Customer Reviews

Red-Hot Cold Call Selling: Prospecting Techniques That Pay Off

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Unlike many self-help or how-to books, this book is written by someone who makes a living by cold calling, and loves it!

In the book he says, "For me, heaven will be a small room with a telephone and a never-ending list of prospects." That's sick!!! No. That's author Paul S. Goldner who points out how terrified he was when he first started cold calling, and how ineffective his cold calling was while working for an employer.

It wasn't until he formed his own business, that he came to the realization of how important prospecting was, that he forced himself to improve his cold calling skills.

This book focuses on the Planning and Prospecting phases of the sales cycle, and will help you turn your fear of cold calling into desire. Topics covered include: Smart Prospecting, Becoming Rejection-Proof, Cold Call Examples, Handling Objections, Working With Voice Mail, What To Do When You Reach An Administrative Assistant/Secretary, Examples of Letters to Follow Various Cold Calls, etc.

This book is the real deal, only about 150 pages, but loaded with information. Master his methods, and your business/sales should certainly flourish!

I am biased in that I want to read a book by someone who has actual experience in the field. In the case of teleselling, I want someone who sells mostly by the phone. At least, they have to prospect by phone. This author states:

"I will be selling right up until my last breath... For me, heaven will be a small room with a telephone and a never-ending list of prospects... you cannot succeed at what you do not love. I am going to work very hard on making you love to prospect."

and

"I have two businesses of my own and attribute much of my success to my cold calling prowess... I have developed a prospecting and business development system that works!"

I'd say that this author is well qualified and, the book turns out very well.

At first I thought that my kind of business couldn't use teleselling: it was much too dignified. Then (this is a true story) I was sitting in a clients office reviewing my computer designs when I heard the client play back his voice messages outloud. One was from a competitor who was selling the same kind of services I provided. How could this be? I listened very closely and was extremely impressed with his technique. And had I been that customer receiving that call earlier, I might have responded to their prospecting call.

This book is highly recommended.

Paul Goldner provides invaluable clues, tools, and techniques to help you find and close more customers. His ideas are practical and applicable in the real world of professional selling. As a professional sales trainer, I recommend this book frequently.

I have been in sales for over 9 years and have read many books, but this book opened my eyes back up again. I sell complex CRM solutions and never thought this book could help, but it did. I will say, it's nothing most of us have not heard before, but for me it opened my eyes on the importance of picking up the phone more than I usually do. The author makes some very valid points, but the best one is that it does not matter what you are selling its always a numbers game. Those who are successful in sales make that extra cold call, appointment or dial that extra number. That's what separates the successful sales people from the average sales people.

This book was by far the best that I have read. The book covers all aspects of a sucessful cold calling campaign. I purchased this book when sales were slow and was forced to lay off my sales staff. As a result of reading this book, I was able to increase my sales and rehire my sales staff. This book is now part of our sales training.

This book was by far the best that I have read. The book covers all aspects of a sucessful cold calling campaign. I purchased this book when sales were slow and was forced to lay off my sales staff. As a result of reading this book, I was able to increase my sales and rehire my sales staff. This book is now part of our sales training.

This book is a good introduction to cold calling, especially for someone who has never cold called, or never done it successfully.

From personal experience, I know the challenges of cold calling, and how intimidating it can be. But like anything else, you'll get out of it what you put into it.

I really like how the author starts the book. He begins by telling the reader about his early efforts in cold calling, or perhaps more accurately - his efforts at AVOIDING cold calling. He was initially so afriad to pick up the phone that he didn't make any calls. As a result, he made no sales and lost his job shortly thereafter. As one who struggled with this "cold calling fear" in my first sales job, I could certainly relate.

The author then delves into the "anatomy" of a cold call - basically 1) What to say, and 2) When to Say It. Overcoming objections is also covered, as is some basic information about identifying your target market segment.

The scripts are pretty generic, but easy to learn. Obviously, you will need to customize them a bit to fit your particular product and style.

The only real problem I have is that the scripts are designed to get an appointment...no matter what. In other words, there are no qualifications steps, and sales people who follow this program may get more appointments, but those appointments might not lead anywhere if the prospect isn't qualified. Though he addresses this somewhat in his "target market" explanation.

The author also somewhat dances around the idea of "lying" to the prospect as to the reason of the call. He says that you should say "The reason I'm calling is because I sent you something in the mail," when he didn't. He explains that mail should be sent in support of a sales call, not as a precursor. So basically this is a lie, although most salespeople would view it as a "white lie" since it doesn't really hurt anyone.

The real value of this book, I think, is that it lays out a plan and series of techniques that you can use to become effective at cold calling. The basic types of objections are covered, as well as ways to overcome them.

This is pretty basic stuff, but could be a solid foundation for an entry-level salesperson. There aren't any great revelations - just solid advice backed by experience.

I sell my services as a scientific consultant and I have learned that prospective clients are interested in themselves, not in me. As I redirect my professional practice and revitalize my marketing/selling program, I have read many helpful books. All the professional services marketing books stress the importance of focusing on benefits. So does a very good cold call selling book I just read. Goldner's book, in contrast, never mentions benefits to the prospect, only features offered by the caller. His scripts have the same artificial structure that turns off my interest immediately when telemarketers call me. I know I'm not alone in this response. I am very disappointed in this book and it will not remain in my library.

This was a very quick read and had good content. I wish it had a few more stories, but worth my money. Will re-read in the future as a primer.

Ok, I am a new sales rep, and I thought this book would make a difference for me. Well the only difference that it made for me was in my wallet, which is unfortunately much lighter now. The book had some good advice, but not worth all of the filler which the author overwhelms you with just so that they can sell a book. Save yourself the time, see if it is out in cliff notes. 10 pages was all this book really neede to cover the points that this guy wanted to make. Save yourself time and effort and look elsewhere.