There are two ways you can subscribe to The Cold Calling Podcast.

First the easy way. Just send a message to mike@coldcallingpodcast.com with the word “Subscribe� in the title. We will then notify you by e-mail each time we release a new episode of The Cold Calling Podcast.

Alternatively, you can subscribe to the RSS feed. This way, each time we release a new episode, your chosen podcast aggregator or “podcatcher” automatically downloads it to your computer, so you can listen at your desk, or transfer it to your MP3 player to take away and listen to on the train, in the car, while out jogging, at the gym, or anywhere else that suits you!

Clicking on any of the following icons will allow you to subscribe to The Cold Calling Podcast RSS feed - just choose your favourite method!

  

     

         

If your chosen podcasting client/aggregator is not listed above, just insert the url http://feeds.feedburner.com/coldcallingpodcast into whichever application you use for subscribing to podcasts.

Whichever method you uses, if you have any problems subscribing to The Cold Calling Podcast, please contact mike@coldcallingpodcast.com.

Q: What is a Podcast?

A:  According to Wikipedia, “Podcasting is the practice of making audio files available online in a way that allows software to automatically detect new files and download them.� Technically, this is accomplished using something called an “RSS� feed, to provide information about a collection of audio files in MP3 format. In common use, the term “podcast� is most often used to refer to an independent audio show that can be downloaded from the Internet.

Q: What’s good about podcasting?

A: Podcasting lets anybody with a microphone, a computer and an Internet connection publish audio shows that can be listened to by people anywhere in the world. Because the barriers to entry are very low, podcasting is rapidly becoming a popular way for people share audio shows. Podcasts are generally free and can be automatically downloaded to portable media players, so you can listen to them whenever it’s convenient.

Q: What sort of shows are available as podcasts?

A: There are already many types of podcasts, including audio books, music shows, news, humor and sports. Most podcasts are created by amateurs, but there are also commercial podcasts and independently produced podcasts. There are podcasts in Dutch, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Mohawk, Spanish, and many other languages.

Q: Do I need to have an iPod to listen to podcasts?

A: No. The first podcast “client applications� (also known as aggregators or podcatchers) were designed to subscribe to audio shows, automatically download them and sync them to iPods. As podcasting has evolved, podcast clients have become available that work with most portable digital audio players. Many podcast sites support downloading shows directly from the site, and many directories support playing podcasts directly.

Q: Do I need special software to listen to podcasts?

A: No. Many podcasts (including The Cold Calling Podcast) can be streamed or downloaded directly from the host’s website. However, podcasting clients (such as iTunes) make the whole process of downloading podcasts and copying them to portable media players much more streamlined and “user-friendly�.

Q: Where can I find podcasts?

A: The most popular places for finding podcasts are the directories at iTunes, Juice, PodcastAlley and Podcasting News. There are many other podcast directory sites. Many podcast applications also include a list or directory of podcasts.

Q: Who invented podcasting?

A: Podcasting is based on capabilities built into the RSS 2.0 specification, which was developed by Dave Winer. Adam Curry catalyzed the podcasting concept in September of 2004, when he released a script that automatically downloaded audio files referenced in RSS files.
While there are many precedents for Curry and Winer’s work, they put the pieces together and popularized the idea of podcasting. Because of this, they are generally considered the “podfathers� of the podcasting community.

Q: What hardware and operating system do I need?

A: You can create and listen to podcasts using Windows, Mac OS X and Linux podcasting software.

Q. What is RSS?

A. RSS files are text files that contain information about things available on the Internet. For podcasting, RSS files are used to syndicate information about a podcast “channel� (the show as a whole), and also individual podcast episodes.

Q: What can you do with a podcast?

A: A browse through a podcast directory shows the variety of podcasts that are available. Here are just a few things podcasting can be used for:

- On-demand versions of radio shows
- Personal audio blogs
- Audio books
- Music shows
- Audio tour guides
- Educational content that depends on audio (language, music, etc)
- Marketing for musicians
- Distributing sermons and other religious content
- Storytelling
- Sports coverage
- Distributing/synchronizing audio and video files for business.

This week, we have a special guest on The Cold Calling Podcast - Mark Whitehouse, Director of Channel Alliances.

We talk with Mark about how “indirect selling” (i.e. using partners) can help you increase your sales pipeline and close more business.

Mark explains why you should add channel selling to your arsenal, discusses some of the criteria for choosing the right partners to help you sell your solutions/services, and examines what your ideal partner might want from you.

More details on Channel Alliances can be found at their website at www.channel-alliances.com.

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com, or call our audio comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from within the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from outside the UK).

Digg this!

Listen Now:

 CCP025 - Channel Selling [24:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4125)

This week on the Cold Calling Podcast, we discuss some techniques you can use to steer telephone conversations in the direction YOU would like them to go, rather than be at the mercy of the person you are calling.

We stress the merits of recording your conversations, so you can listen back and fine-tune your approach, and we cover various tips and tricks you can use, including the use of “loaded” questions, silence, interruptions and changing the subject, to give you control of the conversation.

We also have an update on our competition (entries are still being accepted until 31st January 2007, so send us your best tips and tricks if you want the opportunity to win a Creative Zen).

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com, or call our audio comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from overseas).

 CCP024 - Steering Conversations [24:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4201)

Hello and Happy New Year!

For our first episode of 2007, we discuss how to leverage information you might uncover on one call, on your next and subsequesnt calls.

Using this technique can make your cold calling much more effective. Leading in with “inside information” that is both relevant and topical to the prospect you are calling, can yield excellent results.

We also have a couple of announcements to make about The Cold Calling Podcast going into 2007, and there is a competition where you can win a Creative Zen MP3 player.

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com, or call our audio comment line on 020 7193 1295 (from the UK) or +44 20 7193 1295 (from overseas).

 CCP023 - Using Feedback for Leverage [28:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3734)

This week, we talk about how to deal with the “Sales Prevention Dept”, or more accurately, all those annoying things that make your selling job more difficult.

These can include interfering line managers, changing territories, quarterly targets, CRM/Sales Tracking systems, timesheets, the 9 to 5 office mentality, internal meetings, exhibitions, and a whole host of other things that can generally get in your way and waste your time.

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com.

Please note that this will be our last podcast of 2006. We are taking a break now until January, so we would like to wish all of our listeners a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Speak to you all again in 2007!

Greg and Mike.

 CCP022 - The Sales Prevention Dept [22:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3883)

On this week’s episode, we talk about easy it is to get trapped when you’re cold calling. There are a number of ways you can be trapped, including:

- By personal assistants and secretaries
- By middle managers and control freaks
- By decision makers who don’t move things forward
- By voicemail

We discuss ways to avoid falling into these traps, and how to escape from them if you do get caught.

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com.

 CCP021 - Trapped! [17:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3687)

On this, our twentieth episode, we talk about five common types of objection you might face when cold-calling, and how to deal with each one. The five most common are:

• Send me something in the mail
• We already have one of those
• We don’t have that problem
• It’s not a priority for us right now
• (on second call) I didn’t get a chance to look at your stuff yet

We also talk about the difference between sincere and insincere objections, and how to recognize, and deal with, each.

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com.

 CCP020 - Objection Handling [23:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4457)

This week, we revisit a topic we covered a while back in show number 2 - Finding Direct Numbers.

Hot on the heels of last weeks episode, where we covered how to find target names using LinkedIn, we felt this would be a good time to explain again some of the more useful techniques for finding direct numbers, by fair means or foul!

If you have any comments, questions or feedback, or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future show, please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com.

 CCP019 - Direct Numbers II (The Sequel) [17:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4019)

This week, we focus exclusively on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) as a means of finding new prospects to call. LinkedIn is an absolute goldmine when it comes to finding target individuals, so long as you know how to get the best out of it.

We talk you through how to use the People Search function to best effect.

Please e-mail mike@coldcallingpodcast.com or greg@coldcallingpodcast.com if you have any suggestions, comments, questions or feedback.

 CCP018 - Linking Up to New Prospects [15:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3489)