Many people get scared away from sales when they hear about cold calling. Cold calling can be an effective sales technique that can help you qualify leads and gain new clients. Getting through to prospects has become more challenging in the last few years. Robocalls makes most of us hesitant to pick up calls from “unknown” callers and Apple IOS has released a new feature to automatically block unknown callers. So why should you care about cold calls?
Well if cold calling is done correctly, it can be a really effective way to reach your prospects. The goal of a cold call should be to set up a meeting, not to make the sale.
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Follow these 6 tips to help you or your sales team master cold calling and get more deals.
1. Be prepared
Before you pick up the phone and start calling, do some research on your prospect. Make sure you have their correct name, business, and some industry data. This will help your call run smoothly. If you are getting cold sweats from cold calling, try these 8 lead calling tips to help overcome cold call anxiety.
Doing research on your prospect can also help define if the person you are calling fits into your buyer's persona and if they are well suited for your product. As a successful salesperson your time and energy should be focused on businesses and prospects who are interested in what you have to offer. These prospects are more likely to answer your calls and hear what you have to offer. Nowadays, random cold calling does not work like it used to. Buyers today are more informed than ever and being prepared for your call will allow you to be a better salesperson.
2. Know the answers before you are questioned
Being able to understand your prospects' pain point will be crucial when closing the deal. How you carry the conversation will determine if you close the deal or if you never hear from your prospect ever again. Coming up with pre-responses to frequently asked questions will set you up for success.
You should practice your sales pitch before you get on a call. Find what works best for you. Some salespeople find that smiling when they are speaking makes their message come across more effectively, while others find success when standing or walking around. No matter what your approach is or what tricks you have to help you through the call, make sure to provide valuable information that will answer the questions your prospects might have.
Integrating Attention into your sales call meetings can increase your business closing deals on average by 48%. Attention tracks the progress of your new-hires and guides them into becoming supersellers within a month. Being able to see real-time feedback will allow your reps to connect with their prospect and ask time appropriate questions.
3. Find the best time that works for your prospects
A great way to start any sales conversation is to ask for permission to start the conversation.
For example; “Hi, this is John from {company}, is now a good time to talk?”
If they say yes, then you have permission to begin the conversation.
If they say no, then try to reschedule for a time that works best for them. This will allow your prospect to talk to you at the most convenient time for them and be able to really pay attention to what you are offering.
4. Take charge of the call
When speaking with your prospect you should have a clear talking point schedule. This will allow you to stay focused and take charge of the call. This is crucial when cold calling so you stay on task and can keep notes on what you are speaking about. The notes you take during the call will be helpful when qualifying the lead.
By having talking points you will avoid rambling and losing the objection of the call. Remember, even though you are taking charge of the call, the main focus of the call should always be the prospect.
5. Provide a solution to your prospect, not a sales pitch
When you are cold calling, try to avoid a scripted pitch. This is only going to lead to more prospects saying they’re not interested or hanging up the phone. The reality is that most people are busy in their day-to-day lives and don’t have time for complicated long scripts.
When speaking to a prospect, provide them with practical information to demonstrate you understand their situation. Once you understand their pain point, offer your product as a solution to their business problems. The focus of your call should not be to persuade your prospect to buy something they don’t need; your focus is to provide them with a solution that can benefit their business.
6. Stay in touch with your prospect
Toward the end of your conversation with your prospect, you should strategically plan on a follow up meeting. You can schedule a demo, sign them up to your mailing list or offer to send them additional information on the topic you talked about.
If your prospect did not answer the first call, you can try calling them again the next day or sending them a cold email in hopes to set up a meeting.
These are just a few ways to help improve cold calls. Be prepared in advance of the cold call so you don’t get caught not knowing the answer to a common question. Take charge of the call and get your message across eloquently while also looking out for your prospect’s pain points. Once you find the pain point, provide your solution or your company’s solution. And finally, stay in touch with your prospect. Make them feel like you really care about the challenges that they’re facing. Remember, the goal of the cold call is to lead to a meeting; it is not to sell them on the product.
To maximize your cold calling efforts and run successful sales meetings, try Attention. Attention uses innovative AI to deliver real-time guidance during sales calls. This allows your organization to ramp up new hires, and increase closed deals.
