Note: This is part three of a four part series on marketing calls. In part one Terry talked about the first 30 seconds of making a cold call. Three goals must be achieved in that time, he said: Get attention; Avoid rejection, and; Establish a dialogue. In part two, Terry explained how to begin a dialogue with a client explaining why it is you called them and what you can do to help them. The final part will be posted next Thursday.

Have you ever experienced any of the following responses when making your opening comments on a cold recruiting call (not referred by a third party)?

• “I get calls from recruiters all the time. Take me off your list and don’t call again.”
• “Tell me the name of the company and I’ll tell you whether or not I’m interested in listening to you.”
• “I’m not interested in changing jobs.”
• “How did you get my name?”

When statements like these interrupt your opening comments, it is typically an indication that the targeted recruit has had one or more negative experiences with recruiters and/or you have seriously mispositioned yourself on the call. Although you have no control over the recruit’s previous experience with recruiters, you can and should control your positioning on the call. This positioning begins with your opening comments, which should contain the reason for your call. If your reason for calling does not position you as having something of value for the recruit, they will immediately begin to implement an exit strategy from the call. When this occurs, the recruit stops listening and your call has little chance of success.

Note: This is part two of a four part series on marketing calls. Last week, in part one, Terry talked about the first 30 seconds of making a cold call. Three goals must be achieved in that time, he said: Get attention; Avoid rejection, and; Establish a dialogue. The remaining parts of the series will publish on each of the next two Thursdays.

In our last article we stated, “The most critical skill set to develop is not getting people to listen to you. Rather, it is the skill of getting them to talk with you, to open up, to willingly share the specifics of their individual situations”. Many times on an initial marketing call (cold call), the first step of this process of “… getting them to talk with you …” can be accomplished by explaining the reason for your call.

Think in terms of the person you are calling. Put yourself into their position and you will understand that your call (as well as any unplanned call) will be viewed as an interruption to their busy workday.  Therefore, you must give them a reason to listen, you must stimulate in them an interest or curiosity, and you must engage them willingly in a two-way business dialogue.