There are very few professional sellers who enjoy the cold call. If you are the one in a thousand who actually can’t wait to dial a stranger’s number and try to convince her to do business. .. . then this article isn’t really for you.

This article is for those who have tried cold calling – hey you aren’t afraid! – but have dismissed it as a poor return on the time invested. When your job is to develop business you’ve got to call strangers, so the question isn’t whether or not you should make cold calling a part of your strategy – you must! – but to figure out ways to make it more worthwhile.

To get a better return on your investment when making cold calls you must first understand that those people on the receiving end hate the cold call as much as you do. They hate it because the time spent talking to those who cold call is usually a waste of time. They end up hearing elevator pitches that sound the same as everyone else’s or they’re compelled to spend time educating the caller about the way they do business.

So, the way to make the cold call more effective is to make it less painful for the recipient. Here are three few tips for doing that:

1) Do your research before you call. This is not the time to ask about “needs” or “pain points”

2) Find a legitimate business reason to call and tell them what it is early in the call

3) Mention common associates. If you seem like less of a stranger you’ll get more of a shot.

There are many more ways to make the cold call less painful for the recipient but I hope these three tips will help you be more effective this week!