Cold Calling Success Comes From Building Relationships
On my blog, I focus a lot on creating genuine relationships and what it means to do so. I teach, and my company exudes a “give to give” philosophy. Which, when applied, wards off rejection in sales and cold calling.
“Give for the sake of giving, and serve for the sake of serving people genuinely” – Kody Bateman
With all the above said, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a hardcore salesperson or go for the close using sales techniques that you’ve learned to use.
Speaking of art, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Art Sobczak, who has been around a long time and has made a massive contribution to the sales industry over the years.
Art is a prolific producer of learning resources on selling by phone. Art’s flagship book, “Smart Calling– How to Take the Fear, Failure, and Rejection Out of Cold Calling,” hit number one in the Sales and Marketing category on amazon.com, on its very first day of release; Also was named Top Sales Book of 2010 by Top Sales Awards when first published. 
Art also wrote the books:
- How to Sell More, In Less Time, With No Rejection Using Common Sense Telephone Techniques
- Telephone Tips That SELL!
- 501 How-to Ideas and Affirmations to Help You Get More Business By Phone
- How to Place the Successful Sales and Prospecting Call
With numerous audio and video programs.
Fear of Rejection Sales Training
Art’s popular podcast is The Art of Sales and has developed a reputation as a to-the-point, brief training session that always delivers how-to tips you can use.
He holds the popular Smart Calling College two-day public training seminars nationwide, and now online. He also customizes the program for on-site, in-house delivery. Art also delivers how-to programs on effective inside sales and cold calling, ranging from one-hour to several days.
He has produced and delivered over 1500 training sessions over the past 30 years for companies and associations in virtually all business-to-business industries.
He has built a speaking and training reputation as someone who knows what works and what doesn’t in sales because he’s done it (corporate inside sales and management positions with AT&T Long Lines and American Express in the early ’80s) and still does it.
How to Create Genuine Relationships When Cold Calling
First off, Arts’ whole deal is all about using the phone and cold calling in the sales industry, which in today’s day and age is a fascinating subject considering technological advancements.
“What is old is new again, and what is old has always worked and will always continue to work.” – Art Sobczak
Furthermore, Art says, “phones are another way of communication.”
For example, being kind to people has always worked and never gone out of style, it’s become a vital piece in today’s world of cold technology within the sales industry, and smart calling is as well.
“Businesses don’t buy from businesses, people buy from people” – Art Sobczak
Indeed, people do business by:
- social media
- chats
- webinars
Why not incorporate voice sales by using the phone to communicate.
What’s interesting is the old stuff is what makes someone different now. For instance, greeting cards have never gone out of style, and neither has the phone. It’s a fact when you do something different; you stand out from the crowd.
Today, smart calling has replaced the cold call. Smart calling is about knowing something about the person before you call them, as opposed to just showing up and pitching the usual pitch like everybody else. Hence this is why salespeople experience rejection.
Now more than ever before, it’s easy to learn what makes a person and their company tick. The internet informs you about those you need to get past the gatekeeper by giving relevant information about their needs; now, you have their attention.
Quite frankly, we must assess the needs of those we want to do business with to create a relationship…period!
I urge you if you haven’t already, to watch the interview above to learn more about standing out from the crowd of salespeople by building relationships, and how smart calling is another effective way to make sales and serve others.
Lastly, remember that we are not in the sales business; we are in the business of serving.
Take care,
Kody B.
