The dreaded cold call. It’s the bane of nearly every agent’s existence. And it’s no wonder most people don’t enjoy this ritual — after all, a cold call is basically the act of picking up the phone to contact someone who doesn’t know you and who most likely has no interest in getting to know you. As you have no doubt experienced, these people can be cranky and cruel. But the cold call is a necessary evil if you expect to succeed in this business. Right?
Not necessarily, says author Joanne S. Black. In her book, “No More Cold Calling” (Warner Business Books, 2006), Black says that cold calling doesn’t garner enough results to warrant the time and effort a salesperson pours into it. “Cold calling has a 2 percent return for your time,” she explains. “In addition, you usually don’t reach the right people, and your sales cycle drags on for so long that, in far too many instances, your contacts will have moved to new jobs before you ever see an order.” Black believes that what she calls “referral selling” is a much more painless and productive sales technique. She explains that “when a customer comes to you through a referral, you are credible the minute you answer the phone or when the customer walks through your door.”
However, before you can dive into the world of referral selling, you have to break that nasty cold calling routine — and Black says this is easier said than done. She basically considers cold calling a habit. “Isn’t it amazing how you continue to do things that you know don’t yield the results you want?,” she ponders. So, how do you break the cold calling habit and make the transition to referral selling? Black says that if a salesperson takes the following four steps, they will catch the “referral spirit” and have the courage to kiss cold calling goodbye.
Construct a strategy
Every successful salesperson knows that any new undertaking requires a well-designed strategy. However, “without knowing how to ask for referrals, the chances of succeeding in building a system that will continue to work are not very good,” Black explains. “You and your sales team will need to learn the skills of knowing how to ask [for referrals].” This is where strategic thinking skills come into play. The author contends that you have to take time to formulate your referral strategy before you can fully adopt a referral-selling system. Everyone has a different comfort zone when it comes to asking for referrals, and agents need to determine which one suits them best and yields the greatest result.
Implement the buddy system
It’s unlikely that you’ll stick to a new routine without accountability. As Black says, it’s quite difficult to master referral selling alone. For that reason, she recommends finding a “business buddy.” The most effective buddy would be a colleague who is willing to talk to you on a regular basis as you take on your new selling approach. “Choose someone who is a selling professional and who has a hunger to improve their skills and aggressively build their business,” Black advises.
Take on a new attitude
In order to cease cold calling forever, you have to truly believe in the power of referral selling. Black says that most salespeople close on 80 or 90 percent of the qualified referrals they receive. You need to keep these statistics in mind and “be firm in your willingness to completely and fairly test whether referral selling will become your silver bullet.”
Follow a process
Although many may shun the idea of a “process,” developing a course of action will greatly improve your chances of referral-selling success. “You do need a process,” Black says. “My experience in helping hundreds of people shift to referral selling is that everyone does better if they consistently follow a straightforward methodology.” According to Black, the crucial elements of a winning referral-selling process include setting benchmarks, training your team to be referral experts, implementing a solid execution plan, consistently reinforcing referral-selling skills, and measuring the results of your efforts.
These four steps are just the beginning of developing a lucrative referral-selling system. By following the ideas in Black’s enlightening book, agents can create their own effective referral-sales strategy and never need to make a cold call again.
Amy Bell is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to the Agent’s Sales Journal. Visit her Web site at www.writepunch.com or email her at amy@writepunch.com.