Pick up the phone? But...

[Lathan]

Ok, so if you are a regular reader on the forum you have probably gotten pretty familiar with the statement “pick up the phone”. (Calling businesses and asking them what their biggest problems are and trying to dig down and find something you can potentially create a business around.)

Well, to be quite honest… I’ve kind of brushed this off most the times I’ve seen it mentioned, but it continues to be brought up by many people, including some guys on here I really respect and try to pay attention to what they say.

I was sitting here thinking, “hey, maybe I’m being a dumbass and should just PICK UP THE PHONE.”

But…..

What do I even say? Is it as simple as just asking them what their problems are and eventually getting someone to trust me and open up to me and give me something I can work with? I mean, I have no problem picking up the phone…. But is there a certain way to go about this? Or is it just trial and error finding out what people will respond well to etc?

I had to make a thread about this because every time I think to myself “pick up the phone? But….”, I hear zen******* in the back of my head saying… “JUST PICK UP THE PHONE”.

I'm really trying not to be the guy who just wants to be right vs rich.

P.s.
Hopefully this doesn't qualify as one of the "annoying newb questions" we recently had a discussion about. But, if so... let me have it, lynch mob!

 

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[JEdwards]

Start out every call with... Yo. yo. yo. yo .yo. listen, listen..

This is what I teach my peeps..

 

[Lathan]

Start out every call with... Yo. yo. yo. yo .yo. listen, listen..

This changed my life. It all makes so much sense now.

Thank you, Jack.

 

[JEdwards]

This changed my life. It all makes so much sense now.

Thank you, Jack.

Anything I can do to help.

 

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[IceCreamKid]

How about this...instead of doing cold approaches on the phone, do it in person first with salespeople to condition your mind.

Walk into any store where there's a person selling stuff. Doesn't matter what he's selling. Make small talk with him. He won't feel suspicious about who you are since he's SUPPOSED to talk to customers.

"YO YO YO YO LISTEN LISTEN. How's it going, my man? I'm just looking at the stuff you're selling right now. Cool. How much is your product? Wow, that's expensive...are you able to sell a lot of them in a day? Wow, that must be tough. Dang...what could be done to help you sell more of those, bro? How many are you trying to sell in a day? What are some of the objections you face when selling these? Is there a way we can automate the sales for you? What else? What else? What else?"

You ever observe how children talk to adults? They ask a million questions almost to the point of annoyance. Welcome to the ice cream club.

The most powerful thing: the pause.

At first you might feel uncomfortable with a pause in the conversation. Just sit there and let the pause linger. He'll start thinking more and more about deeper level pains that he may have. If you try to interrupt the "awkward" pause by jumping to another topic, you may end up missing a very expensive pain that they're experiencing.

Casual. So yea, try talking to salespeople in person first to strengthen and condition your mindset. Then once you get comfortable with doing that and have fully shifted your mindset, try the cold call approach.

If all else fails, join an MLM. I am serious. I don't know what they brainwash those zombies with, but they lose all their fear in being able to approach people.

 

[Lathan]

Anything I can do to help.

I can now officially say I was mentored by THE Jack Edwards. My kids kids are going to hear about this.

 

[SeanKelly]

A phone call is just another way to communicate. I don't understand why people make such a big deal about it. If anything it should be easier to talk on the phone because you're not face to face. To answer your question... just have a conversation and guide it in the direction of the topic you'd like to cover. I would never call someone and directly ask "what are the things you hate about working as a...?". In order to succeed here i think you have to be both personable and creative in how you structure your conversation. Don't overthink it

 

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[jeremye]

How about this...instead of doing cold approaches on the phone, do it in person first with salespeople to condition your mind.

Man that's gold.

 

[Lathan]

@IceCreamKid Thanks man. I will do it in person at first. I work in a mall so it's convenient. I'll go up to the different stores/kiosks after work.

but they lose all their fear in being able to approach people.

I don't fear approaching people. I overcame that awhile back. As weird as it sounds... my concern is it being awkward for the OTHER person (the business owner). I guess I felt like they would think I'm trying to get something out of them. People don't accept help by strangers without hesitating.

 

[DeletedUser2]

add to your list of mentors....


I get really really curious....


Here is how I open alot of calls,

Ring...
Someone answers
Hi, this is steve, can I help you.

I say oh, hey, im looking for someone with some quick information, and someone said your the smartest person around with all the answers....
(srsly)

they typically have 1 of 2 responses

Response 1.
oh, im not all that smart, and I don't know if i have all the answers.
I say: great, lets see if you have the one I'm looking for. pause, and I ask my question.

response 2.
I know everything and I DO have all the answers.

GREAT! they were right, I'm so happy to talk to a smart person finally. look, here is what I'm looking for.... (ask my questions)

this light banter, has gotten me past lots of gatekeepers.

why does this work.

I frame it in the "you must have all the answers and are smart" way.

this means if they cant answer, they get me the right person who can, (they are smart)

if they can answer, often times they will go overboard trying to prove my assumption that they are smart, and will give me WAY more info than you can imagine.

but really, being YOU, and just picking up the phone, and saying, hey im lost, not sure what question I need here, but here is what im looking for.... can yield TONS of information.

simple really is best....


Z

 

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[skekasaurus]

add to your list of mentors....


I get really really curious....


Here is how I open alot of calls,

Ring...
Someone answers
Hi, this is steve, can I help you.

I say oh, hey, im looking for someone with some quick information, and someone said your the smartest person around with all the answers....
(srsly)

they typically have 1 of 2 responses

Response 1.
oh, im not all that smart, and I don't know if i have all the answers.
I say: great, lets see if you have the one I'm looking for. pause, and I ask my question.

response 2.
I know everything and I DO have all the answers.

GREAT! they were right, I'm so happy to talk to a smart person finally. look, here is what I'm looking for.... (ask my questions)

this light banter, has gotten me past lots of gatekeepers.

why does this work.

I frame it in the "you must have all the answers and are smart" way.

this means if they cant answer, they get me the right person who can, (they are smart)

if they can answer, often times they will go overboard trying to prove my assumption that they are smart, and will give me WAY more info than you can imagine.

but really, being YOU, and just picking up the phone, and saying, hey im lost, not sure what question I need here, but here is what im looking for.... can yield TONS of information.

simple really is best....


Z

I'm bookmarking this!!!

 

[IceCreamKid]

Also, you gotta treat this gig like a numbers game. There are some people in this world who simply hate their lives and are angry all the time, no other way to put it. They'll yell at you and hang up the phone. Don't take it personally...it's not about you. Perhaps they have a really difficult life.

If you approach this gig from the angle of, "I hope these first 5 phone calls go well" and they end up not going well then you may get discouraged.

I would approach it from the mindset of, "I have to make 100 phone calls to get to that one idea. So if the first 5 suck, pshh no problem. I got 95 more to go".

Those millionaire guys have the mindset of a warrior. It's not the money that makes them valuable, it's the person that they had to become that makes them valuable.

Problems? We've never heard of problems. They're nothing more than solvable challenges.

Failure? That's not in our vocabulary. Keep pushing.

 

[Lathan]

@zen******* Thanks a ton!

Don't these people ask WHY I want to know this information? Are they not going to think it's weird that a stranger is offering to help them with their problems?

 

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[IceCreamKid]

Don't these people ask WHY I want to know this information? Are they not going to think it's weird that a stranger is offering to help them with their problems?

Once upon a time I had a crush on this pretty girl. I had her number and for days I hesitated to call her. By golly, she was so pretty I just had to do it. But ahh what would she think? Would she be annoyed? Would she be too busy? Would she wonder why I'm calling?

I called her. She was so happy to hear from me. All of those previous thoughts of mine faded away in 10 seconds.

Confusion ALWAYS comes before clarity. And action is the medicine which brings clarity to the surface.

Take action daily. Get the ice cream.

 

[DeletedUser2]

Don't these people ask WHY

nope.
most people are asleep. just jog them a little, ask what hurts, and they will spill their guts..... no shit...
Z

 

[DeletedUser2]

. It's not the money that makes them valuable, it's the person that they had to become that makes them valuable.

@IceCreamKid
my best fav quote of the week.

Z

 

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[workingtitle]

but really, being YOU, and just picking up the phone, and saying, hey im lost, not sure what question I need here, but here is what im looking for.... can yield TONS of information.

This. A million times this.

Here's an example.

I wanted to learn more about the concept of hard money lending in Real Estate. I went to Yelp, typed in my search terms, and got a quick list of 5 phone numbers. I called each one and the conversation went like this:

"Hi is this John Doe?"
"Yes?"
"Hi John, my name is XXX, I found you through yelp were you come very very highly recommended. I'm looking to learn more about hard money lending and I thought I'd call the best person I could find. I know its a bit strange getting a call like this out of the blue, but you seem to be the right guy to talk to about this"
*pause*
"Um, sure, what do you need?"

Boom. I'm in.

4/5 spoke with me. The one man out agreed to speak with me "off business hours". 1 offered ME a coffee chat and said "Good for you for calling."

When you're honest with your motives, congruent with your word choice/tonality, and you're calling them with a clear purpose as to what you want out of the call, people will be the opposite of annoyed, they will be impressed and respect you.

It's a breath of fresh air in their life to talk to an enthusiastic and warm person who genuinely is interested in them and the knowledge they have. I know it would brighten my day to get that call (especially from a person younger than me), wouldn't it brighten yours?

 

[AllenCrawley]

 

[RHL]

As soon as I tell them my name and who I'm with, the next sentence makes it painfully obvious what value I can add to them, in completely unambiguous terms. "Hi, my name is Endeka, I'm with X company, I can increase your sales by 15 percent in the next six weeks; I've done it for Q,R,S,T other businesses in your niche."

I have yet to be hung up on.

 

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