This Wise Owl Loves Being Right! - How many calls does it take?
How many calls does it take?
Some of you might remember the decades-old famous Tootsie Pop commercial featuring a boy asking a wise owl, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" The owl takes two licks and one large bite and announces "THREE" as his definitive answer. You could tell the owl took great pride in being correct.
This commercial, while a fun walk down memory lane, has given me pause as I hear a similar question from new salespeople when they try to set appointments, "How many calls does it take to get the appointment?"
I'll dive into the answer, just keep in mind that Frank here is like that wise old owl and loves to be right!
For the last three years, I have been conducting research
for a new book. Part of the research has
been a series of one-on-one coaching sessions (we have done this with well over
100 “new” salespeople) with folks who have found themselves charged with sales responsibilities,
yet have no experience. None of the
people we are working with have been in the position for more than 12
months. The whole concept is designed to
help them accelerate their journey from neophyte to journeyman seller in a
fraction of the normal time required.
I have stressed that one or two calls to a prospective
customer aren’t necessarily enough to drive results. Most new sellers are concerned with being a
pest. After just two calls, they often decide
the potential customer just isn’t interested in speaking with them. This misconception is often driven by their
own experience with telemarketing spam calls or feedback from their more
experienced counterparts who rarely reach out to new people through force of
habit.
Our research indicates that reaching someone today can
take between 5 and 7 phone calls, and the number seems to be trending
upward. We have developed a process that
spreads these calls over several weeks and times of day, when possible. Each outgoing call includes a brief,
straightforward voicemail message. And, since
it can be assumed that nearly everyone’s phone is equipped with caller ID, we
strongly discourage ending the call without leaving a message.
While most new sellers are skeptical of this plan, we
press them to at least try the 7-call plan.
Here’s where the good news and positive affirmation come into play.
I have had a couple of these new sellers randomly report
on their progress in the past few days.
It seems they have discovered that I was right, and it does take more
than two or three calls to reach a prospective customer.
One shared this experience:
“I had made six calls to the plant manager of one of my best prospects and had not received a call back, message, or anything. I was concerned this very important guy was either too busy to see me or just plain didn’t have time for salespeople. This afternoon my phone rang, I didn’t recognize the number, so I blindly answered the phone. When Bill identified himself, I was surprised. But the biggest shock came when he spent the first couple of minutes apologizing for not calling me back sooner. Our call was brief, but I have an appointment to speak to him at length next week.”
The biggest kick of all came by way of a personal
experience within minutes of my phone call with the new guy. Here’s the story.
I had been attempting to connect with the VP of Sales of
a major company to talk about a distributor association. I have known him for a long time, but it has
been a global pandemic since our last conversation – a lot of water has been
under the bridge since our last time together.
In some ways, I personally faced the same fears and apprehensions as the
new guys I am coaching. Did he remember
me? Would he be open to a
conversation? Had things changed so much
in his organization that my call would be viewed as having no value?
Reluctantly, I decided to follow my own advice. I started a call plan to reach this gentleman
about three weeks ago. I left six
messages on his voicemail. It was later
in the afternoon when he returned my call.
He thanked me for being persistent, we renewed old acquaintances and had
a great conversation about the value of the distributor group. At the end of the phone call, he gave me his cellphone
number to make the connection easier in the future.
By the end of the day, I was feeling ten feet tall and
bulletproof. I was right.
For those of you who suffered your way through this,
below is a brief outline of the process:
Process for making calls
1.
Create a spreadsheet with the names and phone
numbers of the people you would like to call.
If you have an email address, add it to the spreadsheet.
2.
Day 1: Place
call number one near the beginning of the day.
Leave a message as to the purpose of the call, stressing that the call
will not be a sales pitch.
3.
Day 3: Place
a second call at a random time (whenever you have 10 minutes).
4.
Day 5: Make
your third call around lunchtime.
5.
Day 8: Call
at a random time.
6.
Day 14: Try
again near the end of the business day
7.
Day 18: Reach
out at a random time.
8.
Day 24: Call
before business hours.
But let me stress this… ALWAYS leave a well-thought-out voicemail. ALWAYS stress that your call is not a “pitch” or other canned sales presentation. It works.
Frank Hurtte, Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting, shares his personal experiences with 28 years of "in the trenches" training and 17 years as a consultant. He serves as a personal coach to industry leaders across many lines of distribution. He has authored 5.5 (one's almost done) books and has written hundreds of articles for national trade magazines.
Frank is also a sought-after copywriter of marketing materials for technology companies. His charismatic, yet laid-back, easy-to-follow manner makes him a favorite among public speakers.
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