The 6 reasons that should change your cold calling sales behavior.

Bring up the subject of cold calling with a group of sales people and you are assured of a lively conversation as they lament about the challenges associated with this task.

There is no question that it is difficult to connect with the right person in a company. It can be frustrating dealing with gatekeepers, receptionists, and executive assistants. Not to mention that decision makers seldom return voice mail messages. And, if you happen to connect with them, they often brush you off before you get a chance to tell them about your product or service.

Let’s turn the tables for a moment and take a look at cold calling from a company’s perspective.

This article recently appeared at SalesBenchmarkIndex.com. The number that stood out for me in their report was 83% — as in 83% of first year sales managers don't make their number. Is that possible? Is it realistic? Is it believable? Can you explain it?

A few thoughts about that...

This is a recent study so we must place it in the proper context of the times. We already know that depending on whose data you read, between 50%-75% of all salespeople did not make quota in 2010 and will not make quota in 2011. If their salespeople aren't making quota, you can be fairly certain that their sales managers aren't making quota either. So adjusted for the times, 83% may really be just 8% to as much as 33% worse than veteran sales managers.