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Are You Successfully Alienating People in 10 seconds over the phone?

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To quote Edgar Allen Poe, Truth is stranger than Fiction.

Cold calling and bad timing

It was 4.30 in the afternoon on a wet and rainy Sunday. The writer had kept her promise to her pet child to spend quality time with her. Thankfully the morning had been sunny and a long walk had been the highlight of the day.

Pet child was sleeping peacefully on the sofa next to the writer who was working away on the laptop to meet a deadline. Suddenly the mobile phone rang. The writer, engrossed in her work, did not check the number.

Writer: Hello?

Caller: Am I talking to the Writer?

Writer: Speaking?

Caller: Right, I don’t need your coaching and do not want to buy anything from you. I want you to tell me everything about your business so I can set up my own right now.

Writer (in a state of shock): What? Is this a joke? Who is this?

The rest of the conversation will not be narrated but know that I found out where the caller got my number, who the caller was and other information. I made it clear that disturbing me on the weekend without a prior appointment on the agenda item was inappropriate. The call ended 15 minutes later with my being told that the information was not in depth enough for the caller’s liking but I was thanked for my time and was given permission to go back to whatever  I was doing. If the mission was to alienate me in 10 seconds, then it was a resounding success.

Pet child woke up and tried to soothe me by putting her paw on my lap and an expression that read “Relax, cold calls can be irritating”.

Needless to say, the first thing I did was to write an email to the colleague whose name had come up in the conversation for some information about the caller. Sadly, the feedback accompanied with an apology was not favorable to the caller. The colleague had not given my reference and was equally amazed.

Crash course in avoiding alienation by Cold Calls

Sales and marketing professionals’ cold call all the time and I am sure that a Google search would reveal a few Cold Calling 101 courses. People also cold call organizations when job hunting. I’m not the expert here but I can share a few pointers which might get you support and avert the risk of alienating a potentially useful contact, especially when job hunting.

First and foremost, remember that a cold call is your agenda and not that of the other person. Be clear about your objective and do your research on the organisation as well as the person that you are contacting to make sure that the conversation will have potential for both parties. Aim not to waste the other person’s time. Give a brief introduction about yourself, the purpose of the call and do ask if it is a convenient time to call.

In the story, the caller had checked the services and programs page of my website and then gone straight to the Connect Page and called without processing Niche or the contents of both pages.

Secondly, choose an appropriate time to call. Just because you have the number does not mean that you can call at your convenience. Weekends are certainly inappropriate unless you have emailed in advance and arranged to talk to the person and also explained the purpose of your call.

The caller gets brownie points for the introduction and purpose of call but sadly asked about the time convenience after the alienation process was completed.

Thirdly, once you know that the cold call is going dead turkey, do not prolong it more than necessary. The lead may be useful later on but right now it is a dead end and you do not want to alienate the other person. Thank the person politely for their time and put the phone down. 

Fourthly, after the phone call, if you have an email address for the person, always follow up with a thank you email. The potential rainmaker will remember you as someone who valued their time. Who knows, they might write back asking for your CV if it hasn’t already come up in the conversation?

A fifth and important point relates to references and/or dropping names. Know that the receiver of the call can and will do a check, even if they have nothing for you presently. A good step is to let the reference know that you are approaching a cold prospect and either ask for an introduction or permission to take their name. Most people do not mind helping out provided they are asked.

Cold calling is an essential job search tool and often helps to tap into the hidden job market. Potential employers do respect initiative and the chances of finding your dream job are better since you would have already have discovered opportunities that are better suited to your skills and aptitudes. Be brave, make cold calls but only after you have followed the above points.

How successful are your cold calls? What additional steps do you take to make it a success? Please write in and share!

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

24 Responses to “Are You Successfully Alienating People in 10 seconds over the phone?”

  1. Pat Moon says:

    I agree with you about cold calling. I have done it in the past but have never been successful when doing it. I have even gone door to door seeking business. No way I would do that in today’s world. You have made some very good points in this article.

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Thanks Pat. Cold calling is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is difficult since we do not know the other person and stand the chance of outright rejection unless handled properly.

  2. Helena Bowers says:

    Wow! Calls like that are the reason I leave my phone on silent most of the time. I can’t answer if I can’t hear it! As for making cold calls, I don’t do it unless I absolutely have to. I’d much rather have some sort of email or social media contact and set up a time to talk instead.

    • Karmic Ally says:

      I agree with you Helena. Social media has the benefit that both parties can do their reference check in advance so that there is a mutually beneficial dialogue when the actual call or communication takes place and the receiver has the option to say no upfront rather than be disturbed. Thanks for the valuable point.

  3. Tom Holmberg says:

    Yikes, the cold caller did a terrible job. Thanks for sharing your experience

    • Karmic Ally says:

      You’re welcome Tom. Life does provide us with experiences that turn muse for important skills.

  4. When I call people I ask if this is a good time to talk, enabling an opportunity to re-schedule. I don’t make assumptions. I speak from my heart and remember they are the Divine too. Good article!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Well said, Barbara. I feel that the first thing one should ask after introducing onself on the phone and giving the reason for the call is to ask if it is a convenient time to talk. It always opens the door to a future call if the timing is bad.

  5. I like your suggestions. I think many people don’t like doing cold calls because they really are difficult and not always recieved well. and with that said, sometimes it just has to be done. It is best to know how to do it, and your tips are great. Thanks or helping us move toward mastering this difficult task!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      You are most welcome, Leslie. I still struggle with cold-calls and find a bit of deep breathing helps!

  6. Liz Bigger says:

    Pretty good advice here! I once won a cappuccino maker in Dec. by doing cold calls for a water softener company…They teach you to continue talking until the person hangs up…I NEVER did this, I was always cordial, apologetic and appreciative of their time and it paid off! Thanks for the info!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Authenticity and politeness always win Liz. Congratulations on winning the Cappuccino Maker. It means you are appreciated!

  7. MarVeena says:

    I am so glad I don’t have to do this! very good ideas on how to handle this in a good way!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Lucky you, MarVeena! It is a difficult task for many of us who need to make cold-calls without sounding aggressive or pushy.

  8. Great post – I do not like receiving cold calls that are not relevant to what I do. As far as making cold calls myself – I don’t really do that unless I’ve got a list of people that I met at a tradeshow or event – which of course makes the call easier as they’ve been somewhat pre-qualified!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      I prefer pre-qualified cold calls or at least a reference that I can give before making the call. It gives me some credential in front of the other party.

  9. I’ve never made a cold call, but if I needed to I would hope that I would call them in the same way as I would like to be called. Appropriately! Great points here Vatsala.

  10. Wow! That was a weird one! Love the way you used it as a teaching moment and turned it into a blog post. Sometimes the best posts come from other people acting like jerks!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      I know, Martha. I narrated the sanitized version!I endorse your view unconditionally!

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