28 Putting the CART Before the Horse

It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

—Yogi Berra

Salesperson: “This prospect never calls me back, and I don’t

want to keep bugging them. How many times

should I call back—and how often?—before I

just drop them?”

Prospect: “I have got to return that call I got the other day.

It sounds interesting, but I just don’t have time

right now. Maybe I’ll get back to them next week

Jeez, I really have to find more time for calls like

these.”

What’s peculiar about those thoughts is that salespeople

all recognize the first one but don’t really believe the second.

Buyers can relate to the second, but don’t believe that salespeople

actually have qualms about bugging them.

We’ve said a lot about how to deal with prospects you can

reach. What about the ones you have trouble reaching—the

ones who don’t return your calls?

Salespeople understand that they are crossing a line when

they make a cold call. They worry about invading someone’s

space and want to be careful so they do not offend or get on the

wrong side of the prospect. So let’s talk about how to be aggressive

but not pushy.

CART Rules of Cold Calling

When you are cold calling, the CART rules of sales and marketing

apply:

1. Be Concise.

2. Be Actionable.

3. Be Repeatable.

4. Be Timely.

1. Be concise. Messages left or first interactions with the

prospect should be short and sweet. That’s why the thirty-second

speech described in the “how-to’s” section is so powerful.

It’s a great way for you to say what you need to say, and then

listen and probe for opportunities.

2. Be actionable. Have in mind what you want the

prospect to do. Cold calling works best when the salesperson

is proactive and has an actionable next step to suggest. A little

earlier we described a tool called the TripTik_. If you have one

of those prepared and ready to send to prospects before you

call, you’ll never be at a loss for a next step.

Waiting for prospects to tell you what to do and where to

go is tragic. Their suggestions in those areas aren’t things your

mom would want you to hear.

3. Be repeatable. If prospects hear the message again and

again and again, three things happen.

_ They believe it to be true.

_ They start to build a rapport with the messenger.

_ They want to be fair, so they believe they have a responsibility

to do something.

If you are polite, informative, and sincere with your coldcalling

efforts, your message will get through. Most of the

time, salespeople blame themselves when prospects don’t return

their calls. “I must be doing it wrong.” But the plain fact

is that a lot of prospects are busy people and don’t work on

your time frame. Keep plugging.

4. Be timely. If you’re just dialing random names from the

phone book, the line between aggressive and pushy is razor

thin. But if you’ve done your homework or otherwise have

reason to believe that your target is a genuine prospect, follow

the 1-3-5 Rule.

The 1-3-5 Rule

The 1-3-5 rule: For every one sales attempt, you should expect

to leave at least three messages over a five-day time frame.

This accomplishes three goals. It will keep your message

fresh in the prospect’s mind. Your message will be consistent.

And it will be delivered with due respect for the prospect’s

time.

If you finish the 1-3-5 cycle and don’t get a response, you

can drop the prospect for now. Or you can repeat the 1-3-5 cycle

with a different message, which means six contacts over a

ten-day window. Your message is getting through, and you are

aggressively trying to reach the prospect without becoming a

constant annoyance.

TIP: Mix up your 1-3-5 communications by leaving,

say, one voice message, one e-mail, then another

voice message. Choose fax, e-mail, phone, pager,

letter, or personal visit—whatever mix of communication

you feel will be most effective. It’s that “sales

as an art” thing again, right?

Remember CART. Be concise, actionable, repeatable, and

timely, and your message will get through. The chances of a

callback will improve tremendously, and you’ll keep the sale

alive.

It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

—Yogi Berra

Salesperson: “This prospect never calls me back, and I don’t

want to keep bugging them. How many times

should I call back—and how often?—before I

just drop them?”

Prospect: “I have got to return that call I got the other day.

It sounds interesting, but I just don’t have time

right now. Maybe I’ll get back to them next week

Jeez, I really have to find more time for calls like

these.”

What’s peculiar about those thoughts is that salespeople

all recognize the first one but don’t really believe the second.

Buyers can relate to the second, but don’t believe that salespeople

actually have qualms about bugging them.

We’ve said a lot about how to deal with prospects you can

reach. What about the ones you have trouble reaching—the

ones who don’t return your calls?

Salespeople understand that they are crossing a line when

they make a cold call. They worry about invading someone’s

space and want to be careful so they do not offend or get on the

wrong side of the prospect. So let’s talk about how to be aggressive

but not pushy.

CART Rules of Cold Calling

When you are cold calling, the CART rules of sales and marketing

apply:

1. Be Concise.

2. Be Actionable.

3. Be Repeatable.

4. Be Timely.

1. Be concise. Messages left or first interactions with the

prospect should be short and sweet. That’s why the thirty-second

speech described in the “how-to’s” section is so powerful.

It’s a great way for you to say what you need to say, and then

listen and probe for opportunities.

2. Be actionable. Have in mind what you want the

prospect to do. Cold calling works best when the salesperson

is proactive and has an actionable next step to suggest. A little

earlier we described a tool called the TripTik_. If you have one

of those prepared and ready to send to prospects before you

call, you’ll never be at a loss for a next step.

Waiting for prospects to tell you what to do and where to

go is tragic. Their suggestions in those areas aren’t things your

mom would want you to hear.

3. Be repeatable. If prospects hear the message again and

again and again, three things happen.

_ They believe it to be true.

_ They start to build a rapport with the messenger.

_ They want to be fair, so they believe they have a responsibility

to do something.

If you are polite, informative, and sincere with your coldcalling

efforts, your message will get through. Most of the

time, salespeople blame themselves when prospects don’t return

their calls. “I must be doing it wrong.” But the plain fact

is that a lot of prospects are busy people and don’t work on

your time frame. Keep plugging.

4. Be timely. If you’re just dialing random names from the

phone book, the line between aggressive and pushy is razor

thin. But if you’ve done your homework or otherwise have

reason to believe that your target is a genuine prospect, follow

the 1-3-5 Rule.

The 1-3-5 Rule

The 1-3-5 rule: For every one sales attempt, you should expect

to leave at least three messages over a five-day time frame.

This accomplishes three goals. It will keep your message

fresh in the prospect’s mind. Your message will be consistent.

And it will be delivered with due respect for the prospect’s

time.

If you finish the 1-3-5 cycle and don’t get a response, you

can drop the prospect for now. Or you can repeat the 1-3-5 cycle

with a different message, which means six contacts over a

ten-day window. Your message is getting through, and you are

aggressively trying to reach the prospect without becoming a

constant annoyance.

TIP: Mix up your 1-3-5 communications by leaving,

say, one voice message, one e-mail, then another

voice message. Choose fax, e-mail, phone, pager,

letter, or personal visit—whatever mix of communication

you feel will be most effective. It’s that “sales

as an art” thing again, right?

Remember CART. Be concise, actionable, repeatable, and

timely, and your message will get through. The chances of a

callback will improve tremendously, and you’ll keep the sale

alive.