Would you rather make 100 calls with a 5% success rate - or 25 calls with a 20% success rate? Before you invest any more time & energy cold calling, make sure you’re being as effective as possible. Which of the following mistakes are you making? Be honest with
yourself, and make a decision to do something about it. Don’t try to completely change what you’re doing … instead focus on improving one thing at a time.

1. Not making business development a priority. Schedule time for business development every day ideally - or at least 3 days per week. Stick to your schedule, even when you’re "too busy." Consistency is the key. Remember - just 10 new contacts per day is 2400 per year!

2. Not putting yourself in a positive mindset: Your success in canvassing is at least
50% psychology. What state must you be in to be effective at canvassing? Confident? Enthusiastic? Motivated? Resourceful? Cheerful? Energetic?

It’s not good enough to ‘canvass when you feel like it.’ You must be able to access those
positive emotions on cue. Start with your physiology - sit how you’d be sitting if you felt energized and unstoppable. You might need to stand up for this! Breathe how you would breathe if you felt relaxed and confident. Put a smile on your face!

Now focus on the results you want - imagine clients being warm and receptive. Think of a time when a cold call turned into one of your best clients.

3. Calling the wrong prospects: Rather than making random canvass calls, be strategic about who you call. Decide who your target market is. What is the profile of your ideal client? Identify companies who fit that profile. Prepare a prospect list made up of companies who you know have a requirement, and/or companies who are likely to have future potential.

Call your hottest prospects first! At the end of each day, invest 15 minutes to create your call list for the following day.

4. Not setting clear objectives: Unless you know what you’re aiming for, you’re unlikely to hit the bullseye. What are your primary and secondary objectives? Is it a vacancy? A client visit? An interview? Get clear on your objectives before picking up the phone.

5. Lack of preparation: The best way to reduce the pressure of cold calling is to decide in advance what you want to say. There’s a big difference between reading a script and working from a script. A carefully thought out word-track gives you a framework to fall back on. So rather than worrying about what to say, you can focus your attention on listening to your prospect and building incredible rapport.

6. Not speaking to the decision maker: Don’t bother selling to secretaries - they have the power to say ‘no’ but not the power to say ‘yes.’ Unless you’re dealing with the real decision-maker, your ability to influence the client’s buying behaviour is minimal. And don’t assume you must go through the HR department. Target line management first. Don’t be afraid to start from the top down. If you call the Managing Director and she tells you to speak to line manager, you can call the line manager and say "your MD suggested I call you."

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