“My calls to appointment ratio is terrible, how do I improve this?” is often the cry from those starting out to “cold call” instead of “starting conversations from cold.”
We live in a “busy culture” which demands that we make at least 50-60 dials a day. “Make those calls” shouts the sales manager across the room, or “how many calls have you made” is another bark! This leads to “spray and pray” behaviour which requires a high volume of calls before we realize any results.
5 Principles to Start Conversations from Cold
So if we go back to my principles of “starting conversations from cold”:
- Do your research on each company and decision-making executive
- Find a valid business reason or listening reason for them to take the call in the first place.
- Plan and rehearse the call; how likely is it to get the outcomes you want? If the planning and mental rehearsal of the call shows up a lot of possible bumps in the call route - redesign it or change it!
- Work with the Personal Assistants to transform them from “gate-keepers” to “gate-openers” so you can reach your decision-making contact with relative ease.
- Most importantly -notice what works and what does not! Do more of what works! So keep metrics of how many dial-outs to decision-maker contacts to meetings. This way you will know that you will need so many “nos” before you get a “yes”.
Start Asking for Telephone Meetings
Finally stop asking for meetings and start asking for “telephone meetings” only 15 minutes - a formal slot in the executive’s diary to talk through your value proposition. You will be surprised how much more time they will actually give you. They may even invite you in for a face to face meeting!
Your Calls to Appointment Ratio Will Soar
If you follow all of the above, your calls to appointment ratio whether it be telephone meeting or face-to-face meetings will soar! You will stop sounding and feeling like a “cold caller” and sound like a business person with a legitimate reason “to start a conversation from cold“. This way you can feel more relaxed and confident about your calls and at the same time enjoy significant success.
