Cold Call Canvassing Is For Amateurs Prospecting for Success ~ How never to make a cold call ever. What Is Cold Call Canvassing? How you define cold call canvassing is all-important to this discussion. I have heard some people advocating “cold call canvassing” who are really using the title to attract attention. Thereafter, they inspire people to make contacts in the most efficient manner possible. Some people think a cold call is when you leave your office to see a client or a prospect in his or her office when it’s twenty below zero. It’s like taking a cold shower—it may feel good when it’s over, but doing it sober is not a great idea too often. Cold call canvassing is calling on people who don’t know you, and who don’t particularly want to get acquainted with you, in any case. Strictly speaking it is stopping a stranger and trying to make a pitch. It doesn’t work very well at best, and it could get you arrested, unless you are a carny at the annual fair. More commonly cold call canvassing is picking a name out of the telephone book, and dialing a number. I have done it several times with some success. For example, during a sales training session with new people to my life insurance office I would ask one of the group to open the telephone book to any page, run a finger half way down the page and give me a name and number. Then I would dial and make my pitch. It almost always worked. However, there were some problems with this approach. Sometimes the person agreeing to a meeting reconsidered and did not keep the appointment. At other times we found that the recipient was seventy-five years old and just wanted someone to talk with. If you want real cold call canvassing, go door-to-door making your pitch to whoever answers your knock. I did it for the United Appeal for several years. Then I decided to increase my donation rather than expend so much ill-used energy. Some people, new to selling, have done cold call canvassing to kick start their sales business, but very few continue doing it once they find out that there is a better way. It’s like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer to make a headache go away. Some of my associates profess that they love cold calls. My advice to them is that if it works don’t give it up—at least not until they have learned a better more professional way. Many of the successful ones work in industrial areas, going from one business to another, from one door to the next. Generally, they have a gimmick. They approach the receptionist, introduce themselves as the company representative for this territory or for this section of the city. Then they ask, “Who is the decision maker for the company?” or “Who is the group benefits co-ordinator?” When they get a name, they then ask for a meeting to discuss the work they do. It works, sometimes, but there is a better way. Ten calls for three appointments for one sale is a tough way to work. It does not provide a good first impression. The perception of who you are and what you do is not enhanced by this approach. Frankly, I did something like this when I first started as a neophyte sales person. Everyday, I looked in the newspaper for newly engaged, and newlyweds, and new births. Then I telephoned the newlywed, or the newly engaged, or the new father. It was hard work, but I succeeded. Ten phone calls, led to three appointments, which resulted in two sales. Two of my acquaintances that advocate cold call canvassing profess to having continued doing it for over twenty years. One of them lives in a small town—population about 1000 people. He was born there, grew up there, went to school there, and he knows everyone in town. If you draw a circle around the town with a five-mile radius you may add another 1500 people. If you draw a larger circle with a radius of about 10 miles his territory includes two other small towns and about 30,000 people. He does not know everyone. However, he knows someone who knows someone he wants to know, almost without exception. In this environment he finds it easy to strike up a conversation and soon enough discovers a mutual acquaintance or a topic of mutual interest. Another acquaintance who loves making cold calls lives in a large city. Actually, he lives in an ethnic neighborhood within a large city. He enjoys walking up and down the street talking to shop keepers and business owners. He talks their language. The conversation may or may not be conducted in a language other than English. That’s not the point. He understands these people. He is one of them. He starts with insider knowledge and it’s easy for him to get into a conversation that leads to the product or service he sells. Both of these salesmen have special circumstances, and for them it is a satisfying and rewarding way of doing business. Nevertheless there is a better way, and they know about it. They just do not want to change. They could change, but they will not do so unless their mind sets change. Real cold canvassing is calling on someone, anyone, whose name you do not know. You do not know anything about the person, or the business or the profession. You do not know anything about his or her interests. You just walk in and wing it. In most cases, you do yourself and your sales profession a disservice, and it is so unnecessary. It is not difficult to find out everything you need to know about the person before you make your approach. It is not difficult to find someone who can introduce you in a professional way. Many people feel that it is rude to call on anyone about your product or service, until you have done your homework. The results of doing it properly, intelligently and professionally are tenfold better than the hit and miss method. The effort of doing it right is much less, and the stress level is much lower. Every week I get telephone calls from someone soliciting donations to a new charity. They act very chummy, and speak confidentially about the ways in which I can assist them. I do not like to sound abrupt, nor rude even though we are wasting everyone’s time. I usually listen patiently, until they take a breath from their scripted talk, and then I explain calmly that I cannot afford another charity. I am contributing to all the charitable organizations that my budget allows. Often the speaker persists in an attempt to convince me to add this worthwhile charity to growing list. Sometimes they even challenge me with “Really, to which ones do you contribute?” Time is a commodity that is irreplaceable. Cold call canvassing is not time efficient. The amateur approach is making ten calls to get three appointments to make one sale. The professional way is to make one call to get one appointment and to make one sale. That one sale may lead to several product sales or services. In the final analysis, regardless of your actual product or service, we all have the same commodity to sell—ourselves. That’s it! People buy people. They buy from people they know, like, and trust. Once you have established rapport they will buy your ideas and your product—if it solves a problem, a need, or a want. If you want to move your business to the next level, you will never make another cold call. Product pushers make cold calls. People soliciting donations make cold calls. Street derelicts make cold calls. Professionals select the people they want to work with, and then they work by appointment. The acquaintance reviewed above, the one that works from a small town of 1000 people, eventually opened an office on Main Street of his home town. After twenty years of taking his office on the road in an automobile, he now conducts all of his interviews in his office in the small town of his birth. The people come to his office, and in just two years his production level skyrocketed. Next door there is a doctor’s office. Two doors down there is an accounting office. Upstairs there is a lawyer’s office. They are all professionals, and people come to them. They do not make house calls. It took a while, but my associate has now joined the ranks of the professional. People come to him and now he doesn’t make house calls. Advantages of Cold Call Canvassing or Broadcast Advertising.  You do not need a name to call. You just find someone and wing it.  You can call a large number of people in a short period of time.  You do not need to prepare for each call.  One good sales approach is all you need. Do it often enough and you will have some success. Disadvantages of Cold Call Canvassing.  It is not time efficient.  You may upset prospective customers.  Your success ratio of calls to sales is much lower.  It is emotionally draining. Prospecting is the answer. Prospecting is the art of finding people to contact. A prospect is defined as someone who is a likely customer or candidate for your product or service. We often think of a prospector as someone who looks for valuable ores, such as gold, or minerals, or gas and oil. Well, prospective customers for your product or service may be worth their weight in gold, or black gold—known as oil. Prospecting for customers is not difficult if you make it a habit, and turn it into a process. It has been said, “Prospecting is like shaving. If you don’t do it everyday you will become a bum.” I’m not sure how we can apply that masculine statement to the ladies. Suffice it to say, sales people male or female must have a sufficient number of people to call on or they are out of business. Prospecting must be a process. Make it a regular habit! If you do not have prospects to call on, you are just like the merchant who has no product on the shelves. If you have no inventory you have no business. If you are a salesperson you must have people to see. Who are prospects for you? You must know your product. What are you selling? Do you sell a tangible item, or is it a service? Why do people need what you are offering? How will whatever you are offering benefit someone? If you have a large number of items for sale it is better to concentrate on one or two that you understand fully. You are not an expert on everything. Demonstrate the one item or service that your acquaintance would find most interesting. Knowing everything about a small number of the products that you could offer will benefit your purpose. Make sure that you know every subtlety of the product you are offering. Know its advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. Nearly everyone has heard the claim that everybody knows at least two hundred and fifty people. When you are new, before you have made many sales, you can contact someone you know for an interview. Your approach is to tell or show your acquaintance what you are doing. The purpose of your meeting at this point is to review your product or service. It should not be to sell something. That will come, but not necessarily on this first interview. Your task is to develop a relationship—not to take advantage of it. Turn everyone you approach into a center of influence. After you have demonstrated your service or product, ask your center for names of people that it could benefit. The sixty-four dollar question is “Who do you know?” Who do you know that could benefit from what I am offering? Who are the two most prominent young people that you know? Can you think of five people that might benefit from this? You may lead your new center with some suggestions. Ask about doctors, teachers, lawyers, and accountants, people in their club or church, and people in the neighborhood. How about reviewing their card lists? When your Center starts to mention names do not interrupt. Simply write each name down as it comes up. When the list is exhausted, you can begin to qualify the people mentioned. Find out pertinent information about each of them. This step is known as qualifying the prospect. Finally, when the right time comes, ask  your center “Could you introduce me to any of the people we have discussed?” Never ask. “Can I use your name when I call?” You may lead with a question like; “If we were walking down the street and we met ‘Joe’ you would introduce us wouldn’t you?” Other questions, “Would you be willing to call people on the list and tell them that I will be calling?” “Could you send a letter of introduction to any of these people?” (You will prepare the letter for signature.) As a last resort you may ask, “When I call ‘this person’, may I mention that I know you?” Your friends like to help you. When you are asking for names, you are asking for help. You are really saying, “Will you help me?” Be clear in your mind that what you want is a referred lead. Later, when you have a number of clients, prepare a profile of the ideal prospect for you. Knowing the type of prospect you are looking for is more important than knowing how, when, or where, to see prospects? Bulletproof your success. You need to keep a live list of your top twenty prospects. Make sure you add a new name for everyone you cross off. Keep the hopper full. Keep the process flowing. What is more important, making one sale or getting five qualified leads? Two Methods of Prospecting  Name prospecting  Idea prospecting In name prospecting, you get a name, find a problem, and develop a solution. In idea prospecting, you develop an idea as a solution to a problem, and then seek a prospect who has the problem. An example of idea selling is using a tax-sheltered benefit. For example, you may sell a last to die life insurance policy, which builds a sizable tax-free cash value, within the policy. You will design this benefit to be paid out through leveraging, as tax-free income. The remaining death benefit will be paid after the last death. Ben Feldman, a legend in the life insurance business, was one of the most successful idea-salesman ever. He was no doubt the greatest advocate of idea selling. One day, at the peak of his success, while listening to a series of speakers, Ben was seen to be making copious notes. So were most other members of the audience, but Ben wrote names after each idea. When asked about it Ben replied, “At this mornings meeting I wrote at least a million dollars of life insurance.” You, too, can benefit from idea selling. After each session review the ideas learned with a list of your key clients in mind. Use the idea to develop a product that you can present to your clients or prospective clients. Does this make you a product pusher? Of course! You are. We often hear the criticism that this type of selling makes you a product pusher. Are you hung-up on that concept? Get over it! Many successful salespeople never get past this stage. Those that do, become sophisticated product pushers. Sophisticated product pushers use a more general approach. They ask questions to find out areas of interest. Then, they concentrate their proposals in those areas. Five Reasons to Ask for Referrals 1. It generates approachable leads. 2. It makes the approach easier. 3. It provides better quality leads. 4. It improves your image. 5. It assures better results. Ten Reasons Why Salespeople are not More Successful at Getting Referrals 1. Fear of rejection 2. Don’t expect to receive them 3. Don’t ask 4. Don’t ask the right way 5. Don’t know when to ask 6. Don’t clarify what they are looking for 7. Don’t explain what they do with the names 8. Don’t explain to the Center how they get paid 9. Don’t have a process. It happens by chance 10. Thinking it won’t work. It’s just too easy Common Reasons for not asking for Referrals  You have not formed the habit.  You are not comfortable asking.  You are not sure your client is pleased with your work.  It worked, so you stop doing it. Know This  Your friends, acquaintances, and new clients want to help you be successful.  A new client, that is someone who has just bought from you wants to get feedback or reassurance about this purchase. Getting three or more of his natural associates involved is reassuring.  Your clients have a vested interest in your success. They want you to succeed. Standard Ways of Asking for Referrals  “I get paid in two ways”  “I always get five names”  “I need your help” These approaches to getting leads work, but there is a better way. After a successful interview with a client ask for a referral in a specific way. For example, assume your new client is a business owner. You can ask: “You undoubtedly know other business owners who need to meet me—others who will never be aware of the options and strategies I’ve illustrated for you unless they meet me. I may never meet them without an introduction from you.” Explain to your clients: “There are two ways to run my business. I can spend 100% of my time helping my clients achieve their goals and objectives. To do so, it is necessary to get help from my clients to get to know some of their associates.” Or “I can spend 50% of my time building my business and only 50% of my time working for my clients. With your help I can spend all my time working for my clients.” Are you asking the right question in the right way? If you are not getting the right answers, you need to ask better questions. Remember that you are never too successful to ask, “Who do you know who…?” Rule of 250 Everyone knows about two hundred and fifty people with whom they have some influence. Ask them to help you by answering a few questions.  Who are the three people you most respect and admire?  Who are your three largest competitors or suppliers?  Who amongst the people on your greeting card lists could benefit from a relationship like ours?  One more question—can you provide three personal references? Five Effective Approaches to Referrals 1. A three way get together 2. Your client calls the prospect to introduce you 3. Your client sends a note or a post card 4. Your client calls immediately 5. Send a pre-approach letter Remember to thank your center of influence. Here are some of the things you can do.  Send a follow-up thank you note.  Take your Center to lunch.  Send or take an appropriate gift.  Ask the new client to call or send a note of thanks.  Stay in touch. Clone your client When you get a new client, you probably feel good about him or her. Your new client obviously feels good about you. The best time to get new leads is while they still feel that they know you, like you, and respect you. Prospects become clients when you make a sale. When you make a sale you lose a prospect. Therefore, you must get referred leads. Early in your presentation, when you talk about how you work, explain:  “I get paid in two ways. Obviously, one is commission.  The other way is referred leads. I will ask you for two referrals.” Deliver the product personally, if possible.  Re-establishes the reason your client purchased the plan from you at this time.  Provides an opportunity for a review.  Provides an opportunity to clarify benefits not fully covered previously.  Provides an opportunity to establish the need for future business.  Provides an opportunity to make your client feel good about the purchase.  Provides a golden opportunity to get REFERRED LEADS. Become Referable Market specialization is one way to become referable. If you want to sell to a special group, such as business owners or professionals, prospect for people in those areas. Eventually, you become a specialist among that particular group. Some people specialize even more by becoming highly knowledgeable in one product or service. Clients who recognize your expertise will find it easier to recommend your services. One of my clients repairs house roofs. His company repairs only one type of roof—tar and gravel. His service is the best. Why would I refer anyone else? Qualitative Prospecting If you have a select group of clients, you can provide superior service to them if you solve the one problem of getting referred leads. As outlined above in this article, but worth repeating, explain the following idea to your clients: “Most salespeople spend 90% of their time looking for qualified leads and 10% of their time providing service to their clients. With your help I could spend 90% of my time working for you and my other clients.” Vertical Prospecting Start at the top, with the boss, the president, or the business owner, and prospect down through the organization. This technique works especially well with families. Remember these letters: LSEDMPFM. “Let Someone Else Do My Prospecting For Me.” Get a Game Plan  Define your market—your natural market and your target market.  Evaluate your talents and your expertise—know your strengths and weaknesses.  Seek people knowledge and product knowledge.  Set goals—attainable goals and stretch goals.  Define your mission—what do you really want to be doing? O. Alfred Granum, a sales trainer extraordinaire, states, ”The problem with prospecting is that too often we have amateurs teaching amateurs.” Granum claims that there are three reasons for not getting new clients. They are: 1. It is no fun. It takes ten new leads for three interviews to make one sale. 2. New prospects tend to be too young. “It’s easy to lose patience with a thirty year old yuppie who wants to go to heaven without dying and who wants to get rich without saving and investing.” New prospects do not have to be young. 3. No apparent profit. If the 10-3-1 ratio takes about twenty hours of work, and the average commission is about $250.00 you are earning only $12.50 per hour. Granum’s solution is to generate a steady flow of referred leads.  Know the truth about you clientele. Keep good records. Try to understand what your records are telling you.  Have a system. Start with a clear image of the least acceptable prospect you will knowingly accept. Practice the endless chain method of getting good prospects. The A-Book System  Identify your twenty top relationships from your clientele. Then identify your ten most wanted prospects. Put these thirty names in your special book. Call it your A-Book.  Cross-sell all thirty with a variety of products.  Contact all thirty every month, either with a visit, or by telephone, e-mail or by letter.  Conduct an in-person review with these thirty people every six months, if possible, but at least once a year, in any case.  Ask for and expect a minimum of two referrals from each A-Book account.  Update your A-Book quarterly. Clients who are no longer considered A-Book accounts still receive your normal service as provided for all of your clients. The special service is reserved for your top thirty. Cold call canvassing is for amateurs. Lyle Manery CLU, CH.F.C. Author, Speaker, Trainer, Salesman Learn about “The Lyle Manery Professional Sales Training Program.” Or contact us directly: Telephone: (403) 233-2550 E-mail: lyle@chimofinancial.com You may use this article freely and distribute it to others providing you retain my information, as shown above, on any printed or copied material. 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