

So when your focus shifts from “making the sale” into “building a conversation,” you’re not introducing sales pressure. Tension evaporates. And now you’re free to enjoy the interaction. And as long as you’re sincere, others are more likely to enjoy it too.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational… 

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

Yesterday we were talking about an important topic “voicemail and cold calling”. Today I want to give you an additional scenareo. Remember Mike? Who wasn’t at his desk? We asked the receptionist if they knew where “Mike” was at that time…Here is another example of ways to inquire for more information…

“No, I don’t know where he is.” In this case, you would reply, “That’s not a problem…” This low-key statement diffuses any possible pressure that the receptionist might be feeling about not being able to answer your question.

You can then continue with, “Would you happen to know anyone whose desk or office is near him or who works in his area who might know where he is?” Again, you’re offering another option for solving the problem. In many cases, the receptionist will then transfer you to a colleague of your contact who can help you determine his or her whereabouts.

The receptionist may also reply, “No, I don’t know anyone in his area.” You then say, “That’s not a problem…” and offer, “Would you happen to have a paging system or his cell phone number by any chance?”

If the receptionist replies, “Sorry, we don’t have those,” then at that point you can say, “Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help.” And then hang up, and call back another time.

Does the idea of paging potential clients or calling them on their cell phone make your stomach clench up? Are you thinking that you can’t cold call people that way because they might reject you?

As long as you’re 100 percent focused on your potential client’s world, you’ll find that people will be receptive to you. You can easily navigate throughout an organization with the type of dialogue described above, because you’re asking for help in a relaxed manner and you never put anyone on the spot.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.

When we cold call our objective is not to pursue people to make a sale. In this new way of cold calling we want to uncover the truth of their situation and to be okay with the outcome, whether it’s a “yes” or a “no.” So we can begin to feel more comfortable hitting “0” when we get someone’s voicemail. Because we then have an opportunity to go back to the receptionist and begin a dialogue based on asking for help.

Here’s how the dialogue might go:

“Hi, maybe you can help me out for a second? I’m trying to get hold of Mike and I got his voicemail. Would you happen to know if he’s at lunch, or on vacation, or in a meeting by any chance?”

Here, you aren’t just asking to find Mike. And you’re also providing possible solutions to finding Mike. This helps the receptionist feel as if he or she is part of the problem-solving process.

The receptionist is likely to offer this response:

“Yes, he’s in a meeting (or at lunch or on vacation) and I’m not sure when he’ll be back at his desk.”

This answer has just given you a lot more information than you would have if you had just left a voicemail. Now you know your contact’s whereabouts in real time and you can call back at a more appropriate time. Check back for more tips on Voicemails and cold calling.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.

No matter what industry you’re in, there must be a need for your product or service, or you wouldn’t survive very long. So whether you’re offering entertainment, bookkeeping, computer programs or anything else, you’re fulfilling a particular need. This new cold calling mindset focuses on identifying these needs from the perspective of potential clients. Shift your mindset away from what you have to offer, and focus instead on what their problem is. Step into their world.

Most of us enjoy problem solving. We like to “fix things.” So it’s easy for us to come from a place of wanting to solve a problem. And that’s where we begin our cold calling conversations — from their point of view, their difficulties, and whether we might be of service. Human nature being what it is, we, as people, enjoy other people. And the more we help them, the more we get feedback that is supportive and positive.

We all want to enjoy our jobs and feel good about what we’re doing. One of the major benefits of this new cold calling mindset is to add credibility and integrity to what we do as professionals. When we humanize the process of cold calling, we step out of the typical one-sided salesperson persona, and that feels really good.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational….

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

This new cold calling mindset is about having a true conversation, not a one-way script. It means genuinely anticipating cordial conversations with a new acquaintances. This has to come from you naturally. It has to be a natural conversation. ou have to believe yourself that you’re calling to see if you can help someone with your product or service.

Once you begin to enjoy the idea of conversing with people and building trust with them, your whole being shifts into this new frame of reference. And you begin to be in a place where the sale itself will not affect your behavior. When this happens, your fear of rejection goes way down and your enjoyment of the human connection goes way up.

This is where you become free of the old rules around cold calling because you’re not worried about the selling anymore. You’re only concerned with helping the client, regardless whether you make a sale or not. And that’s freedom. It’s freedom to be professional and authentic.

When you think of upcoming cold calls in terms of dialogue rather than monologue, then you aren’t focused solely on what you might get from the conversation. You’re operating out of an honest desire to assist, and this always means having a two-way conversation.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.

Let’s say that you succeed in fully adopting this new mindset as it relates to cold calling. You focus your initial conversation on a specific problem or issue that you know from your own experience affects people in that business or industry. The initial call turns into a positive and friendly conversation. It moves in such a positive direction that you both feel there may be a match. And at the point, you may start slipping back into the traditional sales mindset. You may start thinking about a potential sale.

And this may lead you to start making statements that your prospect will construe as an attempt to “close.” For example, you may start pressing, however subtly, for an appointment or a follow-up call, which implies that you’re anxious to move things forward so you can make the sale. The problem is that any such pressure on your part may lead your prospect to retreat and reject you.

Instead, at the moment when you feel as if the conversation is coming to a natural conclusion, you can simply say:

“Well, where do you think we should go from here?”

This question reassures prospects that you’re not using the conversation to fulfill your own hidden agenda. Rather, you’re giving them the “space” to begin to decide if they trust you. You’re not leading them down the path to a sale — you’re letting them create their own path.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com

There is a pressure-free way to reestablish communication when your prospect starts giving you the “silent treatment.” But first, it’s important to understand why the situation has happened in the first place.

Most of us who sell get caught up in “hopeium,” a comical term that means we focus our hopes and desires on making the sale. But hopeium can be a trap, because it’s impossible for you to keep in mind your most important goal: to learn your prospect’s truth while cold calling.

When we fix our minds on the outcome — making the sale — we automatically begin anticipating how the process will go, and we also begin expecting that things will happen as we hope they will.

But if we’re in that mindset and our prospect suddenly breaks off communication, we feel lost, anxious, frustrated, discouraged, and confused. We become preoccupied with what went wrong.

We may even feel betrayed. Is there any way to clear up the mystery? Yes, by giving up your agenda and learning the truth about where you stand with your prospect –and being ok with whatever the truth may be.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.