University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Cold Calling Techniques
Book

Cold Calling Techniques

That Really Work!

Stephan Schiffman
Adams Media, 1999
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

Like most small companies, getAbstract.com relies on our sales force to stay in business, and our sales force relies on Stephan Schiffman. His sales advice is simple, applicable and, above all else, effective. His work is full of tips that help you get better results. If you think that you don’t need another book on sales, getAbstract.com would reply with a classic Schiffman: "You know, a lot of other people told me the same thing before they had the chance to see how this Abstract could help them increase sales."

Summary

Name The Enemy

As a salesman making cold calls, you face a powerful foe: the status quo. This is your true enemy - the attitude of most customers that they are perfectly happy with what they already have. It’s not a surprise that most people think this way; if they didn’t think that they were happy with their current products and services they’d be calling you. To separate yourself from the sales pack, you’ll have to sell to the one-third of your prospects who might buy from you if you can overcome their status quo.

Real World Numbers

Here are some numbers for you to think about: 293; 149; 49; 83, 10. These numbers represent the work of a single salesman over a 10-week period. During that time, he made 293 telephone calls, spoke to 149 people, got 49 first appointments, made 83 sales visits to new and existing customers and made 10 actual sales. These numbers are not profound; they simply reflect the fact that this particular sales person was determined to make one sale a week. On average, the salesman made 8.3 sales calls and logged one sale per week.

This schedule sounds unglamorous and it is. But it does reveal one of the essential truths of sales ...

About the Author

Stephan Schiffman has trained salespeople at AT&T Information Systems, Chemical Bank, Motorola, and many other companies. He has trained some 350,000 salespeople nationwide. President of DEI Management Group, he also is the author of Closing Techniques (That Really Work!), The 25 Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople, and several other volumes on sales.

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