5 The Ol’ Numbers Game

The King is the man who can.

—Thomas Carlyle

Cold calling is a numbers game. Now there’s something new,

eh? But some numbers are more significant than others. Yes,

the number of total calls you make and total appointments

committed to are important, but there are some other key

numbers that require special attention if you want to be a

Knock Your Socks Off prospector.

The Numbers in Action

“Investing in real estate can become very

confusing–there are so many things to consider

when buying a house,” says our friend Jon, a savvy

real estate agent. “You’ve got curb appeal, square

footage, the age of the house, the number of

schools and amenities nearby –not to mention the

number of bathrooms, amount of cabinet space,

and the brand of appliances—it becomes

overwhelming.”

Jon’s life got a lot simpler and he became

more successful when he figured out that some

numbers are more important than others in his line

of work.

“Now I focus on the size of the lot, the size of the

kitchen, and comparables in the area,” he says.

“That’s all I really pay attention to. If those numbers

are working for me, I invest, and I usually come out

ahead. When those numbers are not as good as I’d

like, and I still make an investment, I usually do not

do as well as I’d hoped.”

Following is a discussion of the numbers and measurements

that count most for successful prospectors. Keep a running

tab on which one you use in your success so you can tell

you are getting better.

Total Calls or E-Mails Connected

This is a ratio of the number of attempts made to the number of

the actual contacts made . . . If you cold-called or e-mailed one

hundred prospects in a day, and ten people either e-mailed or

called you back, your ratio would be 10 percent. Typical ratios

in this area are 2 to 3 percent. If all you do is work hard at the

cold-to-warm suggestions discussed in Chapter 4, your ratio

should increase to around 5 or 7 percent. If you’re able to

incorporate all of the tools in this book, your ratio should rise to

11 to 17 percent.

The time frame for counting valid responses is forty eight

to seventy two hours. (Choose what makes sense in your situation,

but remember that the shorter the time frame, the quicker

you can take additional action.) If you have not heard back in

forty eight to seventy two hours, record the cold call as a

nonconnect.

Talk Time

Talk time is a very effective measurement if you are doing a lot

of phone work. The measure is simply: How long did you have

the prospect on the phone? There is a direct correlation between

time on the phone (on a per call basis) and success. A

typical cold-call sale will have a talk time of one to three minutes.

A really good cold call will have a talk time of three to

seven minutes. Great calls for a high-dollar sale can last for

twenty or thirty minutes.

Find out what the average talk time is in your business,

because the ideal talk time varies depending on what you sell.

When you learn the average, triple it. That will be your new

goal. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to reach.

TIP: There are computer programs that can track

talk time if you use them to dial out. Additionally, if

you use VoIP, you can add a feature to your service

that will keep track by number called.

Next Step Calls

Of the total cold calls in which you made contact, how many

prospects agreed to take a next step within a specific time

frame? For instance, how many agreed to meet with you at 8

A.M. next Tuesday? (“Sometime after the holidays, maybe,”

doesn’t count.)

Measure next step successes for first calls only. Once you

have the prospect in a process, you’re not cold calling anymore.

The following are all that need to be tracked to measure

your cold calls:

_ If you had a conversation with them

_ If you got them to agree to a next step by a certain time

_ If they actually met the commitment

Aim for a success rate of 60 to 70 percent.

Management Contacts Made

This one applies to business-to-business sales. It’s the same as

“total calls connected,” but it applies to contact with the senior

managers of the company you’re targeting—the people

most likely to make final buying decisions.

We knew a salesperson who had a goal of collecting offwhite

business cards. He wanted to get one hundred off-white

business cards per year. Why? Well, it seems that at his biggest

account, only managers had off-white business cards. He

wanted to make sure he was calling at the senior levels as often

as possible. “Without a goal, how would I know if I was being

successful?” he explained.

Reference Calls

What percent of the cold calls you make are actually warm in

some way instead of purely cold? Again, this varies by industry

and type of selling. And regardless of your industry, this

metric is a bit tricky. Cold calls that are too high in the cold

area obviously will hinder your success, but in most selling

situations too many warm calls also should be a warning sign.

Why? It probably means you’re doing so much homework that

you aren’t making enough calls. This is still a numbers game,

remember?

Keep your goals flexible in order to stay sharp. If you are

not making enough calls, lower your target for the percentage

that should be warm. If too few prospects are returning your

calls, raise your warm-call target and start doing more homework

before you call.

Of course we all hate to keep track of what we do. And

yes, “just go out and do it” is often a good rule in sales. But unless

you pay attention to these numbers, you are going to spin

your wheels a heck of a lot to get results you could achieve

with far less time and effort. Keep track of the five measurements

discussed in this chapter, and you will see the difference

in your pocketbook.

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The King is the man who can.

—Thomas Carlyle

Cold calling is a numbers game. Now there’s something new,

eh? But some numbers are more significant than others. Yes,

the number of total calls you make and total appointments

committed to are important, but there are some other key

numbers that require special attention if you want to be a

Knock Your Socks Off prospector.

The Numbers in Action

“Investing in real estate can become very

confusing–there are so many things to consider

when buying a house,” says our friend Jon, a savvy

real estate agent. “You’ve got curb appeal, square

footage, the age of the house, the number of

schools and amenities nearby –not to mention the

number of bathrooms, amount of cabinet space,

and the brand of appliances—it becomes

overwhelming.”

Jon’s life got a lot simpler and he became

more successful when he figured out that some

numbers are more important than others in his line

of work.

“Now I focus on the size of the lot, the size of the

kitchen, and comparables in the area,” he says.

“That’s all I really pay attention to. If those numbers

are working for me, I invest, and I usually come out

ahead. When those numbers are not as good as I’d

like, and I still make an investment, I usually do not

do as well as I’d hoped.”

Following is a discussion of the numbers and measurements

that count most for successful prospectors. Keep a running

tab on which one you use in your success so you can tell

you are getting better.

Total Calls or E-Mails Connected

This is a ratio of the number of attempts made to the number of

the actual contacts made . . . If you cold-called or e-mailed one

hundred prospects in a day, and ten people either e-mailed or

called you back, your ratio would be 10 percent. Typical ratios

in this area are 2 to 3 percent. If all you do is work hard at the

cold-to-warm suggestions discussed in Chapter 4, your ratio

should increase to around 5 or 7 percent. If you’re able to

incorporate all of the tools in this book, your ratio should rise to

11 to 17 percent.

The time frame for counting valid responses is forty eight

to seventy two hours. (Choose what makes sense in your situation,

but remember that the shorter the time frame, the quicker

you can take additional action.) If you have not heard back in

forty eight to seventy two hours, record the cold call as a

nonconnect.

Talk Time

Talk time is a very effective measurement if you are doing a lot

of phone work. The measure is simply: How long did you have

the prospect on the phone? There is a direct correlation between

time on the phone (on a per call basis) and success. A

typical cold-call sale will have a talk time of one to three minutes.

A really good cold call will have a talk time of three to

seven minutes. Great calls for a high-dollar sale can last for

twenty or thirty minutes.

Find out what the average talk time is in your business,

because the ideal talk time varies depending on what you sell.

When you learn the average, triple it. That will be your new

goal. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to reach.

TIP: There are computer programs that can track

talk time if you use them to dial out. Additionally, if

you use VoIP, you can add a feature to your service

that will keep track by number called.

Next Step Calls

Of the total cold calls in which you made contact, how many

prospects agreed to take a next step within a specific time

frame? For instance, how many agreed to meet with you at 8

A.M. next Tuesday? (“Sometime after the holidays, maybe,”

doesn’t count.)

Measure next step successes for first calls only. Once you

have the prospect in a process, you’re not cold calling anymore.

The following are all that need to be tracked to measure

your cold calls:

_ If you had a conversation with them

_ If you got them to agree to a next step by a certain time

_ If they actually met the commitment

Aim for a success rate of 60 to 70 percent.

Management Contacts Made

This one applies to business-to-business sales. It’s the same as

“total calls connected,” but it applies to contact with the senior

managers of the company you’re targeting—the people

most likely to make final buying decisions.

We knew a salesperson who had a goal of collecting offwhite

business cards. He wanted to get one hundred off-white

business cards per year. Why? Well, it seems that at his biggest

account, only managers had off-white business cards. He

wanted to make sure he was calling at the senior levels as often

as possible. “Without a goal, how would I know if I was being

successful?” he explained.

Reference Calls

What percent of the cold calls you make are actually warm in

some way instead of purely cold? Again, this varies by industry

and type of selling. And regardless of your industry, this

metric is a bit tricky. Cold calls that are too high in the cold

area obviously will hinder your success, but in most selling

situations too many warm calls also should be a warning sign.

Why? It probably means you’re doing so much homework that

you aren’t making enough calls. This is still a numbers game,

remember?

Keep your goals flexible in order to stay sharp. If you are

not making enough calls, lower your target for the percentage

that should be warm. If too few prospects are returning your

calls, raise your warm-call target and start doing more homework

before you call.

Of course we all hate to keep track of what we do. And

yes, “just go out and do it” is often a good rule in sales. But unless

you pay attention to these numbers, you are going to spin

your wheels a heck of a lot to get results you could achieve

with far less time and effort. Keep track of the five measurements

discussed in this chapter, and you will see the difference

in your pocketbook.

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