When Cold Calls Become A "Dog And Pony Show"

What happens when you’ve made a cold call and your prospect invites you to make a sales presentation? At this point, you might have a hard time creating a two-way conversation because you’re forced to go in with a canned sales pitch and try to get them to buy your solution. After all, you do believe in your solution don’t you? You can help most people, so all you have to do is show them how. Oh, and in the end, get them to buy. Be sure to ask for that order at the end of your presentation.

Well, this is exactly the opposite of the new cold calling approach. In the new sales mindset, you become a problem solver. You try to get into their world and find out how you can help them. So think about this mindset when you are asked to make a presentation. When you do this, it’s easy to turn old-fashioned generic pitches into meaningful conversations.

You can do this by following the same two principles that guided you during the initial cold call.

The first principle

The first key is to identify specific problems prospects are dealing with before you make your presentation. Unless this is done, you’re flying blind. Your presentation may hit the target in terms of offering solutions that meet the company’s needs and problems. On the other hand, it may not. Success is entirely a matter of chance.

This may seem like a time-consuming task, but all you really need to do is make sure you understand what your potential clients’ problems are. This way, the conversation can focus on those problems or issues. Just as in your initial cold call, you’ll no longer be forced to pitch your solution, which is probably what your audience has experienced with virtually all the presentations they’ve witnessed.

If you don’t have a solid grasp of the problems that your prospects are hoping to solve, how can you do your very best to meet their needs? You may miss the mark entirely. As a result, your presentation would be a waste of their time — and yours.

The second principle

The second key is to always keep the focus on their world – their problems – rather than on your solution. Otherwise, you’re just offering a one-way sales pitch aimed at selling them something.

So, just as in your initial cold call approach, mention your name and company as briefly as possible. Don’t go into detail. Simply say, “I’ve been talking with … (your contact) over the past couple of weeks and it seems you’re grappling with issues having to do with…” (Here you mention a couple of the problems you know about from having done your homework.)

This puts the focus on them rather than on you. You’ve left the door open for interaction and the beginnings of a dialogue, instead of a show-and-tell time with the goal of making a sale. Your listeners, who were probably expecting a one-way pitch, will most likely relax and feel comfortable speaking candidly about the problems they’re hoping you’ll be able to help them solve.

Now you can be sure you’ve developed a comfortable relationship that will allow the truth to emerge about whether you’re a fit for each other or not.

Finish in the same way you would a cold call

At the end of the meeting, all you need to say is, “Where would you like to go from here?” When you do this, they’ll know you aren’t interested in pressuring them for a sale. Also, this means they’ll be more comfortable telling you how they feel about your presentation.

When you make presentations following exactly the same principles that guide your cold calling, you’ll walk into meetings feeling relaxed and confident. You won’t feel you’re in that “do-or-die” place of having to make a sale. And, you’ll really stand out from the rest of the crowd. You’ll understand your prospects worlds, and they’ll find this much more interesting than just another rote sales presentation.