What comes to mind when you think about cold calling? Power suits from the 1980s and the Wolf of Wall Street? Is this a relic of the past? Cold calling, like shoulder pads and landlines, has become a relic since the 1990s tech boom. Cold calling appears to have fallen by the wayside in the age of email and voicemail.
What exactly is cold calling?
Cold calling is the first stage of the sales process, and it is your initial point of contact with any possible client. It’s a frightening, yet essential, step. After all, you have to start somewhere!
You’re already ahead of the game just by picking up the phone. Julie Thomas reveals on the LinkedIn Sales Blog in her post “The Biggest Prospecting Challenges for B2B Sales Professionals (And a Way to Overcome Them)” that fear is the biggest barrier to cold calling, with 53 percent of respondents saying they quit cold calling quickly, and 48 percent admitting they were scared to pick up the phone.
However, if you overcome your phone fear, you will see an increase in sales. In a 2017 research, DiscoverOrg discovered that 55 percent of high-growth firms used cold calling, whereas organizations that didn’t cold call grew 42 percent slower than competitors. Who doesn’t want to see their business grow?
How to Make a Cold Call
You could assume that you don’t need a step-by-step procedure for picking up the phone and dialing. And you’re correct. However, there are more successful methods of cold calling. Finally, how you come across on the phone influences how people perceive both you and your firm, so it’s critical to establish a strong first impression.
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Conduct your research
When it comes to cold calling, there is no excuse for being unprepared. You should be able to find out who you need to be talking to, meaning the people making the purchase choices, as well as the pain problems their firm or industry may be suffering, using LinkedIn, social media, and corporate websites. When you position your cold call as a means to assist your prospect rather than a sale you need to make, you’re significantly more likely to get a response.
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Make a Proposal for Yourself
Remember that initial impressions are important. Be courteous. Not just to the decision maker, but also to the gatekeeper, who may be a secretary or an assistant. Please introduce yourself. Before telling them how you can assist, give them your entire name, position, and company name. Make a connection between your firm and theirs, and tell them how your product or service may help their business.
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Make the Call Qualify
Your study should have assisted you in determining the pain issues of a firm and/or industry, as well as if the solutions you provide are a good fit. However, you may not be able to gather the complete narrative from your investigation alone. To persuade your prospect to fill in the blanks, ask thoughtful, open-ended questions. ‘Yes or no’ inquiries will halt your customer in their tracks and will not provide you with the specific information you want.
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Make Cold Calls a Little More Comfortable
Allow cold calling to serve as an introduction to you, your company, and your product. You are not need to “always be closing.” Create connections and relationships. Most people prefer to work with people with whom they like spending time. Developing and sustaining rapport with prospects may take a little longer, but it will pay off in the long run.
Maintain Contact
Because your cold call was only an introduction, you must follow up. According to Marketing Donut, 92% of salespeople abandon up after four no’s, whereas 80% of prospects say no four times before saying yes. So, make a follow-up call or appointment – and then call again. This will allow you to continue developing your relationship with the prospect and instill the trust necessary to close the transaction.
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Be ready to walk away
- Cold calling also involves disqualifying a lead. Maybe your prospect has a deceptive online presence, or maybe they’re just not a suitable fit for the items or services you provide. Determine who is a suitable fit for your services and devote your attention to them.
