Today’s Article celebrates being different and taking pride in it. After all, if you’re no different from your peers and competitors, how will anyone be able to tell you apart?

 

Injecting some soul into proceedings, the title refers to a song by James Brown. Written at the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in 1968, it also reminded me of the roots of another date in the calendar: March 17th.

   

Celebrating the Patron Saint of Ireland, St Patrick, on the day of his death began as a means of expressing shared origins and religious similarities among Irish immigrants in the United States. Out of their adversity as newcomers came the first celebration in 1762. The Irish soon gained a voice in society, leading to increased acceptance and in more recent years, a big celebration that’s open to all who care to share in it. From being targets of ridicule and hatred to feted the world over, creating with it substantial business and commercial opportunities in the process. Are you with me so far?

 

“So what”, you ask? Why reference this in relation to telemarketing and cold calling?

 

Firstly, when you pick up the telephone to someone with whom you’ve no previous relationship, you’re entering new territory. You need to find your way in their world intelligently. You’ll experience setbacks (as the Irish did), be regarded with suspicion (as were the Irish), you’ll have to persist in order to gain acceptance (as did the Irish) and eventually you’ll have something to celebrate (winning new clients). At first it will be tough. Test approaches, measure outcomes. Do you have what it takes to constantly refine your approach?

 

Secondly, the Irish were a minority. Set yourself apart: Be in the minority dedicating themselves to getting results by phone; however it is that you define those results as being valuable to you and to your organisation. 

 

Thirdly, remember emotion. Emotion is the reason behind the vast majority of buying decisions. The issue for us is to ensure that the person you speak with is comfortable enough to share those reasons with you. It can take time to reach that point, but until you know what they are it can be very tedious trying to agree a way that you can work together based on logic alone. Emotion comes in many guises, the roots of which may be linked to status, politics, reputation, the effect of something on a spouse, a boss, etc.

 

St. Patrick’s day isn’t about logic, it’s about feelings, shared heritage, ethnic, cultural and religious background (as well as providing an excuse for many to over-indulge in food and drink). Look for something you can share at every touch point with your contacts. It’s a combination of knowing, liking and trusting, the extent and importance of which will differ with each person. Again, where is the logic? It matters not. As long as people value it, they’ll continue to buy into it with their hearts, minds and money.   

 

Finally, remember to celebrate! Often, using the phone for business has negative associations of people disturbing other people. So do earthquakes, folks! Which do you prefer? It’s portrayed as a necessary evil, a stick that a boss will threaten the employees with, something that sales people dread and will avoid doing. Don’t believe the hype. Decide for yourself how it’s going to be.

 

Why not make it your goal to work it till it works for you? We hear stories of people getting great results using the phone for business all the time, so find or follow a system that works for you; otherwise you’re just going to wing it on every call. People can detect poor preparation, so prepare your calls. More on that next time…

 

If you enjoyed this article and would like to be kept up to date with future articles from phoneforbusiness, why not subscribe to our monthly newsletter.