A sales tactic where a salesperson cold calls across a territory or list of target prospects with the primary goal of collecting information is cold canvassing. The investment of effort and time is set in motion with the ultimate goal of generating leads and increasing sales, but that larger goal is put on hold, and the focus is primarily on gathering details to separate suspects from prospects.
Shifting from selling to canvassing offers significant benefits.
Trigger Less Guardedness
Prospects answer their phones with their guard up at a medium level when you cold-call. Basically, they are trying to protect themselves while deciphering who you are and the purpose of your call. Everything that you do and say during a cold call will either make the prospect increase or decrease their guard.
What makes cold canvassing great is its indirect approach. Instead of calling directly to sell something, you are calling to gather information. The prospect may know that your ultimate goal is to sell something, but when you come across as simply an attempt to gather information instead of trying to sell something, this will decrease the prospect’s guard and help to improve your ability to establish cold calls.
Reduce Cold Call Anxiety
Sales professionals often experience anxiety when making cold calls. Cold canvassing can help reduce lingering anxiety.
With the primary goal of making a cold call to try to generate a lead, anxiety can build due to the potential for a slight conflict. Start on a different page from the prospect and work to bridge the gap they have created, because they know you are trying to sell something, and they typically do not want to be sold.
The gap is not as large when cold canvassing, as you are not trying to sell anything. Your primary goal is to simply collect some quick details. Prospects typically have a firm stance against buying anything, but they may not have as firm a stance against sharing information. This makes it easier to make a call and also reduces any cold-call anxiety.
Collect Valuable Information
Gathering information from prospects is one of the main keys to success in sales. While cold calling, try generating leads without collecting information first. This is because you might be trying to sell to prospects who aren’t qualified, which means you might not have the right messaging or strategy in place.
When performing cold canvassing first, you are collecting valuable information that helps ensure you’re selling to the right prospects and that your approach and messaging are tight.
SalesScripter provides web-based sales training, helping sales pros to incorporate cold canvassing into their strategy.
