42 Rules of Cold Calling nd Executives (2 Edition) By Mari Anne Vanella Copyright © 2008, 2012 by Mari Anne Vanella All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Published by Super Star Press™, a Happy About® imprint 20660 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 210, Cupertino, CA 95014 http://42rules.com nd 2 Edition: November 2012 st 1 Edition: May 2008 nd Paperback ISBN (2 Edition): 978-1-60773-099-6 (1-60773-099-5) st Paperback ISBN (1 Edition): 0-97-994282-9 (978-0-9799428-2-2) eBook ISBN: 0-97-994283-7 (978-0-9799428-3-9) Place of Publication: Silicon Valley, California, USA Library of Congress Number: 2008921918 Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Happy About®, nor any of its imprints, cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The author(s), publisher, and its agents assume no responsibility for errors or omissions nor assume liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the use of information contained herein. Endorsements “Mari Anne’s 42 Rules are practical, well thought out and show her obvious breadth of experience. She is very good at pointing out how a salesperson with any level of telephone experience can apply strengths that they might have in everyday interactions to becoming a more effective cold caller.” Garth Moulton, Co-Founder, Jigsaw “The 42 Rules of Cold Calling Executives is one of the most powerful toolsets for both Sales Reps and Sales Development Reps to improve and sharpen their cold calling results immediately. Mari Anne’s expertise and talent taps into the areas that affect the overall dynamic of the calls and reveals the formula for success.” Barb Nichols, Independent Consultant and Director of Sales Operations with Vindicia “This should be required reading for salesreps.” John Sovik, Director of Sales, Kalido Software Read some of Mari Anne’s LinkedIn recommendations: “Mari Anne Vanella is one of the most prolific demand generation experts that I have had the pleasure to work with. She is “master and commander” of the cold call - if one can call it that - because she invariably turns up hot leads! Her ability to penetrate the CXO domain in Corporate America is simply fantastic.” Jack Nargundkar “When I started working with Hubspan the company was in dire need of sales leads. Mari Anne expertly provided much needed guidance, and quickly turned around the company’s cold calling efforts and greatly bolstered the pipeline. Without her skill, guidance, and strong team the company would not have been able to close more than $3M in new revenue.” Shannon J. Yost, Marketing Consultant “Mari Anne has an exceptional talent for creating successful Telesales processes and results. I have followed Mari Anne’s work over the years, and have seen the positive results her team brings. Mari Anne and her capable team brings strategy and methodology to the table.” Jordan Zweigoron, Sr. Director, Business Development, Genius, Inc. “Mari Anne is the consummate professional. She really understands the pains of demand generation rather than the lip service and hackneyed processes provided by so many companies in her field. Mari Anne holds herself accountable to results, not activities, and the leads we received paid for her services 20 times over. I have nothing but the highest praise for Mari Anne and her company.” Robert G. Kelly, VP Global Marketing and Alliances, Infogain Corporation See Mari Anne’s LinkedIn profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vanellagroup Publisher • Mitchell Levy, http://happyabout.info/ Cover Designer • Catherine Borgen, http://calsongraphics.com/ Copy Editor • Suhag Shirodkar, http://teclarity.com/ Dedication To Leanne and Ted because they are great people, and I am proud of them. To my Dad because he gave me such a positive outlook on life. To Beatrice because she put me here. Acknowledgements There are so many people who have contributed to the creation of this book. I appreciate all of the support and contributions from my family, friends, colleagues, and staff. It would require another book to list all the people and events that have helped me over the years. Even though they aren't all listed here, I have enormous gratitude for all of them. There are some people who made a big difference over the last year. To Bobby Holland, my good friend and copy editor. To Karmon and Louis Walker, Barbara Nichols, and all of my clients, for their support and confidence in me and my company year after year. To Keith Ferrazzi for his experience and for helping me visualize this book. Contents Foreword Foreword by Keith Ferrazzi Intro Introduction Rule 1 Rules Are Meant To Be Broken Rule 2 Tell the Truth Rule 3 Maintain the Right Attitude Rule 4 Always Follow Up Rule 5 Be Diligent Rule 6 Gather Prospects from Prospects Rule 7 Remember, Prospects Are People Rule 8 Don’t Give Up Rule 9 Don’t Take the First “No” for an Answer Rule 10 Ask Good Questions Rule 11 Be Real Rule 12 Keep Detailed Records Rule 13 Can You Automate Yourself? Rule 14 Develop Relationships Rule 15 Track Leads Carefully Rule 16 See Every Project from the Prospect’s Perspective Rule 17 Use a Script, but Don’t Be Scripted Rule 18 Be Natural Rule 19 It’s Not Always about the Sale Rule 20 Put Yourself in Their Shoes Rule 21 Just Pick Up the Phone Rule 22 Use Voicemail to Connect with Prospects Rule 23 Don’t Let a Telephone Change Who You Are Rule 24 Be Flexible Rule 25 Admins Are Not the Enemy Rule 26 Choose Your Words Carefully Rule 27 Don’t Do All the Talking Rule 28 Quit Trying to “Sell” on a Cold Call Rule 29 Use Gestures Rule 30 How to Troubleshoot Your Calling Rule 31 Learn as You Go Rule 32 Connect the Dots Rule 33 Understand Your Customer Rule 34 Have Fun Rule 35 Use Resources Wisely Rule 36 People Like to Help Rule 37 How to Avoid the Vendor Line Rule 38 Follow Up with Email Rule 39 Don’t Focus on a Single Contact Rule 40 Refresh Your Database Rule 41 Be Aware of the Facets of Your Work Rule 42 These Are My Rules. What Are Yours?