by Joanne S. Black

A rose is a rose and a sales call is either COLD or HOT. No exceptions!

Hot calls yield a fantastic rate of return. However, unless your prospects know you, you're making a cold call. Following a properly constructed referral process is the secret to never making another cold call!

Salespeople often delude themselves into thinking they're making "warm calls" when they:

• Call someone whose name came from a colleague or friend, but they haven't been introduced. Cold!
• Call someone and then follow up with a letter. Cold!
• Call names from a list they purchased. Still cold!

Cold calls don't work - even if you think you don't sound like a telemarketer. It's a numbers game. If you make 100 dials, you talk to 20 people, schedule 10 appointments, and if you're lucky, close one new deal. That's a 1% return on your time. In today's fast-paced business world and turbulent economy, there is no time to waste!

According to a survey by Huthwaite, 63% of salespeople, 88% of whom work for companies that consider prospecting important, say cold calling is what they most dislike about their jobs. Even so, buyers hate receiving cold calls even more. In fact:

• 91% never respond to an unsolicited inquiry
• 71% find cold calls annoying
• 88% will have nothing to do with cold callers
• 94% couldn't remember a single prospector or message they received during the last two years

Why settle for the illusion of a "warm call?" Why not make only genuine hot ones?

The Definition of a HOT Call

When you obtain an introduction and the prospect expects your call.

When you make hot calls, you shorten your sales cycle, increase your credibility, ace out the competition, and secure new clients more than 50% of the time! Why waste your time with any other prospecting strategy?

Here's How to Get HOT Calls

1. Make a list of everyone you know. Gather at least 100 names in your network. (These are prime sources for referrals.) Prioritize the list with the names of people you know best at the top.
2. Set a goal for how many people you will contact each week. The minimum should be five (5). Arrange in-person meetings if at all possible.
3. Tell your referral sources you build your business through referrals and would appreciate their help. Describe your Ideal Client and ask for one or two people who meet this description.
4. Find out as much as possible about the people and companies your referral sources suggest.
5. Ask your referral source to introduce you - by phone, in person or via e-mail.

Start thinking about how you spend your time and the type of payoff you want. Get hot! Get introductions!

About the Author

Joanne Black is America's leading authority on referral selling and the author of "No More Cold Calling - The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust" from Warner Business Books. She developed her No More Cold Calling practice in 1996 and now reaches thousands of people each year. For more information and resources, visit www.NoMoreColdCalling.com.

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