Jed (a hypothetical salesperson) keeps getting what sound like positive buying signals with his prospecting calls. Somehow, though, he's not getting very far.

"People tell me to call back in two months, four months, six months, when they will be looking at this problem" he says, perplexed. "When I call back, I get people telling me how glad they are that I called ... but my close ratio is low, and my sales cycles are way too long. What's going on?"

In response, I would give Jed the following advice.

"Jed, when you cold call someone in an attempt to sell them something, you're interrupting that person's day. The dominant instinct is always going to be for that person to find any reason to get off the phone and get back to what they were doing before you interrupted them.

"Your goal has to be to maintain your poise and get past that first fifteen to thirty seconds of the initial call ... which is always going to be a little bumpy.

"BUT - the reason you're riding out those first fifteen to thirty seconds is not so you can try to turn the person into a short term prospect on the spot!

"Actually, you're trying to discover if this person has experienced a Trigger Event. If there has been such an event you want to find out what it was and when it happened. The Trigger Event could have taken place quite a while ago, it could have happened only recently, or it could still be on the horizon.

"These Trigger Events typically fall into one of three categories:
1. Bad Experience: The buyer has a bad experience with a product/service, with people, or with a provider. For instance, there may have been a product/service change that creates dissatisfaction.
2. Change / Transition: The buyer has a change or transition in people, places, or priorities. For instance, there may have been a change in the buyer at an account.
3. Awareness: The buyer becomes aware of the need to change for legal, risk-avoidance, or economic reasons. For instance: The person may have a new understanding that buying from someone like you is less risky than continuing to buy the existing solution.

"During the first minute of your call, use the opportunity to understand which of the following three buying modes the buyer is in:

"Status Quo: The buyer is completely happy with what he or she currently has. There has not been a Trigger Event in the recent past, but there may be one on the horizon. You may think this person is a waste of time and may want to move on to the next

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