Connecting with prospects over the phone can be daunting. Your success as a rep comes down to what you say, and more importantly, how you say it. In this episode, Donald Kelly meets with sales expert Jeremy Chen to discuss the dreaded cold call. Chen’s sales team primarily uses cold calling to generate business, but that’s not why he’s so passionate about it. He’s passionate because, in his words, “a cold call saved his life.”
Always Act Like You Belong
- When job hunting, Chen accidentally called the CEO of a massive Canadian company! Even though the CEO hung up on him, he got a call back a few weeks later that connected him with a job.
- Because Chen didn’t initially know he was calling the CEO, he didn’t have any tension or fear when he called. Even execs are just people – embrace confidence.
Just Make the Call
- You never know where a call will take you! When Chen called the CEO of Telus, it completely changed his life.
- Don’t get discouraged. Hang in there and try not to take the rejection personally. Keep trying.
Use a Pattern Interrupt
- Chen uses transparency. He actually says, “This is a sales call… Feel free to hang up on me if you don’t take sales calls.” This weeds out the prospects who aren’t interested.
- If the person doesn’t hang up, Chen doesn’t use industry jargon. He explains things in layman’s terms.
- He asks questions and LISTENS. Instead of railroading prospects, he lets the prospect explain their pain.
Remember Your Purpose
- Stay on target. In your first call, all you need to do is book an appointment, not make a sale.
- You might gain some insights into your prospect’s pain points. Take note, but don’t try to explore the whole story.
- Offer them a specific time (and place if you’re meeting in person).
Just make the call. I know that a lot of reps that I deal with today, they’re nervous, they don’t feel like their leads are the greatest, their territory sucks, whatever. Make the call. You have no idea where your next call is going to take you.” – Jeremy Chen
Resources
Reach out to Jeremy via e-mail: jeremy@jeremychensales.com
For more information, check out: JeremyChenSales.com
Sponsorship Offers
- This episode is brought to you in part by TSE Sales Foundation.
I think we can all agree that sales should be fun. However, many times, we find ourselves in a quagmire where we’re not progressing and deals are not going the way that they should. This is why we created TSE Sales Foundation. It’s a program designed to help sales professionals just like you master the fundamentals of sales so they can radically improve their sales pipeline and close more deals. To find out more about TSE Sales Foundation and our next start date, simply go to thesalesevangelist.com/foundation.
Credits
As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.