Sales calls are either hot or cold. There is no such thing as a ‘warm’ sales lead.
Many salespeople kid themselves into thinking they’re making a warm call or contact when in fact it’s cold.
It’s cold because, by definition, the recipient doesn’t know you and isn’t expecting to hear from you.
Think about it. You call someone because you got their name from a friend, colleague or list. Definitely a cold call. Or you send out an unsolicited letter, sales pack or email. Yup, cold.
No matter how you slice these scenarios, the person doesn’t know you directly. Cold cold COLD!
And cold calling is a numbers game. Some research shows that 91% of buyers never respond to an unsolicited inquiry. Ninety-one percent!!!
Cold calling can be a long, hard struggle.
Spend your time with hot calling through referrals.
Ah, so you don’t think your circle of contacts can refer anyone to you? They aren’t in your line of work so couldn’t possibly know anyone who would be a potential client, right???
Well, most of us know about 250 people, including peers, colleagues, old contacts, new associates and so on. And each of those people knows another 250.
That’s a lead generation machine almost 63,000 people! Right under your dialing finger. And realistically, how many people do you actually need to convert into clients to create the revenue you want? Just one percent of 63,000 and you’d probably be set for life!
Action – Start by listing your 250. Commit to contacting a certain number of them each week. Tell them you are building a referral-based business and describe your ideal client. Ask each one of them how YOU can help THEM refer to you.
MOST importantly, ask them to make the introduction for you – by phone, in person, by letter or email. This is key for effective, hot referrals.
Remember, you don’t know who you know until you ask!