The moment you use the old-school cold calling approach — the traditional pitch about who you are and what you have to offer — you trigger the negative “salesperson” stereotype. And that means instant defense or rejection. I call it “The Wall.”

The problem is with how you’re selling, not what you’re selling. When we start cold calling by talking about what we have to offer, we’re “pitching” ourselves instead of focusing on the other person. Our voice and demeanor is full of expectation. And this creates sales pressure — which triggers resistance.

So overcome the temptation to immediately discuss what you have to offer. Instead, help the other person overcome the fear of who you are and what is expected. Potential clients are much more likely to respond to you when they aren’t subjected to an immediate mini-presentation. This approach usually just creates suspicion and rejection.

Allow the conversation to have a natural sense of rhythm. Define mutual interest before launching into a description of your solution to a problem you probably know very little about at this point. Start by focusing on a specific problem you think your potential client is facing. Once you focus on a specific problem, they’ll probably reply, “Well, who is this?” or “Who am I talking to?”

Notice that you’ve gotten rid of the usual initial pressure and tension that starts with a cold calling sales pitch. Instead, the two of you are embarking on a dialogue. Don’t be surprised by their question. The other person simply wants to know who you are. And, implicitly, he or she is also expressing curiosity about your intentions.

If you know your industry well enough and the problem you suggest is very real for the people you call, they will often start to relax and enter into a further dialogue with you.

Until next time,

Keep calling and keep it conversational…

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

Tags: cold calling techniques, cold calling tips, cold calling training, cold callling, sales rejection, sales techniques, Sales Tips, Sales Training

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Ari's Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.