5 Cold-Calling Myths That Keep Businesses in the Matrix Don't let the truth of cold calling escape you and limit your potential success.
By David Walter
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The Matrix film depicts a future in which reality, as perceived by most humans, is a false simulation created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source.
What does this have to do with cold calling?
Unfortunately, most businesses believe in five common cold-calling myths that have trapped them in the matrix. In this virtual world, false ideas about prospecting techniques have been programmed into humans by machines. Entrepreneurs have been blinded to the truth about prospecting, and therefore, they believe cold calling is dead.
Now businesses can free their minds from this cold-calling prison known as the matrix. Take the red pill to learn the truth about these five cold-calling myths:
1. You must be honest with gatekeepers
Overwhelmingly, businesses believe that you must be honest with receptionists when trying to reach a decision-maker in a cold-calling campaign. This wrongheaded idea is clearly the result of the programming of machines. Since receptionists are told not to let sales calls through, it is not a promising idea to simply admit that you're making a sales call. Could this be the primary reason most people say cold calling does not work?
Of course, I am not advocating for telemarketers to lie to receptionists either. However, it's far better to try and blend into the phone traffic by not sounding like a salesperson. This way the receptionist does not even ask you if it is a sales call in the first place. Another tactic is to distract them with banter, compliments or humor so they forget to ask what the call is regarding.
Related: 3 Cold Calling Tips from Entrepreneur and Podcaster John Lee Dumas
2. Cold calling is a numbers game
When you call hundreds of prospects in consecutive order, the odds are against reaching anyone. Executives constantly move around and do not wait for a cold call. The only reason companies keep doing this is because agents enforce their matrix deceptions.
Once you are free from these illusions, it's clear that changing strategies can lead to far more success than blindly following what has been tried before with no results at all. The way to successfully call in the human world is to make multiple calls to the same prospects repeatedly until you track them down.
Related: How to Get Over the Most Challenging Part of Cold Calling
3. Target only prospects with a need
One of the greatest things about cold calling is that it's simple. You just call your list and see what happens. Businesses trapped in a matrix fail to take into account this fact, as they're programmed by machines only to seek prospects with needs, but there are so few on lists who fit these qualifications that escape them at first glance.
Those of us that have escaped the clutches of this matrix know you can set more appointments by targeting prospects who are happy with what they already have. So, instead of trying to sell them something common or selling yourself too hard to succeed, teach these people how new innovations can transform their businesses by saving them time or money.
Related: 5 Corny Jokes Will Get You Past Cold-Calling Gatekeepers
4. Argue with prospects instead of agreeing
Since the inception of this matrix, salespeople are programmed to think that arguing with prospects will be an effective strategy. However, in reality, you can never win any argument as described by Dale Carnegie in his classic work How to Win Friends & Influence People.
It's important to find ways of overcoming objections in the human world. For one thing, it is more effective when you can compliment them and agree with their point of view. Remember this caveat: You do not have to believe what they are saying or doing, but find a way to agree with their experience or feeling so there will be less conflict going forward
The best way I've found for myself has been using compliments like, "You're right!" followed by saying something positive we can both agree on.
5. Salespeople must never get cold-calling training
The majority of salespeople in the matrix attempting to make telemarketing calls are on their own. Since another lie perpetrated by machine programing is that one needs baptism by fire for cold-calling skills, most struggle with it and never learn properly because there's no one around who can guide them through this confusing process like an expert coach would do.
Once you come out of the matrix, it's time to ditch those old-fashioned myths about cold calling. Now that we're living in Neo's reality and not Agent Smith's nightmare, anything is possible.
