The best/worst cold call

[richreeves]

What's the best and worst cold call you have ever received? And what do you think is the best or worst cold call that you have ever done? I understand that the best is when you closed the deal. But I want to hear specific stories like what research have you done to gain rapport or anything like that.

 

[rousemark]

I think the best was when I was a fairly new debit agent with National Life and Accident back in 1972.. My staff manager and I were knocking doors in a mobile home park. Knocked on a door, the man came to the door and I told him who we were.. He responded, "I don't need any insurance." . As I was getting ready to reply, he continued, 'but I have been looking for some life insurance. " Sold him a $50,000 whole life before we left. That is the equivalent of about $300K today.. I know that is not a huge sale for agents that work the ordinary personal and business markets, but it sure was huge for a debit agent in the day and age. I have sold many cases from canvassing but this one will always stand out in my mind.

 

[DHK]

Worst cold-call/door-knock example: I had a guy trying to sell energy-efficient windows knock on my door about 3 weeks ago. Actually, I should say rapping on my door - like 15 times right in a row as though he was a cop.

Only 3 kinds of people should knock like that:
1) Police/Fire/Ambulance
2) Sheriff's department (legal papers, etc.)
3) Delivery requiring a signature... but it should be the 2nd time they knock.

Anyway, because he knocked on my door so rudely, I let him say about 5-6 words, then interrupted him: "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO KNOCK ON MY DOOR LIKE THAT?!?"

That shook him up real quick.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

I said "No you're not. You need to leave. NOW!" And I shut the door on him.

Now, here's the thing I hope he picked up on - it was the reaction to HIS action. He might think "Well, he had a bad day" but that would be wrong. His knock was so inappropriate that I had to make sure that he understood that HE screwed up the call all by himself.

All prospects react to you. Are your actions helping to get people to react more positively or negatively to you? Sure, some people will always be a 'no', but do you tip the scales for or against yourself?

Here's the tip: Always have a playful or pleasant knock so that people have an idea that you'll at least be a pleasant person to talk to for a quick minute.

 

[Cash]

The ones I hate getting are when they act like they are wanting to buy something and then turn around and try to sell. There used to be a 401k company that always did that.

I remember I got calls all the time maybe 3 years ago from Parato (?) Platforms. I think it was a crm. Those guys sounded so demoralized it was sad.

They left me a message and I listened to it. Then a poor sounding soul called and asked if I got his message. I answered yes and he was stunned. He didn't seem to know what to say.

Finally he said "what do you think?" Of course I wasn't interested. I'm guessing he got hung up on so much he wasn't expecting for someone to say they got his message.

 

[DHK]

That reminded me of another call I got from an IMO regarding some program for $15... and the message said something about "scrape the money out of the sofa cushions and off your dresser so you can buy this." It was stupid. They should've emphasized all the value they were going to provide for a measly $15, but he focused on ridiculing how easy/hard it should be to scrape up $15.

I complained to the IMO, told them it was a stupid message (it was recorded on Google Voice so I sent the recording itself) and had them remove me from their list.

 

[shonceman]

Here's the tip: Always have a playful or pleasant knock so that people have an idea that you'll at least be a pleasant person to talk to for a quick minute.

I had an agent working for me that would do the "shave-and-a-haircut" knock, which I didn't say anything about if we were visiting an existing client. But one day we were out canvassing a neighborhood, and he knocked like that on a stranger's door. I asked him why he did that. He responded, "'cause they'll think it's somebody they know, and then they'll answer the door." So I asked, "And what do you think will happen when they open the door, and they don't know you after all?" He stopped doing it.

Sometimes I get the double or triple ring on my doorbell at home. My wife has family in our neighborhood, and that's how they ring to let us know it's them. I've had a couple of salesmen do it. Always ticks me off.

For strangers: one ring on doorbell. If no answer, 4 hard raps high on the doorjamb near the hinges, so they'll hear you throughout the house. 3 knocks is too friendly. 5 knocks is the cops.

 

[DHK]

I had an agent working for me that would do the "shave-and-a-haircut" knock, which I didn't say anything about if we were visiting an existing client. But one day we were out canvassing a neighborhood, and he knocked like that on a stranger's door. I asked him why he did that. He responded, "'cause they'll think it's somebody they know, and then they'll answer the door." So I asked, "And what do you think will happen when they open the door, and they don't know you after all?" He stopped doing it.

That's why you stopped by in the first place, right? It's BECAUSE they don't know you AND you don't know them.

You easily state "My name is DHK. My name probably doesn't ring a bell (literally). May I take a quick minute to introduce myself and then you can decide if we should keep talking?"

That's how you differentiate from all the magazine sales, candy/girl scout sales, cable TV, pest control, and anybody else knocking on the door.

Sometimes I get the double or triple ring on my doorbell at home. My wife has family in our neighborhood, and that's how they ring to let us know it's them. I've had a couple of salesmen do it. Always ticks me off.

For strangers: one ring on doorbell. If no answer, 4 hard raps high on the doorjamb near the hinges, so they'll hear you throughout the house. 3 knocks is too friendly. 5 knocks is the cops.

I'm obviously not that analytical about who knocks on my door, OR how I knock on others. The key is engagement and it starts WITH your knock, not once they open the door.

But don't stop doing what works for you. And with the increasing level of mediocrity and decreasing selling skills, I find myself becoming far more impatient with mediocrity in selling and not even feeling bad about it if I have to unleash myself against stupidity. If anything, I get bugged because it works me up and that feeling doesn't leave me for a good hour, and that annoys me.

Treat others the way you would want to be treated, and you'll prospect with no regrets. Perhaps a few misunderstandings, but no regrets.

 

[shonceman]

Treat others the way you would want to be treated

That right there!

 

[HoosierLife]

I like getting the avatar calls that say I can get a business loan for $500,000!