I attend a number of conferences each year in an effort to stay up to date on the latest insights into practice management. So that I am not disappointed by the content or delivery by financial advisor/speakers who are better at being advisors than speakers, I have adopted the attitude that somewhere in the course of, say, a two-and-a-half day conference, there are a really good couple of hours of relevant and meaningful content. Sometimes, it comes in five minute spurts from a number of presentations; occasionally, in a half-hour from one.
Imagine how pleased I was to spend a full hour in a session recently with author Sam Richter at the Financial Planners Association’s Business Solutions conference in Chicago. I not only hung on to his every word; I immediately downloaded his book, Take the Cold Out of Cold-Calling (also available in paperback), so that I would have it readily available as a reference whenever I wanted to gather information online. And, lest you think this is a “sales training” book about how to make cold calls, it isn’t. In fact, the book is better described by its subtitle: Web Search Secrets For the Inside Info on Companies, Industries, and People.
The core message of this book is that there is a wealth of information on the web, either about the person you want to meet or the company and activities in which they are interested. Tapping this information lets cold calls become warm, and your chances of success improve dramatically as a result.
When I started in this business so many years ago, of course, we didn’t have personal computers or the Internet, so I was taught to try to open up a conversation with a prospective new client by saying something like: “So, tell me a little about yourself.” Or, if it was a business owner, to say something like: “Tell me how you got started in this business.”
In today’s faster-paced, information-rich world, that kind of approach doesn’t work so well. Top-performing advisors have learned to “Google” people and their businesses in advance of their initial encounter to gather information that will allow the advisor to establish some common ground quickly with the prospective new client.
How many times, however, has your research come up short by yielding only basic information that is easily available to everyone? And does your possession of that general information give you much competitive advantage? I would argue it doesn’t. That’s where this book comes to your rescue.
Did you know there is an “invisible web” of “hidden” information behind corporate sites or log-in pages that can’t be accessed by Google, Yahoo or whatever search engine you use? This book shows you how to “get inside,” as well as how to use subscription databases for free.
Ever been frustrated when you do a search on someone and end up with a million references? You’ll find numerous easy-to-use tips for narrowing your search criteria so that you will find what you want more accurately and more quickly.
One lesson I particularly enjoyed was how to move beyond collecting the customary demographic information about a prospective client. The aim is to gather psychographical insight into what those prospects care about, the charities they support, and so on. That can be powerful information to bring forward at the right moment.
The author is quick to caution that because you have all this information, you must be careful how and when you let it out. Too much, too fast – or at the wrong time – could leave your prospective client thinking of you as a stalker rather than someone who was interested enough in him or her to do your homework.
The book is comprehensive, at 315 pages. The table of contents alone is three pages long and full of itemized specifics. Examples include types of search engines; what “cached” pages are, and why they’re important; how to discover a list of email addresses for a specific domain; lists of purpose-built search engines you’ve never heard of; premium information sources; and, very important, how to put all the information together. In addition to a thorough treatment of the topic, the book is written in a pleasing, narrative style.
If you purchase the book, you also will get full access to the author’s “Warm Call Resource Center,” a downloadable “Warm Call Toolbar,” warm call scripts and research guides.
Like many of you, I’ve been using the Internet for research for a while, and had considered myself to be reasonably proficient at finding what I want. However, after poring through this book, I realize there is so much more to learn to unleash the full power of the online world.
This book will be a resource that you will access often – and get proven results.
Take the Cold Out of Cold-Calling: Web Search Secrets for the Inside Info on Companies, Industries, and People
by Sam Richter,
Beaver’s Pond Press Inc.;
315 pages, US$19.95
www.samrichter.com
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