By Melinda Collins
The winds of change are sweeping across the business landscape and companies up with the play will already be gearing up for a revival. However, before the global financial meltdown, prospective clients sought you out and selling often meant kicking back as sales fell into your lap.
Retail, once relying simply on foot traffic, has suffered an almost lethal blow. Mapping out the path to recovery, according to E-ideas managing director Assia Salikhova, is the cold call. “Cold calling has been growing in popularity since the end of last year because it is fast and cost effective, which is what everyone is looking for right now.
“The largest companies in New Zealand and overseas are using cold calling. Every large multi-national has rooms of telemarketers constantly on the phone to existing, previous and prospective clients.”
While she concedes a room of sales stars is not an option for the small to medium business, there is still a lesson to be learned. “The small to medium business may not have the capacity to have staff on the phone constantly, but there is still something in cold calling for them.
“While business is slow they have under-utilised administration staff who were flat out last year and now have spare time. Getting staff into cold calling can utilise their time and generate sales for the business.
“Numbers work and will add more business — it is guaranteed to generate more sales because people may be in need of your products or services, but never sought you out.”
Every business needs to use these skills, she adds, even the subsequent skills it develops. Retail makes its sales through foot traffic, but the sector has really suffered this year. “Shops are losing money because people aren’t always capable of making decisions on the spot.”
Imagine, she suggests, if a person visits five or six shops and one of those shops provides a follow up phone call. “Who do you think will get the sale?”
Companies can also use the cold call when introducing a new product to the market. “Marketing by phone can gauge market feedback as to whether people would be interested in a new product or service.” The skills developed from cold calling are relevant to all facets of business, she says, because New Zealanders are reluctant to pick up the phone, even when it is a genuine, previously met, business contact. “Most sales courses assume people can pick up the phone, when generally they can’t.”
Someone not on the cold calling bandwagon is SalesFish sales coach Liam Venter. “It’s a bit like wanting to get married and ringing random partners for a date,” he laughs. “Then finding out it’s not a good match and you’ve wasted that time when you could have been talking to a good match.”
His suggestion — warm calling. “Cold call rates are generally one in 10 to one in 20. Warm calling converts to about one sale in every four calls.”
Warm calling, he says, is about research. Profiling the company and making sure you have a match before making the intial call, cuts down time wasted calling everybody. “I don’t think a business should ever cold call when looking for new business. The best way to get business is through word of mouth.
“People focus on teaching sales people smart things to say and forget to tell them the best sales technique is good service.”
