Cold Calling Tips
These cold calling tips and tricks are designed to give some guidance as part of a salespersons sales prospecting efforts. Despite what you read, cold calling when used correctly still has its part to play in the sales process. If as a salesperson, you feel overwhelmed by cold calls, you’re not alone. So hopefully these cold calling tips and tricks can help you improve your results.
Does Cold Calling Still Work?
Cold calling tips
This is a question you are probably asking yourself. The answer is Yes, cold calling does work, but only if part of a wider strategy to engage prospects. Proactive sales calls can still be an effective tactic to target new customers and create opportunities for your sales pipeline. Remember that picking up the phone to engage a prospect isn’t as simple as having an opening pitch and a script, you need a structure and a strategy.
Stop and ask yourself – Why would a prospect listen to me? What am I offering that would trigger them to engage with me further? So, at the core of our cold calling tips and tricks is that to be truly successful you will need research and preparation, a focus on who and why you are contacting them, a plan on how your cold calling fits into your other sales touch points (email, social selling etc) and a goal for what you want to achieve from every prospecting call.
Cold Calling Tips and Tricks:
Did you know that phoning prospects in combination with social selling touches and introductory email can drive up prospect engagement by over 30%. connect rate.
Cold calling tip 1. Use an Ideal Customer Profile Template to Understand Your Prospect.
Use the Ideal Customer Profile to get a picture of why they buy what you are selling. What are their challenges, pain points, what is their industry trends, what type of company do they work at?
As mentioned earlier, cold calling only works if part of a wider strategy, a scatter gun approach just will not work. What information or data can you share to get them to listen. Without researching the prospect against a profile, you are putting your sales pitch above any investment in the person on the other end of phone. Research and preparation are key before you start cold calling, so you can focus in on the prospects who will be responsive to your value proposition.
Cold calling tip 2. Preparing to cold call.
Planning and preparing to make those cold calls will determine your level of success. List out all the sales assets and sales touch points, you have created prior to picking up the phone. Then write up your value proposition that you will open up with as part of your cold calling script. To get prospects to listen during the crucial first few minutes, you need to be able to communicate your value proposition message clearly and confidently. Ideally a prospect should not be 100% cold before you call them, what other sales touch points have you completed to increase your chances of a meaningful conversation.
Cold Calling Tips and Tricks: The goal of cold calling isn’t to rattle off some prepared sales pitch, you are trying to get them to listen by sharing some useful information and then commit to a discussion about THEIR challenges.
Cold calling tip 3. Have a Goal and know your outcome for each call.
Another one of our cold calling tips and tricks is to NEVER have the main objective of your prospecting calls to be “to find out who the decision maker is”, your research, planning and preparation should have identified this. A purposeful objective could be to identify their role in a purchasing decision for the product you are promoting. You are not there to waste each other’s time, so make sure you are clear about your goals and what outcome you want before you ever pick up the phone.
As there are now 5 to 6 people involved in any purchasing decision AKA the buying committee, always have more than one target profile to engage with in each company. Users and influencers can play a big part in getting the buying committee to consider your offering.
Cold Calling Tips and Tricks: Connect and engage with users, gatekeepers and influencers at every company you target. It is rare today for 1 single person to make a purchasing decision.
Cold calling success
Cold calling tip 4. The way you approach people is the way they will respond.
Put yourself in the shoes of the prospect, if you are approaching the prospect with a nakedly obvious sales pitch, then expect a nakedly obvious response. Successful cold calling begins and ends with the prospects best interests at heart. Visualize yourself as a trusted adviser who will be a useful and valuable resource to the prospect, one who shares quality information, is credible and an expert. Your priority is NOT your company or the product or service you sell, instead your priority is the prospect because if you prioritize the prospects needs, you are now existing to bring improvement to their roles and working lives.
This really is the test of why you should be cold calling. If you truly believe in what you offer and your personal value proposition reinforces this, then nothing will stop you. The salespeople who struggle in cold calling are the ones selling products or services they really do not believe in and this is reflected in their approach.
Cold calling tip 5. Your value proposition must get to the point.
When the prospect answers your call, will your value proposition stand out from the noise in their work life. Are you 100% clear on the value of your solution that will appeal to the prospects ears and brain. What pain points or challenges are you addressing – will it save money, save time, improve productivity, reduce risk, speed up progress and is it compelling enough for them to stay on the phone to learn more. You also should have data, statistics, case studies and industry knowledge to back your value proposition so you are seen as an expert or adviser. The reason you are phoning them today is that your research, planning and preparation have indicated that you have something to share which is worth their while considering. You are the trusted advisor, not here to waste time or share irrelevant information – you know why you are phoning and why the prospect should listen.
