Tips for Effective Cold Calls
Despite their lack of popularity among many sellers, cold calls are still a primary first contact with sales leads.
The most effective cold callers are able to warm up the calls a bit with some simple planning. The following are several tips you can apply to your cold calling routine to improve your appointment setting efficiency.
1. Call the Right People
I’m serious. A common reason sellers develop a negative attitude toward cold calls is that they get tired of the rejection. When you contact people that have very little use for, and interest in your solution, rejection is the likely outcome.
Therefore, before you even pick up the phone, know the exact role of the person you are calling. Match a particular solution with the right buyer persona, prioritise contacts, and call with greater confidence in your ability to get in front of the right people.
2. Plan the Call
Some people view scripted calls as bad news. They think about the robotic, monotone, impersonal approach used by many traditional telemarketers.
However, a call outline or script that is practised well, can allow for greater flexibility regarding the direction of the conversation. It’s all about how you deliver it. Get that right and you will be on the right track to improving your success rate.
Even before you prepare scripts, develop a call blueprint. This map structures the conversation. It allows you to create the formula for the optimum call flow.
3. Deliver a Strong Introduction
A cold call introduction is the first message you deliver that includes who you are and the purpose of the call.
Do not start your call with “I’m sure you are busy so I won’t keep you long…” Don’t delve into your sales pitch. Instead, indicate the general value of your solution and what led you to contact that buyer.
And don’t forget to sound enthusiastic. There is nothing worse than listening to someone giving a sales pitch sounding like they would rather be anywhere else except speaking to you on the phone.
4. Ask Questions First
Engage your contact right away. People are naturally resistant to sales calls, especially when they are obvious.
If you want to have more effective cold calls, use your personality and show sincere interest to ask the prospect about his current business issues. Then, explain why your solution offers an appropriate remedy.
5. Focus on the Meeting
What’s the point of your call? The goal of a cold call is to get a meeting with your prospect. Say too much, and you give the prospect an easy out without ever meeting face-to-face.
Instead, intrigue the buyer with a powerful message about the value of your solution. Then, ask to meet to delve deeper into the issues and challenges they are facing for a specific amount of time, whether 15 or 30 minutes, to talk more in person.
If a buyer tries to get off the phone by saying, “Send me some information,” avoid the temptation to do so. Instead, assert the importance of meeting in person to investigate the business problem in more depth.
At the very least, if you can’t get a meeting straight away, find out more about the company’s buying process and who else is involved in the buying decision.
6. Investigate Alternative Methods
Yes, I know this is slightly self-promotional, however, no matter how you do it, cold calling is time-consuming and stressful for sales reps.
You can alleviate this pressure on your team and help them focus on nurturing opportunities by outsourcing your appointment setting. Internal Results collaborates with sales organisations to communicate your value proposition to chosen targets, and you only pay for actual appointments.
It frees up your team to focus on other areas and ensure you are meeting the right people at the right time in their buying process.
Wrap Up
Don’t fear cold calls. If you want to generate more effective cold calls, plan and execute effective strategies to communicate your value to the right people in the right way.
Emphasise a customer-centric attitude, listen to what your prospects are concerned about, and focus on getting a meeting so that you can take it to the next level.
