Sales training ideas – Are you calling high enough when cold calling.

When you cold call, who do you ask to speak with? Are you asking for the purchasing agent, or the president of the company? It’s entirely possible that the president isn’t your ideal prospect, but most of the time it’s better to have the president, or someone close to president rank, tell you he or she is not the person you need, and refer you to the person you do need.

There are many advantages to calling high. First, the people at the top recognize and care about value more than the lower levels. Second, deals get done more quickly. Third, these people are more likely to be around over the long haul. There are other reasons, but these are the primary ones.

Eventually you want to have some kind of relationship with the people at the top no matter what you sell. This way, if the person you usually deal with leaves, you still have a solid relationship with that account. Also, if there is some sort of roadblock to the sales process at some point, the people at the top can resolve it.

The bottom line: The higher levels are where things get done and real decisions are made. When you first begin calling on an organization, you want to be calling as high as possible. Even if you get bounced down a level or two, it is always better to say: “(The president’s name or name of president’s assistant) said that you’re the one I should talk to regarding this.” As opposed to a straight cold call to that person. This also opens the lines for future communication to the higher levels.

John Chapin – co-author of Sales Encyclopedia      www.completeselling.com