Stress is an inescapable part of a the sales profession . But you can change the way you react to it. The following suggestions for stress reduction will help you relax, enjoy life and your job and as a direct result help you to be more productive

The other week a sales manager and I had a great debate via email about whether cold calling is the most effective way to generate leads. I say no. He disagrees. I thought you would enjoy the email exchange and I would encourage you to get involved. What do you think? Are cold calls the MOST effective way to generate sale. Post your comments or vote in our poll

The other week a sales manager and I had a great debate via email about whether cold calling is the most effective way to generate leads. I say no. He disagrees. I thought you would enjoy the email exchange and I would encourage you to get involved. What do you think? Are cold calls the MOST effective way to generate sale. Post your comments or vote in our poll

ROUND 1

Hi Colleen,

Read your piece on Rain Today.

Just wondering who the “we” is in “we all agree”.

Because we don’t agree with your premise – and there are a lot of folks in the DM biz who find cold calling to be very effective.

M

Hi M

Please keep in mind that I said its not the “most effective”. Sales studies that I have read by Harvard, Stanford, The Sales board, Profit magazine, What’s working in Sales management combined with my own research over 15 years shows that sales people find that referred calls are the most effective followed by leads generated by DM, EDM or article marketing.

Cold calling can be effective – just not the MOST effective. I suggest a combination of approaches to improve closing rate.

Thanks Colleen

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Round 2

Colleen

I do disagree. If I need sales now, which is the case in most enterprises cold calling is the most effective tactic to generate sales. Yes , direct mail, article marketing, branding, etc., can all work over time – but for pure immediate results – go knock on a door or dial a phone.

The problem with most lead generation strategies is that you have to wait for them to work. The problem with referrals is that you have to first generate the customer then generate the experience the results in the referral. For pure effectiveness very few things beat cold calling.

Cold calling has been demonized by many in the sales and marketing ranks because you actually have to sell. You deal with an enormous amount of rejection, it’s hyper competitive and many in sales and marketing today do not have the stomach or the instincts for cold calling. But many do – you just don’t hear a lot from them because they’re busy selling.

Which is why I asked who “we” is?

Have you ever sold. Made cold calls?

Colleen, I’m not trying to be an oaf – but I do get aggravated by the “group think” (“we all agree”).

m

 
Hi Mike,

I love these discussions as they make for great information for all sales reps. In fact…I wish we were having this conversation on my blog to encourage others to get involved!

In this case “we” is based on research – not fluff.

I have been selling actively for 15 years – including the life insurance market so my cold calling experience is extensive. To be fair. I don’t hate cold calling. I just don’t think it’s the most effective way to close sales.

There are many ways to increase your success in cold calling, and I am sure in your position you have many ideas and techniques that work. Still, I believe that the best way to generate sales is through referred leads not cold leads. Of course, every industry varies but following up on a lead that was referred to you by another person, a website or a download will close on average 4:1 where as industry averages for cold calling range 75:1 to 100:1. I believe that the more targeted your calls the better. I have one client who closes 100’s of sales per day over the phone. Their closing ratio on referred leads is 2.5:1 and cold leads is almost 100:1. They stopped cold calling and now ask for referrals from every sales they make.

You can bet that I measure everything before making bold statements!

Check out my website for more information on my background. I can promise you that I don’t teach theory.
 
www.engageselling.com

Thanks for your comments. I am glad to see that you take such a keen interest and have a strong opinion!

Last week a client asked that I stop using the word “suck” because some of their employees found it offensive. I was shocked. I use the word in expression such as “Profit sucking” Life sucking” Life suckers” “I sucked at sales” (and I did) or “Time sucking”

My response to them was:

I appreciate the feedback and am sorry that some of your attendees were bothered. It’s true that I do use strong blunt language in my presentations to make a point and I am careful never to cross the line with sexual, curse or religious swear words because they are unprofessional and gross. My rule is that I have to be cleaner than what you can see on TV these days!

The term “life sucker” is a trademark phrase and mantra of mine, just as is the “fine line between persistence and stalking”. I am well known for the phrase “be a life giver not a life sucker” in my work and I stand by that phrase 100%. We have over 40 companies registered for this call and it would be inconsistent to my brand and disappointing to them if I changed any of my trademark phrases to be different than how I usually communicate. In fact my “plain spoken and even blunt” sales advice is one of the things our clients value most!

I am all for making customers happy. I am just not in the businesses of censoring my style or material because of one complaint in 7 years.

Of course what I really wanted to say was “suck it up!” After watching Jarhead on TV this weekend and noting that none of the language was censored – and face it, this is a story about the Marines in the Gulf War, the language is RAW. I got to thinking. What the heck is wrong with the word suck? It’s so commonly used by me, and my generation (X) to me that it never occurred to me some might take offence. So, I did some research and found this great piece in defense of the work suck.

Be yourself and prosper!

Colleen

If you have ever worked with me directly you will know that I believe that passion and persistence are THE winning combination. In life and in business, you win some and you lose some. There will always be some reason why some people will never buy from you. You will always lose some opportunities. The key to ongoing success is persisting AND having passion for what you do.

It’s the passion that keeps you selling even during those time when you have lost more than you have won. It’s passion that keeps you going when customers complain. And it’s passion that ensures your success over the long term of your sales career.

In my experience, the best sales pros put passion into everything. It’s a magnetic quality that doesn’t just motivate them to get to work, it persuades – even inspires – others to want to work with them. As a sales trainer, I teach people how to channel that passion and encourage them to make the time to read the right books and participate in sales training seminars and telelclasses. When they find the magical combination huge success results.

Dedicated to increasing your sales,

P. S. For those sales executives and business owners who really want to push themselves this year you must check out our exclusive new workshop in November. The Sales Mastery Workshop. I promise it will be an event that pushes you into your uncomfort zone creating immediate results, lasting success and a permanent increase to your bottom line.

P. S. S. And the Fire, Explosion and Injury? Lucky for me, those all happened to Chris. You can read the gory details (and I do mean gory) in his blog posting.