Should we even run 'Cold Calling Days' anymore?

The short answer is yes... if you do it right. At Pareto, we’ve always had cold calling days, and I have to be honest, I bloody love them. No one is allowed out on meetings, we all compete and for one day every week, we give cold calling our full focus. I’ve been in the business nearly ten years now so I've seen my fair share of them and the buzz can be incredible.

That being said, we've seen a slight downturn in their effectiveness, and to be honest, we’d begun to lose our enthusiasm for them as a result. Maybe we listened to the outside world a little too much and maybe, just maybe, the world gave us the perfect excuse not to pick up the phone (cheers LinkedIn). Either way, I’ve been on a mission to bring them back to their glory days, leading teams across our UK offices every Tuesday to make cold calling as effective as it’s ever been.

The purpose of this post isn’t to debate cold calling and its place in the modern world – it’s working for us, so I’m happy with that. Instead, what I’ll share are my top five tips that seem to be working for us in bringing back that buzz.

TOP 5 TIPS FOR RUNNING EFFECTIVE COLD CALLING DAYS

Inspire the team, don’t impose the day on them

If you don’t want to cold call, you’re not going to do it without a good reason. It’s pretty simple really, you have to inspire people to see the value in what they’re doing, not just tell them they have to do it. I always start with some good news stories. Whether it’s about the graduate I placed three years ago that is going to do a mill this year, the team we trained that delivered over ￡2mill of pipeline during a live telephone training session, or simply the results I’ve had with another team the week before – it all helps people see past the phone call and focus what they can get out of it. 

Create some friendly and fun (but also fiery) competition

?The competition you create has to give everyone a chance to win. In our teams, we have a huge range of ability, from straight off the academy to people who have been cold calling weekly for the last 5 years. You have to give everyone a chance to succeed and compete.

This translates to prizes for individual performance, prizes for team performance and prizes for the one thing we can all control: attitude. You don’t have to give away much, a bottle of Prosecco here and there, maybe an early leave one day or lunch on their manager. It’s the pride that comes with doing well that matters. You can win for being part of a team that wins Pictionary in the break, being exceptional at your job or just plain old grafting.

Challenging but not uncomfortable 

I too am part of the so called ‘snowflake generation’, so I can sympathise with the varying levels of resilience. If we're asking them to do a job that requires us to ‘fail’ more often than succeed, we've got to create an environment that allows the group to be comfortable with dealing with that rejection. I.e. not give a damn about the outcome.

For some training I fully endorse taking people out of their environment; for cold calling, I think the more comfortable someone is, the more likely they will be to try something new. My days are about giving people the courage to try different things, realising that every call is an opportunity. Yes we want a meeting, and we’ll try our best to get one, but if we don’t they should be able to self-coach after the call to make sure we nail the next one. Some people need pushing, others need pulling. Learn to read your people and you’ll understand if they are secure enough to be challenged.

Practice what you preach

Just because you’ve made it so far up the ladder that you’re now in charge of leading your team doesn’t mean you can stand at the front and simply tell them what to do. If you’re not willing to practice what you preach – and by that I mean pick up the phone and cold call alongside everyone else – then step away from the plinth and let someone else lead the sermon. If you don't you risk a highly disengaged team. Be willing to get stuck in, show them you’re human too and watch as they follow you into the battle.

Finally, be structured

These are busy people, and often they have some underlying anxiety about a client they haven’t rung back, or a candidate they’ve not emailed, or just the fact they are behind target. You have to give them a structured day that allows focus in the right areas at the right time. One hour sessions, 15 minute breaks, 15 minutes of fun or training and a long lunch. Your people will thank you for it, and with a sound structure, they’ll be able to give you 100% in the sessions.

Have a team that needs some motivation when it comes to cold calling? Get in touch and we’ll talk more.