<div class="bbWrapper">[quote="Mike TG, post: 349858, member: 17071"in p@<a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/members/11370/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="11370" data-username="KLaw">KLaw</a> Here are my thoughts...<br />
<br />
I did cold calling in the evenings when I was in high school. I was 17. Yes, I was that hated telemarketer that interrupted you during dinner. This was when the real estate market in Phoenix was really heating up. I was working for a fastlaner who had a beautiful Lamborghini Gallardo. It was a mortgage company, really more of a broker, who found and refinanced people. My job was to figure out what interest rate people had on their mortgage and if it fit our parameters, to try and convince them to meet with a loan officer. This included getting their SSN (for those outside the US, social security number, used to identify everyone in the US. Very sensitive stuff). Needless to say, I did A TON of cold calls. I'm talking 200+ dials in 4 hours when I sucked, less when I got better at getting people on the phone.<br />
<br />
My strategy on cold calls was 2 part.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Get them to start talking</b> - This is the first part of just trying to get them on the phone. Motivations still come into play, but at this stage of overwhelming rejection, it's really more about a few tricks to get through a gatekeeper (in my case the wife) and then a general motivation which applies to the population to which you are speaking. It's a numbers game.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Oh s***, they are talking!</b> - This is that pink, juicy center. This is where the motivations really start to come into play. I've talked about and will continue to do so on my AMA so I won't go to in depth on motivations here. But this is where you can really use motivations to get them talking and keep them talking. To make them like you so that they want to talk to you.<br />
<br />
I've been on both ends of the phone in this situation. I was the caller when I was young and then I was the guy who answered, equipped with a gatekeeper and everything, when I was running my business. It is a paradox. As a business owner, you don't want to waste time on BS calls. But you would love for someone to come along and fix a major pain point for you and your business. How do problem-solvers and value-adders let you know about their product or service? The same way. Hence the paradox.<br />
<br />
I had a guy who was staying on the phone with me but wouldn't set an appointment. He kept saying that he thought I couldn't help him and that it would be a waste of time. I was trying everything on the script. Talking about how good our company was at refinancing, the power of our brokers, our credibility, blah blah blah. Throughout the conversation, I could hear kids in the background. Finally I asked him if he had kids. When he said he did, I asked him what $300 a month (the average savings on a refinance) could do for his 2 little girls. A college savings fund. Less financial stress. Even just an extra toy for their enjoyment and happiness. Then I asked him if it was worth it, even if there was only a small chance we could save him money on a refinance, not for him, but for his little girls? Wouldn't that be worth it? Then I shut up and let his inner motivation do the work for me. There was silence for about 10 seconds (count to 10, it feels like forever in a conversation) and then he asked me if I had an appointment on Tuesday evening. Boom.<br />
<br />
Is it 1980ish and spamy? Yea, it is a little bit. Thus the rise of the Do Not Call list. But many people talk about how annoying advertising is and how they are "immune" to it. I raise the bullshit flag. Americans alone spend around 10.5 TRILLION every QUARTER, every 3 months. Even with what I know about motivations and human interaction, I am not even close to immune. I used to tell my students that for every person in the world (even the best trained person in the world), there was another person out there somewhere who could get through and convince them of anything.<br />
<br />
So yes, it is fear. Fear of rejection, fear of a lack of value, fear of sounding cheap, fear of fear... whatever. I think a mental paradigm shift has to happen to be effective at cold-calling. Understand that the people you are trying to talk to can be helped by what you are calling about and that you are the one who has to deliver the message. This changes the narrative. You are no longer that person who is bothering them during their workday, you are the person who is on a crusade to help that person, to add value to their lives and businesses.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If this is how you view it, then yes, that is what it is and they will just be annoyed and you won't be effective. If, however, you come from the perspective of being a dog in <b>THEIR</b> fight, someone working toward a solution and trying desperately to develop it for delivery, then they will get it and you will be effective. The first call will be the hardest. As soon as you extract even <b>ONE </b>piece of information, <b>ONE </b>pain point, you can leverage that into even more effective communication.<br />
<br />
<u>"Mr. Customer, I would like to ask you some questions (read: waste your valuable time) and if you have a few minutes I would like to know more (read: I need something) about the problems you are having in your business."<br />
<br />
"Mr. Customer, I spoke earlier to some of your competitors (read: Your competition knows what I am saying, shouldn't you?) about the major problems in the widget making industry. I am researching this subject in order to finally develop a solution and make the days of business owners like you a little easier (read: I'm not promising anything crazy, just something that could help you) and would like to ask you a few questions in order to ensure we are truly solving the problems you face on a day-to-day basis."<br />
</u><br />
The second way obviously sounds better but WHY it sounds better is important. The second way is all about the target. All about his problems. All about his situation. All of the sudden you sound like an important person to speak with. Your value has gone up immediately and the target is MOTIVATED enough to spend his valuable time on you. Not to mention, you can prep the market for launch with these calls. After a great, motivations based conversation, a quick <u>"Well, you have really helped us/me understand the fundamentals of solving these problems. Tell you what, I am going to email you when our solution is ready. Is <a href="mailto:busybusinessowner@busybusiness.com">busybusinessowner@busybusiness.com</a> the best email address to reach you at?"</u> would solidify his interest.<br />
<br />
We know the call is really about you and your fastlane pursuits. But in the end, you <b>really are</b> trying to add value to the person with whom you are talking, so why not sound like it? A cold-caller is only annoying to a business owner until you've tapped into his motivation and he really likes what you are saying. After that, you are no longer a cold-caller. You are that guy who is connected to problem solving. You are the interesting call he got that day. Get yourself into this mindset before the call and your numbers are going to go through the roof.<br />
<br />
@<a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/members/1/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="1" data-username="MJ DeMarco">MJ DeMarco</a> did this throughout the entire book. The whole book appeals to our motivations. And look what an impact it has made on this entire community. Just sayin...[/quote]<br />
Thank you so much. That really puts things in perspective for me.</div>
