[Daradon]

Had to do cold calling for many of my jobs. Had a few different techniques depending on the product and the prospective clientelle.

First, for book, had a boss that swore by Stephan Schiffman. Read a few of the books, they had some good parts. Google if you want more.

As for me it depends a lot on the product. Some are mainstream enough that all you have to do is go door to door, or just open a random page of the phone book. Of course, if that's the case, it's also your biggest area for rejection, and it's a number game that becomes a grind. It sucks and most people can't do it.

If you have a more specialized product or service, or deal with more corporate clients, the trick is being able to generate 'semi-warm' leads that technically fall in the realm of cold calling, but feel different to both you and the prospective client.

The best is by far networking. Of course this can take place anywhere and at any time, but it's all about being friendly, non confrontational but outgoing. There are ways to talk about your business without pitching. Shoot, whenever you meet someone new often one of the first five questions the ask you is, 'what do you do?' Take every opportunity to meet people and explain to them, what you do. Carry business cards all the time, and ask for the same from others when the opportunity arises. The important thing is, if they meet you as a' friend', they won't treat you as a 'salesman', as long as you don't start acting like one of course. Any salesman that is worth their salt should be a very social person. It's not one of those jobs that you can leave at the office. Go to events even if you wouldn't normally for fun. Introduce yourself to others even if your just at a pub watching the game. Say hello to someone new every single day. Learn to enjoy meeting new people.

Now networking isn't classic cold calling of course. But the art of approaching people you don't know is the essence of cold calling. Get used to it, do it everywhere. You'll create warm leads from what is technically a cold approach.

The other trick I used to like is cold call in person. I've always done better in person than on the phone, I think most people do. Find a building with various business offices and just drop in on them. The ones with non descriptive business names work the best. I used to say something to the effect of, 'I work/live/often am in the area and I always wondered what you do/happens here. What do you do/is this company all about?

Now of course, you generally run into the gatekeeper on these calls, though sometimes you will get lucky and talk to someone in charge. Also, some people will still be suspicious. But it often works as a way to ease in and generate a lead. The trick is to keep them talking about what they do, don't pitch in to what you do unless there is a very obvious overlap. That is of course what you're looking for ideally, but there are other reasons. It's a type of networking as well, though a bit tougher, I'll admit. But as mentioned above, try to keep the conversation on what they do as much as you can. Like the old adage in sales, the salesman should talk the least.

Based on what you are offering, this may be more or less effective. IE, if you're selling business solutions, it can work with almost anyone. If you're selling used cars, probably not so much. As a few of my jobs were b2b solutions, this technique worked pretty well for me.

Lastly, if you are doing phone calls, I liked to focus on one business type, or customer profile a week (or whatever period of time works for you). Often the scripts can be modified a little to be more effective to certain groups. Also, staying on one group at a time is an easy way to build a rhythm and not get confused.

As for phone calls, there are a ton of books out there, even the author I suggested, so I won't really dwell on that. I was never a complete stud on the phone anyway, haha. Don't get me wrong, I was better than average, you have to be to survive, but I was in no way a cowboy.

I guess my biggest advice is just be social and think of a possible sale everywhere you go, even if you aren't on the clock or in your suit. Now this doesn't mean be a pest to your friends and family, and talk every new person's ear off. But it does mean changing your mindset just a touch, and be open to mixing business with pleasure. It also means cultivating a social attitude and looking at networking relationships. What always made me curious was meeting someone I worked with in the same capacity and then seeing what they do in their down time. Those that were shut-in's (for lack of a better word) and left their outgoing personality at the office never did well. It always amazed me the amount of people I met that thought they could sell, that didn't really enjoy meeting new people. You really have to crave that part, and use it for your life in general. It's really a good thing for anyone's life, and has benefits outside that of making money.