5 reasons to pick up the phone – it’s good for you!
I came across something again this morning that I want to share. Hidden in some old literature that I had collected during my first I.T. sales job, were some pearls of wisdom regarding the benefits of picking up that phone to some good old prospects!
I think this came from my old sales manager but I’m pretty sure he was not the author (not sure who was) but some good advice to anyone who is putting off stirring up some business
1. You learn something. No matter what happens, positive, negative, whether you speak to the correct person or not, you are likely to be able to take something away from every call you make. Think of every contact and experience as a learning opportunity.
2. You make friends/contacts. Some lifelong contacts can be made by making that decision to pick up the phone and dial. Having good contacts is such an advantage in life. You never know where things can lead, what they can do for you. What you can do for them. Very often aswell, contacts in business can step over the boundary and become good friends.
3. You uncover opportunities. These can come in many forms but it is never a good idea just to wait for them to come to you. By being pro-active and searching out new contacts, new relationships, opportunity will follow. It has a funny way of showing up at different times and in unexpected ways. You might think you are only calling about a specific thing, here and now, but that person could keep your details and send you exactly what you need in two years time.
4. You hopefully make money. Depending on what you are prospecting for of course, money often follows the provision of a service or product. If revenue is what you are after, then finding prospects and getting to know them and their needs is the way to do it. Only when you know somebody, can you properly relate to them, what you are offering.
5. You have fun. For many people, the thought of the old fashioned cold call instills feelings of dread! What about rejection? “I’ll be annoying people”. The fact is though, people who are nasty are in the minority. Most people are brought up to be polite and will at least give you a chance to talk for a minute or two.
Learning to have fun when doing some prospecting makes the whole thing so much easier. Make a game of it, challenge your colleagues/friends with what you can achieve. By keeping in mind that you are gaining all of the above with every call, it’s a lot more fun.
Until soon..
p.s. If you want to learn how to prospect and find customers in the new digital economy, you may like to listen to potentially life-changing information from digital marketing expert, Stuart Ross, here.