How To Effectively Cold Call Leads
by Dave Cole

As network marketers we do a major part of our business by calling leads. For a person just starting out this can be rather intimidating and too often a person doesn't know how to "open" up a call, gets a lot of rejection, and then decides this isn't for me.

Today I'd like to give you the opening that I have been using with good success. It's short, to the point, friendly, yet business like.

I find out in a matter of seconds whether the person on the other end of the line is worth spending my time with, and generally I find out quickly if this is a person who is a serious candidate or not.

Too often we have a tendency to "chase" after our leads, somehow "hoping" they will sign up. Let's talk a bit about that first.

To make any kind of call a success, you must first and foremost have an attitude. You've got have posture. You've got to have confidence in yourself and in your product and your presentation.

You get confidence in your product by using it! How simple is that. If you can't get enthusiastic about what you have to offer, be it the opportunity or the product, then do yourself a big favor and find something you can get excited about.

Studies have shown that around 60% of all sales are made because the presenter was enthusiastic about their product.

Next, you've got have a confidence in yourself. You can't be scared or un-sure of yourself and expect to get results.

A few people just naturally have confidence in themselves, for the rest of us, confidence comes with practice and experience.

I've went through thousands of leads. I've got thousands of rejections. I've tried lots of different scripts to find out what works best for me. I practiced every one of them before I got on the phone.

The thing is, if you're going to call 10 people and get 10 rejections, and you're afraid of losing your dignity, either you get over it quickly, or find another business to be in.

Every network marketer out there gets far more no's than they get a yes.

Every call I make, I look at it as a learning experience. I look at it as a game. I'm a hunter.....a head hunter. I look for people who are interested in becoming a part of my opportunity.

I have fun calling people. But there are days when I just don't have that good feeling about myself, so I don't call. I wait until I do. I wait until the time is right for me and I have that confidence in me.

Before I make a single call, I have a list of qualifications a person must meet. If the person doesn't have those qualifications, then I'm not going to waste my time. I certainly do not ever try to "drag any person" into the business.

If I do that, then chances are that person won't do anything anyway, so why bother. I don't need a person in my organization who does nothing but bother me. I'll spend as much time with anyone who proves to me they are working, but it's best to pre-qualify your prospects and save you a lot of time later on.

What do I look for in a prospect? They must be respective of me and what I'm saying. I'm a professional, my time is valuable, and I have an incredible life changing opportunity to offer. A person who interrupts, or is rude, or who doesn't have the consideration to turn down the TV or radio behind them, is most likely not who I am looking for.

A person who has a difficult time talking, or who just says very little is not who I am looking for. I'm looking for folks who have confidence, who can listen then express an opinion. A person who isn't afraid to ask questions.

I'm looking for someone who is alive.

I'm also looking for someone who has the vision for their future and the financial means to meet the start up fees and then do what it takes to build their business.

So let's give Perry Prospect a call.

Perry is a generic lead I've purchased from a lead company. They supposedly have answered an ad for a work at home opportunity.

-------------------------------------------------

This is a great icebreaker. It gets the person to open up to me by talking about a non-threatening subject and a fun subject. I do a lot of listening here. The object is to get the person to trust you. Trust comes when a person feels like you care about them. And I truly do care about the health of their pets, so this is not just a ploy or tactic.

And it's the rare bird who will join your opportunity if they don't trust and have some level of confidence in you.

I'm also finding out how the communication abilities this person has. If someone says to me "I have a cat." Then shuts up, the person probably doesn't have the communication skills needed to be a success.

I'm learning whether this is a person I want to work with or not. Did you get that! I'm in control, I'm looking for someone special, not just anybody. You've got to prove to me you're the right person for me. Thats called posture.

I'm not afraid to let this lead go, I'm not afraid to not sign them up. I'm not looking for just any old body. If Perry doesn't sign no biggie, I've got 100 more prospects to call.

I've always got more leads to call than I've got time.

Finding the right people for your organization is also what's called money in the bank.

As we continue to chat, I'll ask them how much money they have to comfortably invest at this time. If it's not enough, and if the person is interested in the opportunity, then I'll suggest they purchase the products and get a start that way.

Remember: even though a person is not right for your opportunity, your fallback position is: get them on the products.

If that doesn't work, then your next position is, ask them if they know anyone who is interested.

Calling generic leads can be fun, it definitely is a learning experience, and sometimes it can be depressing. But don't ever give up. You never know, that diamond may be just a phone call away.

Also remember, your initial call is not to get that person to join. Your objectives are:

1. Find out if this is a person for you.

2. Start the relationship building process

3. Find out what their "hot buttons" are, what motivates them

4. Get them to look at your web site, or send them info on your opportunity.

Ask the person when they will look at your information. Then set up a specific date and time to follow up.

Good luck and have fun.

Dave Cole is the publisher of Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours, a free ezine. Contact Dave at dave@choosetoprosper.com or visit his eb site at http://www.choosetoprosper.com

Next