A phone and a list of leads...

When I started out in sales that's all I had.

Makes me sound ancient.

And it may freak anyone out under the age of 30, but this basic formula taught me to communicate effectively with complete strangers, and how to think on my feet.

Skills that will last a lifetime.

Many people will argue you should do your research and prepare for every call.

But if you have clarity on the problems you solve, know your industry & Ideal Client Profile, this isn't as essential as you might think.

What else do you really need to know?

They don't care if your friend's Dad attended the same school as them, or that you used to live in Manchester.

They also don't care if you have the ability to read and can reference things from their website.

People care about one thing - can you help make their lives easier by solving some of their problems?

So tell them something they don't know & lead with the problems you solve.

You can find out pretty much anything in a 2-3 minute call, which is a lot quicker than searching online for 30 minutes, only to be blocked by a gatekeeper or unable to get hold of the right person.

There's something highly focused about working through a list of leads without any other distraction.

Access to email, the Internet etc when trying to focus, can pull you in multiple directions:

"An important email has come through, better answer it.."

"Client X needs me to do something."

You become reactive.

And it's almost impossible to get into that 'flow' state.

With a phone and a list it's easy.

I love having to think on my feet and having no other distractions when trying to engage someone and read them accurately through their tone, breathing and pace.

This is what sales is all about - human communication & understanding.

Give this antiquated method a whirl.

You might be surprised.