The Kitchen Sales Coach Issue #14 - Master the Art of Cold Calling
By Robert Foltz, CKD
This is the beginning of a series of articles on the art of cold calling. This is one of the seminars that I teach to small and medium sales forces in our industry. Most kitchen and bath professionals who say they hate cold calling feel that way because they've been told by their sales managers to "Go out and get some new business" without much instruction on how to do that. Cold calling done wrong or haphazardly is a tremendous waste of time.
This series will give you a new perspective on cold calling and you'll see results in time savings and sales. The first part of this series deals with how you handle yourself at a networking event, such as a builders' association meeting, an event at your local design center, or a local NARI meeting. The regular attendees at these events understand the game and enjoy seeing who plays it well and who doesn't. Introducing yourself and your company is much like walking in to a business for the first time, which is why I thought this was the best place to start.
During these events, the qualification time is really short, so it's important that you cut the time down by 'fact finding' rather than 'fact telling.' At one time or another, we've all come up to people and, after a quick introduction, start telling them about how great our kitchen business is for their clients because of the wonderful products we have to offer. Meanwhile they have a contractual relation with some other manufacturer that we don't take the time to find out about. This is not only embarrassing, but also a complete waste of everyone's' time!
The first rule of cold calling is to respect the time of whomever you meet! When you respect others' time, you learn to speak about your business succinctly and therefore more effectively. When I meet someone, I give them my name and a brief description of what I do. "Hi, I'm Robert Foltz. I own a kitchen and bath business consulting company. We provide businesses with unique strategies and ideas to improve their sales and profits in any economy."
Usually that statement piques their interest and they say, "That's great, how do you do that?" "Before I answer that, may I ask you to tell me a little bit about your business-what do you do?" is the proper response to their question. I have just launched into the fact finding process of business networking, which is what cold calling is in the kitchen and bath business-business networking. I'll ask who their customers are and how they're doing in their market area. I'm listening for answers that will help me determine if we should continue the conversation. I want to determine if this prospect's business and mine are in alignment. How can I know that if I launch into what I call premature presentation.
Next issue: Alignment of business interests and how to determine this during a cold call
What Kind of Sales Dog are You?
In the words of Blair Singer in his books $ales Dogs, "You do not have to be an attack dog to be successful in sales." This is a great book and I've taken the time to relate it directly to the kitchen business.
This book is about 250 pages and I'm going to summarize it in the next few articles. I recommend that you get the book after you read the articles, especially if you manage sales and designers. Often the mistake sales managers make is that they don't recognize the individuality and different talents of the member of their sales team.
All salesperson/designers have their own personality traits that make them uniquely talented to go after specific niches in the kitchen business. Over the next couple of issues, we'll be addressing the 'breeds' and how they can be used to maximize the sales results for the team. Even if you're a single salesperson/designer in a small firm, you can recognize how the following breeds can impact your approach to your prospect base. The five breeds discussed in the book are:
- Pit Bull
- Golden Retriever
- Poodle
- Chihuahua
- Basset Hound
We'll go into the characteristics and traits of each, and relate it to kitchen sales, prospects, and sales management.
The Pit Bull
Let's start with the pit bull. This is the most recognized of the breeds. In fact this breed is what most people who don't like salespeople have in mind when they think of sales. The success of the pit bull comes from sheer power and fearlessness. They will make more cold calls, field more rejections, and keep on selling more than any other breed. Being told no is simply a wakeup call. Closing the sale and objection are the energy this champion feeds on. In fact, the more objections you give a pit bull, the more it'll keep coming back for the sale.
Aggressive prospects love this breed and respect his tenacity. However, they know that they'll keep giving objections and getting concessions because this breed is after one thing-the sale. This is where management of the pit bull is key. The pit bull needs training and guidelines. You must mark his territory clearly and put electric shock fences on the perimeter to remind him of the rules. Training is the key to this breed.
The pit bull will either be very rich or very frustrated-there's no middle ground with a pit bull. Generally, pit bulls make less effective sales managers because they have little or no comprehension or empathy for the other breeds. Sales forces will always have many breeds, and the most effective sales managers are the ones that recognize the different breeds and play to their strengths. You'd never put a basset hound in a greyhound race. Recognizing the predominant breed or trait in a salesperson/designer is the key to success in your business.
Next issue: The golden retriever
About Robert Foltz, CKD
Robert Foltz, CKD is experienced in all areas of the retail kitchen and bath business. As a manufacturers' representative, his experience and expertise can help improve your business. He also works as a sales trainer, consultant, and personal coach.
With 23 years of experience in every area of the kitchen business, he has personally experienced the most common mistakes all business owners and sales people make. He has used that experience to develop a formula that will help you avoid those common mistakes and to dramatically accelerate your success.
Robert can be reached at and his work can be seen on www.KitchenSalesCoach.com.