Should You Use Sales Letters Before You Cold Call?

Remember the numbers game? Well, this is the thought behind sending out sales letters. The hope is that with every hundred or so letters, a few sales will result.

If you dont know how to make a call from scratch and build trust, it seems to make sense to rely on a letter, brochure, or e-mail to do the job. But once you learn to do cold calling the right way  with the new mindset  youll realize that sales letters really arent any help at all.

Here are 4 reasons to consider making cold calls without referring to a sales letter:

1. You get pegged as a traditional salesperson right away

When you start your cold call by referring to a sales letter, youre following a traditional sales and marketing technique. And this indicates to potential clients that youre a traditional salesperson.

Do you really want to be associated with something that brings up painful memories of sales pressure? Better to break out of that negative salesperson stereotype entirely, and offer something new.

2. People just dont read sales letters all that much

The hope is that potential clients have seen your sales letter before you call. From among all the other letters that arrived on their desk that day, you hope theyve read yours (which is unlikely), and remembered it (even more unlikely).

The idea is that when you call, they already know what the call is about. But almost no one reads sales letters. And if they do, they remember them only vaguely.

3. Cold calling conversations are harder to initiate

Most people take it for granted that it makes sense to send out a letter before cold calling. They think this gives them something to start speaking about. They can say, I sent you a letter, did you get that?

But when you call, these are the reactions you typically get:

" What letter/e-mail? " What was it about? " Sorry  I dont remember seeing it. What are you selling?

You may as well not have sent out the letter at all. Saying, Hi, Im just calling to see if you got my letter? does nothing to move the conversation forward or to generate two-way dialogue. Youre still at square one.

4. A sales letter makes you talk about yourself first

When you start your cold call by explaining what a sales letter was about, youre talking about yourself, your product, and your company.

This is exactly what were trying to avoid in the new cold calling mindset. We want to talk about how to solve their problems first, not about what were selling.

Isnt it true that sales letters, brochures, and e-mails focus entirely on your company and your product or service, rather than on solving a particular clients specific, individual problems?

So its essentially just an advertisement that youre referring to. And youve lost the opportunity to be seen by your potential client now as a problem solver. Youre just another salesperson whos only interested in making a sale.

So what do we do?

Suppose your marketing manager sent out several letters or e-mails and you need to follow up. How would you open that conversation?

By simply making your cold call without mentioning the letter. Just because your company sent out the letters or e-mails doesnt mean you have to refer to them.

In most cases, the letters are only going to hurt you, not help you. So basically, if you have to follow up on a sales letter, then treat the cold call as usual and dont refer to the letter at all.

Youll find that you wont be tagged with the telemarketer stigma, and you avoid being pulled into the numbers game. At the end of the day, youll feel much more satisfied with your cold calling approach. And youll be able to continue moving forward, firmly anchored in the new cold calling mindset.

About The Author Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don't know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.