Episode #419: Ashleigh Early
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Ashleigh Early
Cold-calling success hinges on your ability to listen and ask great questions. The more good questions you ask, the more likely you are to get your prospect to say “yes” to a meeting. It can be too easy to interrupt and be combative when you know they don’t understand what you’re saying. Ashleigh’s process will help you move beyond baseless objections to that elusive “yes.” She details her strategy in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
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Cold-calling success hinges on your ability to listen and ask great questions. The more good questions you ask, the more likely you are to get your prospect to say “yes” to a meeting. It can be too easy to interrupt and be combative when you know they don’t understand what you’re saying. Ashleigh’s process will help you move beyond baseless objections to that elusive “yes.” She details her strategy in this episode of Sales Reinvented.
Outline of This Episode
- [0:58] What is cold-calling? Is it still relevant?
- [2:26] Is cold-calling an art and a science?
- [3:32] Get into the performance mindset
- [5:06] Ashleigh’s opening lines and techniques
- [6:30] How to keep a cold call engaging
- [8:05] Tools, technology, and metrics
- [10:50] Ashleigh’s top cold-calling dos and don’ts
- [12:56] How Ashleigh handles objections and rejections
Is cold-calling an art and a science?
It’s easy to think that x number of dials should get you y number of connections should get you z number of conversions. But cold-calling is psychology. It’s understanding human nature and learning how to leverage that in your favor.
The art is figuring out how to get the best performance out of yourself. It’s making sure you’re setting yourself up for success. That looks different for everyone—and takes a while to figure out. Ashley has to get into the right mindset first.
Get into the performance mindset
Ashleigh is a trained Opera singer. From her training, she learned that the way you prepare is the way you perform. You need to do vocal and physical warmups to prepare to sing. You do whatever it takes to get into the mind of your character.
Cold-calling is similar. It’s taking a second to focus and center yourself around what you’re doing. Ashleigh built a routine where she closes unnecessary windows on her laptop, cleans her desk, grabs a cup of coffee, and gets started.
How to keep a cold call engaging
What keeps people on the line? Ashleigh believes that it’s asking a great question. Start with something that makes them think but is easy to answer. Ashleigh might ask whether or not they have a specific tactic or tool in place.
Or, she’ll ask a specific question about how they’re solving a problem for their clients. If you get their wheels turning about their problems and how your solution will help them solve them, that will be more likely to get you to a yes.
Listen to hear Ashleigh’s top cold-calling dos and don’ts!
How Ashleigh handles objections and rejections
Winning by Design teaches the “AA” method for objection handling, which Ashleigh follows. It’s simple:
- Acknowledge the objection
- Ask another question
If someone says “We don’t have the budget right now,” you can say “I’m hearing that from a lot of companies right now. I understand the budget is tight.” Then ask a question like, “What are the priorities for spending that you’re investing in this quarter?”
By asking that question, Ashleigh is trying to figure out where they’re spending their money to see if she can piggyback on it or if it’s not going to happen (or if she needs to go higher up to a decision-maker).
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Learn More About Ashleigh Early
What was a pivotal moment or experience in your career that shaped your approach to cold calling, and how did it change your perspective or strategy? My first call! I actually stumbled over the words so badly I had to stop and ask to start again. The prospect laughed, and kindly let me try one more time. In fact he actually took the meeting – and then asked if me messing up was a “tactic” to get his attention…I said “No you’re literally my first call and I’m shaking I’m so nervous”. It taught me 2 things. First – messing up doesn’t mean you can’t get a meeting. Second – Prospects have had their trust broken SO often they’ll assume anything is a “tactic” – so always be genuine and respectful, trust takes time to earn but you can break it in a second.
Can you share a specific tactic or approach you’ve used in cold calling that significantly increased your success rate? Please provide a brief example or case study. If someone says they’re not interested ask “Do you mind if I ask why you’re not interested?” I love this because someone who is being that generic in their push off is just in a “no, No, NO” mindset…but if they answer “no” to that question they kinda have to give you a real objection. And anyone who responds “Yes” to that was never going to listen, so conceed the battle and try again another day.
Cold calling often comes with its set of challenges and rejections. Can you share a particularly tough challenge you faced while cold calling and how you overcame it? Honestly the mental toll of either no answers, or a lot of bad data. It’s literally out of your control but your body and your brain will tell your nervous system it is your fault. Breathe. Focus on what is in your control – and stand up for yourself by knowing you numbers (talk to your boss about how your “pick up rate” went from 10% to 1% this week. Ask if it’s the best use of your time to call a list that has proven to be 50% bad info after 50 dials.)
What are the top three tools or resources (e.g., software, books, training programs) you consider essential for someone looking to improve their cold calling skills and outcomes? Listen to your own calls. (Just use the call recorder on your phone to get your side if you don’t have a tool) Drill any chance you can with your boss, peers, AEs or anyone you can. #NotSponsored – I’m also a big fan of Winning by Design and GAP selling. What methodology you pick/resonates with you isn’t as important as having one – it keeps you accountable.
How do you foresee the practice of cold calling evolving in the next few years with advancements in technology and changes in buyer behavior? What advice would you give to sales professionals to stay ahead of the curve? Never forget the basics. Listen, mirror, ask great questions. Cold calling isn’t going anywhere, and the skills that make great cold callers apply to every stage of the sale cycle. So even if pickup rates keep dropping and prospecting has to continue to adopt other channels…there will always be work for cold callers who mastered their craft.
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