Cold
Calling Prospects Before And After Hours
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One of the most popular myths surviving from
the old-school days of sales training is the idea that you will
have a better chance of reaching business prospects if you try
calling either early in the morning or in the late afternoon,
after regular business hours have ended. The theory behind this
myth is that, because the receptionist and other gatekeepers
are gone, the business owner will personally answer the phone
himself.
As a business owner myself, I can tell you
that this idea is a ridiculous idea that will only waste your
time and make you even more frustrated with cold calling.
First of all, this idea dates back to the
seventies and eighties, before voice mail existed. In those
days, a business owner would occasionally pick up the phone
because it would simply go on ringing if he didn't. Nowadays,
phones are forwarded to voice mail outside of regular business
hours. They usually don't even ring at all.
Secondly, if a business owner is in the
office early or late, it's because he's trying to get a jump on
the day and be productive without anyone or anything else in
the office to distract him. As a result, he surely isn't going
to answer the phone, or for that matter, take the phones off
voice mail so they will ring. Chances are, the phone on his
desk is turned off during this private productive time. And if
you do manage to get the owner on the phone when he doesn't
want to be disturbed, you greatly increase your chances of
annoying him with your cold call, even more so than cold calls
already annoy people.
Finally, if your funnel is so empty that you
are resorting to the before- and after-hours tactic to drum up
new business, you need to step back and take a look at the
bigger picture. If you're in that situation, you definitely are
lacking an effective lead-generation system. If you had one you
wouldn't need to cold call at all, let alone early and late in
the day! Self-marketing is the answer ... trying to call a
business owner at seven in the morning is not.
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About
The Author
Frank
Rumbauskas, the New York Times best-selling
author who revolutionized selling, has taught
tens of thousands of salespeople and small
business owners how to stop cold calling forever! For
10 free chapters of Frank's breakthrough
book, please visit www.nevercoldcall.com.
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