Cold calling is dead, but the red phone is alive and well

Leaders of nations first did it. Military generals do it. Even high powered CEOs now do it. When they need something of critical importance actioned, they pick-up the red phone and make a direct call to the person who can most influence what they need to achieve.

Our world is now vastly more connected than ever before thanks to the internet. Yet, cutting-through to decision-makers and getting them to take you seriously is harder than ever. We are all far too busy and well informed to indulge a stranger blatantly trying to sell us something over the phone. Countless past negative experiences have trained us to know better.

The phone is still a powerful tool if you know how to utilise its qualities correctly.

While a cold call typically requires minimal effort and talent by simply collating a database and hitting the phone until your self-conscious catches up with you. A red phone call requires thorough planning, structure, investing time to determine why you are calling, having a depth of knowledge about whom you are calling, and knowing how your call will inspire the recipient to action.

Cold calling is a numbers game, and an exhausting one at that. In contrast, applying the red phone is about quality not quantity calls. One successful red phone call can be a game changer and set off a cascading effect that transforms your year or maybe even your career.

Red phone calls are big, bold calls to people that can genuinely help you in a big way and dramatically impact your business. For my business, red phone calls are made to specific critical influencers in large companies. In reality, if I do this right, I only need to make 50 red phone calls a year. The common garden variety cold-caller can achieve this volume in as little as an hour. Demonstrating the bulk of a cold caller’s time is indeed a waste of time.

Most telephone tactics are little more than carelessly disguised pleas for help from desperate salespeople who haven’t worked out a meaningful approach to engage new customers:

Here are eight steps to help you master the red phone principle:

• Never cold call a decision-maker. They are too busy and once they say no, you will rarely get another chance to pitch.
• Understand your customers by establishing who really influences the decision to buy from you and why (map and define your critical influencers and decision-makers and their emotive drivers in fine detail).
• Tap into your network of connections, and utilise relevant media and social networks to source insights and intelligence about your critical influencers.
• Who influences your critical influencer? Taking an indirect approach, before going direct can be a smart approach and pay dividends.
• Don’t be intimidated when calling, instead be prepared. Do your research, this could take not only hours, but weeks.
• Make each call with at least one piece of “critical information” that empowers and educates your influencer in new or innovative ways.
• Be credible and communicate from a place of commonality and expertise.
• Be confident, you’re a leader, other leaders respect these qualities. Don’t confound assertiveness with arrogance.
• Clearly communicate the outcome, in doing so map out a path, establish buy-in and gain the right to proceed.

These are some of the key elements to making a successful red phone call. Apply only a few of these methods and you’ll be miles ahead of your average cold caller.

Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales training and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.