How To Approach Sales Conversations and Cold Calls

There’s always an agenda.

One of my clients shared that there is a part of her that worries that when she approaches someone to have a conversation they will be turned off because they know her intention is to “pitch” something to them.

Newsflash – Whenever you engage in a conversation with anyone, at any time, about anything, you have an agenda.

I was at the airport heading through security. The people in front of me were taking forever getting their coats off, liquids out of their bags, shoes in bins and so on. It was getting comical watching it. The man behind me said to me, “Can it get any worse?” We talked for a minute until they finally got their acts together and we were able to proceed.

Our conversation was quick and not overly memorable; however, he had an agenda when he spoke to me. It might have been because he was frustrated, or maybe wanted someone to join him and commiserate with him or just to laugh at the situation with him. He did not talk with me “just because”.

I got onto the plane. The woman sitting next to me struck up a conversation with me. Again, she had an agenda, even if the agenda was simply to pass the time.

Here’s the thing… there is always an agenda.

Whenever you initiate a conversation with someone you have an agenda. It might be that you want to speak with them to get to know them so that they can refer business to you or even buy from you. It might be that you have an idea for them that you are excited to share with them. It could be that you have nothing else to do and you want to simply talk with someone to distract yourself from boredom or loneliness.

You have an agenda and it is completely reasonable to expect that the person you are speaking to knows and is either curious about what your agenda is, or suspects they already know, and may or may not want to be part of it.

So how can you make yourself and the person you are approaching more comfortable?

Simple. Reveal your agenda.

If you’re making a sales call to someone who is likely to need your services, tell them how you met and that that you are calling because you want to get to know them better. That you work with people like them and would like to get a better understanding of what’s going on for them right then, give them a little advice and if it makes sense (this part is vital!) that you’d like to share a way that they could work with you going forward.

If you’re reaching out to someone for the first time to “network” with them and are hoping to establish that person as a referral partner, tell them how you got their number or what made you want to reach out and meet them. Then let them know that what you are hoping to do is to get to know each other so that ultimately you can become a resource to each other.

Note: In both situations above the agenda you have in mind serves the person that you are reaching out to. You are helping them by pursuing this agenda.

When you expose your agenda several things happen.

1. You can stop pretending that you’re doing something that you’re not.
2. You are able to take control of the conversation so that you accomplish what you are trying to do.
3. You take the pressure off the other party so that they can stop waiting “for the other shoe to drop”. And you know what it feels like, being involved in a conversation and waiting for the other person to finally get around to what they want to say.
4. You shorten the conversation because you don’t wander around aimlessly circling your goal before you finally say what’s on your mind.
5. You take the pressure off yourself and can simply have an honest conversation.

You may be worried about what happens if they say “No, thank you. I’m not interested.”

It could mean a couple of things.

1. It could be that they really are not interested and you just saved yourself a lot of time.
2. You laid out the wrong agenda and tried to move the relationship along too quickly. This means that the agenda you set for the conversation should have been for your next time you speak (or maybe the time after that) and not this time.
3. You laid out the wrong agenda for the person because you didn’t do your research. You didn’t find out what they wanted and would be interested in speaking with you about. You focused on your needs without considering why they would want to spend time on that.

Being straightforward in your conversations can go a long way to building productive relationships that lead to referrals, new clients, and opportunities because the more you ask for what you want, the more people are able to help you achieve it.

Do you ever find yourself worrying how to approach people or feel uncomfortable on the other end of a conversation waiting for the other person to finally say what they are trying to say? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.