It can happen many times during your sales day – you are cold calling and just before you walk through an office door, a large sign stares you in the face: “Do not apply.” What should you do? Should you ignore him and continue your cold call, or should you heed his warning and avoid making this particular cold call?
3 Sales Tips for Handling “Do Not Request” Signs When Making a Cold Call
Step 1: ignore it – If you come across a Do Not Request sign between your car and the receptionist’s desk, ignore it. Every now and then someone you call will refer to the sign, but for the most part you will find that people won’t mention it. If so, simply acknowledge what was said and then state the purpose of your call. For example, you could smile and say, “Oh, sorry. My name is (your name) with (your company), I was just hoping to capture (prospect’s name) for a moment.”
Step 2: stand your ground – If they persist, say, “I’m not selling anything. I was just hoping to introduce myself (to the prospect). If you could extend the courtesy of a couple of minutes, I’d really appreciate it.” If they continue to stand firm, say “Thank you” and leave. You can call on the phone later and try to make an appointment or cold call before or after the receptionist arrives.
Step 3: out of sight, out of mind – It is important to remember that most of the Do Not Request signs that you come across while cold calling were put up years ago simply as a means of deterring the hundreds of salespeople, or dare we say even salespeople traveling, stopping and disrupting business. Many of the people you call will not even think to refer to the sign when it is introduced. You want to play with the odds and work the numbers when cold calling. If you avoided cold calling all offices with some type of Do Not Request sign, you would significantly reduce the number of cold calls.