Cold calling is the single most difficult and productive approach to sales that was ever been created. Or it is the slimiest way to do business that has ever been created. Depends on who you ask.
I’ll not be extolling the virtues of cold calling here, nor count the ways in which it is borderline unethical. The internet is full of enough people who argue both sides of the case better than I could, so I won’t even bother here.
I’m only going to talk about how Steli successfully turned one of the most emotionally draining exercises into a fun game.
Note: I have heavily paraphrased here. Also ignore the numbers. Just focus on the story. That’s the essence.
Steli Efti of close.com talks about a game he used to play with himself when he was cold-calling 100 prospects a day.
He says, “In our industry, we had a 7% conversion rate in cold calls. In my mind I decided I don’t become rich when seven prospects says yes. I become rich when 93 prospects say no.”
“That led me to buying a jar in which I threw a dollar every time someone said no. I would thank everyone who said no and add a dollar to it. This way I converted an inherently disheartening response of a NO into one which gave me some joy and brought me closer to my financial goals.”
As silly (or far-fetched) as this may sound, I have tried this approach myself and can assure you it works. (This approach is called gamification and involves taking fun elements from games and using them in business. More detailed articles and how-to guides about gamification are coming soon.)
Gamifying an activity to enjoy it more is almost guaranteed to make it worthwhile.
If you don’t believe in or practice cold calling, I’m not here to convince you of its merits. What I am suggesting is to look at the most boring or difficult activity you have to perform daily.
Find some ways to make it more fun. You can try to –
- Reward yourself in some small way for minor milestones
- Set a timer and race against time do more of the same task in a given amount of time
- Give yourself titles and levels as you progress higher up (Knight, King, Emperor, etc.)
Sounds silly? There’s loads of science behind why it works. Do your research or take my word for it now.
You’ll not only enjoy it, you’ll become better at it. I promise.
Yours,
Abhilash Purohit