January 2008

Tips for Successful Cold Calling

Quick Tip from the Office Oracle

....

Contact Information

My Super VA
40 Birkdale Gardens
South Oxhey
WD19 7AW
020 8421 6842

Welcome to my first newsletter!

I'm really excited to be launching my monthly newsletter with tips and info to help you with your business and day to day tasks, so I hope you'll find it useful. This month, I have put together some practical tips about cold calling that might help you in your overall marketing strategy. And finally, a useful printing problem solving tip - what to do when your images aren't printing.

Have a jolly January!
 

Vee Smith

My Super VA
VA and Business Services

'helping busy professionals make effective use of their time'
020 8421 6842 (tel)
0771 240 0861 (mob)
0871 528 9390 (fax)
vs@mysuperva.co.uk  (email)
www.mysuperva.com  (web)
www.workingmumpreneur.typepad.com  (blog)
40 Birkdale Gardens, Watford WD19 7AW, UK

Tips for Successful Cold Calling

Cold calling. Even the name is chilling, and you're not alone if you dread the process. In fact, many people consider cold calling the most intimidating aspect of the sales process.

Unfortunately, cold calling is a necessary part of selling if you want to grow your business. These tips will help you handle cold calls like a pro:

• Overcome your reluctance. Make cold calls when you feel the freshest and most energized. For most people, this is at the start of the business day. Imagine the call is a friendly chat rather than an adversarial one. Remind yourself that you have a great product or service that genuinely serves a need.
• Research your prospects. Check local newspapers, industry journals, and Websites for information about the companies or individuals whom you're calling. This way, you can start your call by discussing the prospect's business, not yours.
• Be prepared. Write an opening statement in advance. However, don't just read it over the phone! Better to use your statement to organise your thoughts. You have about 20 seconds to get a person’s attention, so don't waste it by rambling once the prospect is on the line. Include a greeting and an introduction, a reference point (this can be something about the prospect), the benefits of your product or service, and a transition to a question or dialogue.
• Smile! When you make the call, stand and smile, it makes all the difference to the tone of your voice.
• Make gatekeepers your allies. Secretaries and administrative assistants may stand between you and the decision makers of a business but they are also valuable sources of information; they can direct you to the right person and help you to understand how their company might use your product or service.
• Don't lie! Never be caught out by pretending you know the boss when you don't! It doesn't take much effort to check.
• Stay focused. Remember, the purpose of a cold call is to qualify the prospect and to schedule a face-to-face meeting. Don't launch into an extensive sales pitch over the phone. Stimulate interest, learn a little about the prospect, and ask for an appointment. If a prospect stalls by asking you to mail information, set the stage for the next step of the sale. For example, you might say "Let me ask you a few questions so I can send information that's relevant to your situation. If you like what you see, can we get together next week to discuss it in more detail?"
• Avoid common mistakes. Don't start a call by asking "How are you doing today?" or "Is this a good time to talk?" The first question sounds insincere or presumptuous coming from a stranger and wastes time; the second gives the prospect an easy opportunity to end the call.
• Stick with it. Eighty percent of new sales are made after the seventh contact, yet the majority of salespeople give up after the second call. Follow up and keep calling. Persistence pays off.
• Remember that it's all about relationship building, so NEVER hang up or be rude to a negative prospect, even if they aren't polite to you, remember you are professional!

Of course, if you really hate cold-calling, as some of our clients do, you might consider passing your telemarketing activities to My Super VA. We have a great team of experienced telemarketers who love to cold call. Call Vee on 020 8421 6842 to discuss or reply to this email.

Quick Tip from the Office Oracle:

Q. My picture in my Word document looks fine on the screen but it's not printing, how can I get it to print?

A. On the menu bar, click

FILE,
PRINT,
OPTIONS,

in the middle of the dialogue box,

check or tick the box "DRAWING OBJECTS" and "BACKGROUND COLOR AND IMAGES"

Click OK, and OK again.

It should all print out fine now.

Find more Office tips on my website: http://www.mysuperva.co.uk/office_secrets_revealed.aspx

Until next month....

Vee