The secret to cold-calling
Posted by Mitch on 16th July 2012
Ever seen those training providers that promise to help you unlock the secrets to cold-calling?
Most of the time this “secret” turns out to be something inane like sounding really happy when you make the call or only doing it when the sun’s shining.
What seems to drive of most of the recruitment sales training I’ve ever seen is the fact that cold-calling is an omnipresent part of a recruiter’s life - and so they had better get good at it.
Frankly, I think that’s bullshit.
It’s bullshit not because it isn’t true, because it is.
It’s bullshit because it doesn’t have to be true.
Cold-calling is probably the toughest part of the sales process because it’s time-consuming, it’s boring and repetitive and because it’s often hard to even get through to the decision-maker. The only thing that makes it a worthwhile activity is:
1. If what you’re selling has a high-margin, one-off sale price.
2. If the cold-call is the first step in a longer sales journey where the customer regularly buys an increasing number of products/services from you.
Recruiters can fall into either or both of those categories.
The first when they’re canvassing-out a real, specific and available candidate and the second when they’re broadly looking for jobs to fill.
Canvassing-out candidates can be a valid way of establishing some credibility with a potential client, but it requires some decent market research before any calls are made. Many recruiters seem to struggle with this part.
Assuming they do establish that credibility, what next? Invariably what the recruiter is looking for next is a regular source of new jobs to work on - which brings us to the 2nd category. More jobs.
The trouble with getting more jobs from more companies is that on average, a recruiter only fills about 1 in 4 of the jobs they get given access to. And I’m being generous here - for many it’s closer to 1 in 6.
That means that around 80% of the time the recruiter is going to disappoint the client.
“But sometimes I will fill some jobs with some of those clients!” I can already hear you saying. True. But all you are entrenching here is the perception in the client’s mind that your performance is somewhat ad-hoc and difficult to predict.
If that’s the pinnacle of how your clients view you then I have some potentially bad news for you; You’re always going to have to be spending large chunks of your time cold-calling.
The upside is that this is good news for the recruitment training industry
There is no secret to being good at cold-calling when all you’ve got to sell is probable disappointment.
Sorry.
Comments
Hi Mitch,
Interesting observations, particularly around speccing out candidates. Often over done in volume and under delivered in impact though.
The most common issue that I see revolving around cold calling is that it is often done on a poor foundation of strategy or planning. Without a definition of what a prospect looks like (as opposed to a suspect which is what most recruiters seem to develop lists of to call) you are likely to find that your calls lead to disappointment to all parties. If your sales training is primarily focused on objection handling, mind set and pitching then it is likely to create ‘issues’.
By Jeremy Snell on Tuesday, 17 July 2012
You know I, like so many others, started my recruitment life with Hays. During those three years I was trained, bootcamp style, to make cold calls and handle objections. The end result wasn’t that I made better calls it was that I sounded like a smart arse with an answer for everything.
By Robert Wright on Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Loving the article and loviong the answers.
In my early to late twenties I bought god knows how many books, signed up to god knows how many blogs/membership sites etc and the number one thing I learned…disappointment.
The same archaic rubbish pedalled time and time again. COld calling has changed. There is no doubt about that. the job is harder because the internet changed the way people buy - they no longer wait for the seller, the buyer is in control…and there will always be deals somewhere which kind of kills the time scare angle too. It also means USP’s get copied very quickly so all in all the job is harder.
But there is still a market for cold callers.
So ideas like those mentioned in this article are excellent and work well in REALITY, not just the confines of a textbook or training course.
Get this right, get the head right, overcome the mental aspects of cold calling that hold you back and you can fly.
By Jamie Panter on Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Great article Mitch, it is when I read things like this that I realise how truly lucky I was in my first couple of years in the industry.
I worked for a firm called Link Up (who were acquired by Spring indirectly), Link Up invested absolutely loads of time and money in training people. But that is easy. The real element that Link Up recognised was identifying people in the business who were not just good but great, understanding why they consistently over achieved and then almost like extracting DNA or genes embeded those skills and techniques as best they could throughout the organisation.
In my first 6mths I did a 1 week induction course, did the REC MREC or whatever it was, spent a week on an external course on Presentation Techniques covering everything from creating a slide show that hooked and created questions to tone, stance, delivery, involvement.
But the really good stuff was how to make a cold call that demonstrated market knowledge, pertinent business knowledge, had hooks and grabbers in, and led to results. All the stuff you have mentioned. They then followed this with Client Meetings, planning, preparation, control and so on.
Role play, role play, role play.
I love training and love being trained. Shame it seems to have died a death in the industry.
By Darren Ledger on Thursday, 19 July 2012
What Mitch says is correct and as I worked with him. He taught me how to become Mr Rapport builder. The objective of our calling was to get repeat business and get a quality relationship with our clients and consequently repeat business.
By Juluian on Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Blimey, hello Julian. That was a long time ago, eh?
BTW..you were a natural rapport builder so needed very little input from me.
And thanks to Darren, Jeremy and Jamie for your comments.
By Mitch on Tuesday, 31 July 2012
What is ever so evident being on the receiving end of those endless attempts to get my attention and business and what is hinted at in comments. Without C R E D I B I L I T Y no chance. I throw out agent after agent after agent as they have zero credibility in what they offer and when they approach me. Out of by now approximately 50 agents having knocked on my door. 1, repeat one had actually taken the time to have a look at my company website, seen what roles open and pitched accordingly why they got my attention.
That leaves 49 that are just out there ‘trying their luck’ why they go straight in the bin.
To those that write me, I actually, after having let them know that there is a PSL in place and that we only work to 15% on pure contingency basis, challenge them (provided they can show me evidence of why they are relevant) to come back to me with some more substance and proof of why I should consider them.
My statitics show that of the 49 5 came back,(leaving 44 that just vanished) alas 4 of them with more irrelevant blurb and hot air, rather than taking it as a hint about exploring in depth about company and roles and make reference to them. On that basis all I can say is that ‘it is their own fault’ and that I can have no sympathy nor understanding with such approaches. As with other commentators in this discussion, I myself of a stringent agency training background, but one where the emphasis was to spend time on researching target companies, learning what they were about and their needs/focus and then pitching accordingly. That lead to 80% of business from 20% of clients, 4 PSL status and build of expertise in niche area. Appear that in the last 20 years a substantial part of sound business behaviour and thoroughness lost, - which is why it is as it is.
By Jacob Sten Madsen on Thursday, 13 September 2012