The real reason sales people fail at cold calling and how to fix it.

Many companies need sales people to be successful at cold calling to find new customers, but relearn, every year, the historical lesson that most sales people don’t cold call successfully.  Here’s why. 

Cold call prospecting is part art and part science.

The art of cold calling is saying the right things in voicemails and writing compelling emails to get the attention of a suspect.  Then, when you get their attention saying the right things to get the appointment or make the sale. 

The science of cold calling is the making the right number of contact attempts, at the right intervals, using the right messages in the messaging tools, keeping a record of the activity and being able to manage the process across dozens of suspects; day after day. 

In light of this art/science definition, then, why is cold calling is so despised by sales people and why does cold calling have such a poor ROI?  Easy answer!  Cold calling has poor results not because sales people cannot do the art, it’s because they cannot do the science. 

Sales people can master “art.”  And, there is no end to quality sales training courses that will teach them the art.  The art components are so well studied that no matter what your product or market, there is more than one train of thought on the “perfect” art form.   

Professional sales trainers and sales managers also know the right science.  Each product and market has an optimal amount of time that should be spent “chasing” a suspect, an optimal number of times per year that a suspect is worth that effort, the kinds of steps in the chase process and the tools to use during the steps.

The sad truth is that very few sales people are disciplined enough to apply the science consistently, so within a short period of time they get off the rails and begin to perform poorly.  It’s just too much to keep up with.  All those names, all those steps, all those actions, all that timing, what did I say last time, plus constant interruptions, … forget about it!  

The next sad truth is that most sales managers have no way of knowing if the science is even being followed much less what were the results.  The sales person gets so whacked out trying to manage the science, that at some point they just start making it up as they go along.  And most managers, in their heart of hearts, know it.  It’s the elephant in the sales bullpen.

And, if you think a traditional sales force automation system is the answer, you would be wrong.  These systems focus on the science of moving a prospect through a sales cycle, not transitioning a suspect into a prospect.  With good reason: the preponderance of effort in transitioning a prospect into a customer is almost all art.  While, transitioning a suspect into a prospect is almost all science. 

Sadly, cold calling has probably cost the sales profession more talent than any other factor.  Some people don’t get in the sales game because of cold calling.  Of the ones that do, many exit by not succeeding in the cold call step, have a thin pipeline and get fired for not making quota.

So, what’s the solution?  Simple.  Focus on the science.

Take a thoughtful look at your process and break it down into its “science” components.  What are the rules, steps, actions and tools that are needed to be successful using your “chase” process?   

Next, find a tool that is easy for sales to use in managing your science.  Ease of use is the most important consideration.  The key to adoption by the sales force is insuring the solution adds value to their day, every day.  Not your day, their day.  Working a system to satisfy management is a non starter; working a system that adds value to the sales person works every time.

Depending on the science for your product or market, you may find both a paper-based or Internet based tool to choose from. 

A leading paper-based system would be http://www.daytimer.com/content/corpsales/corpsales_training.asp and an Internet based system would be www.klpz.com.  Write to bhoward@klpz.com for a personalized demo Internet software system.