How would you like to make 800 prospect calls a day?

From selling health care, extended auto warranties, lower credit card rates and more, we've all received "those" calls. Lately, it seems that telemarketing calls have reached a new level of annoyance.

Because I'm a perpetual student of the sales process, it took me several weeks, but I finally had a real conversation with a telemarketer. Most hung up on me when I started asking real questions. So, what's the secret to their success?

In a word: Volume.

The young lady I spoke with, let's call her Sandy, shared that their daily call goal is a minimum of 800 calls. That's 100 calls per hour in a typical eight-hour day. Sounds exhausting. Of the 800 calls she makes daily, Sandy considers it a good day when she can get eight people to buy. Eight hundred calls, a closing ratio of 1%, and eight sales. Wow.

The formula sounds like something we would never want to do. It's classic Product Peddling behavior. Sandy says the calls are scripted. (Like we can't tell.) She starts by asking, "Would you like a lower interest rate on your credit card?" A question, she admits, always ends with either the person hanging up or answering yes. Then, more calculated, scripted questions allow her to pre-qualify the person on the other end of the phone, then pass them on to a licensed agent or continue asking questions.

Next week, I am privileged to participate in the Kentucky Broadcasters Association's annual convention in Lexington. KBA Madness is the title of the event, and during one of our sessions, we will have some fun providing prospecting tips and doing an engaging exercise involving an escalator. Curious? You'll have to come. Here are three tips we will be sharing in Kentucky regarding prospecting:

Do your homework – We'll share some technology resources to make it easy.

Create a Valid Business Reason – Why are you calling in the first place? Quality, not quantity, in prospecting.

Seeding – The process of warming up the cold call.

Recently, during our Leadership MasterClass coaching session (the next class starts in a few weeks; get details here), Stephanie shared that she has initiated Friday morning call blocks. I remembered those and hated them. But hear me out… There is something to be said about a shared experience, a shared challenge and shared results. It's pretty magical. Stephanie enhances her call blocks with prize giveaways. After the two hours, you get to reach in the "box" for a certificate for various prizes from restaurants to movie theaters. Each appointment you've booked allows you to reach in the box. You get the certificate but can't use it until it's signed. And Stephanie signs it when a seller completes the meeting with the prospect. Th is gives her a great chance to do a de-brief and identify how the call went and how to help the seller do even better.

Stephanie started that at the beginning of the year. She reports that the anticipated team building is happening. That's the shared experience I spoke about. And Stephanie's stations recently sold out for the first time in a long time. Coincidence? I think not.

Arm your sellers with a Valid Business Reason and have them do the recommended homework before making the calls. What a great way to end the week: Making a bunch of calls to fill next week's calendar and winning a free meal while doing what you're supposed to do anyway.

I could never last in the 800-call-a-day environment my new telemarketing friend was living in. But we can try to have fun and build some teamwork out of a task required for success but often pushed aside because nobody likes doing it. As with most things, practice makes perfect. If you get better at it, your results will improve, you'll help more people and you'll make more money.

What are you doing to drive new business? We would love to hear your thoughts. Just email me at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com.

See you in Lexington!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.