I suppose you get these calls too but here’s a rough approximation of a cold call sales call I received recently.

“Uhm, I don’t know if you even buy what we sell and I’m sure you don’t know anything about me or my company but I want to take about $175 worth of your time so that I can try to sell you something and besides my boss wants me to get out of the office and look busy, so, you’ll do.”

Okay, maybe I’m projecting a bit but, the point is, that’s the message that was sent.

It’s the very first part of the pitch though that really gets me. The caller admitted that they didn’t know if I even purchased what they sold. He was essentially calling so I could do his research for him. So, he simply starting firing away.

Here’s my tip for today. Don’t ever call a prospect until you have a really good idea of how they will answer any question you have. In fact, most sales questions should only be asked to generate the response you need to help the prospect sell themselves.

The Internet has made this job so easy it’s silly. Within about 10 minutes of visiting a company’s website I call tell you most of what I need to know to make a sales call with a list of questions I already know the answer to.

Please, find out what a prospect does, find out who they compete with, find out who they serve, find out what others are saying about them – and you will likely be prepared to offer solutions – not probe for information.