Whether your brand, business, or company is new and doesn’t yet have the connections or financial means to avail itself of other forms of marketing, or your sales team wants to ensure that all potential prospects have been exhausted, Cold Calling is a marketing technique that represents a “ready-to-go” method of finding new leads. However, it’s not always considered that effective.
Conversely, it’s a vital tool in any salesperson’s arsenal. In its truest sense, a cold call is cold – not merely the initial call in a chain, but one that comes entirely out of the blue. As the prevalence of social selling grows, this is an important distinction to make. However, social media can also impact positively on “true” cold calling due to more being known about the prospect than ever before.
For beginners and professional marketers, it’s worth noting that Cold Calling is a marketing strategy that attempts to solicit business from a potential customer, through the telephone, who may or may not know about your company. The nature of cold calling means that even the most skilled salesperson is never going to have a 100% success rate – but there is always an easy way out.
Consider this; if you find yourself having a streak of “bad luck”, look closer and make sure there’s nothing you could be doing better to improve. You can try to check out various resources such as the exclusive guide to common cold-calling mistakes to help identify the potential business marketing pitfalls! Afterward, ensure you follow this blog to the end so you can learn a few tricks and tips.
Understanding What The Cold Calling Marketing Process Entails
To enumerate, Cold Calling is a sales technique that involves reaching out to potential customers who have not expressed any prior interest in the product or service being offered. It is a proactive approach to sales, where a salesperson initiates contact with strangers in an attempt to generate leads and close deals. A great persona helps target the right buyer with resonating/selling stories.
Even a prospect who is a good match for your product or service will not necessarily be receptive, which is why the effectiveness of cold calling is often called into question. Unfortunately, making an effective cold call is tricky because of your prospect’s variety of possible responses. Many times, the recipient will hang up; in the worst-case scenario, you might even receive verbal abuse.
Whether cold calling is still effective is an ongoing debate, with Baylor Research showing that for every 209 cold calls made, only one appointment or referral was set. On the other side, cold calls provide immediate feedback, are more personal and harder to ignore than emails, and can be a good way to reach senior decision-makers. It’s like “cold emails” – lower investment per prospect.
On the contrary cold calling is just like “Cold Emailing” – it tends to be preferred by salespeople, even if it has not proven to be any more effective at generating leads. Debates about the effectiveness of cold calling are nothing new. In recent years, however, several market analysts – and a spate of negative coverage among trade publications – have called its purpose into question.
Exploring And Expounding On The Considerable Prospecting Metrics
Let’s face it, most salespeople dread making the cold call. Who wouldn’t? Essentially, you’re interrupting someone’s day to get something you need out of them – information, a meeting, a new sale, you name it. Realistically, at Web Tech Experts, picking up the phone is not only one of the best ways to connect with customers, but it’s also one of the best prospecting tools in our arsenal.
At first glance, cold calling might not seem the most promising way to reach decision-makers. Research by Leap Job found that only 2% of cold calls result in an appointment, while the Ovation Sales Group found that the average salesperson prospects for six-and-a-quarter hours to set one appointment. Notably, most sales don’t happen after the first, second, or even third call – see the metrics below:
Generally speaking, a particular Research By LinkedIn found that less than 2 percent of cold calls resulted in a meeting, while a Study Research By Baylor University found that for every 209 calls made, only one appointment or referral was set. On that note, it’s clear that when we think of how few of these appointments will be converted to tangible deals, it seems more inefficient still.
But how much of this is down to bad technique – and why do a number of sales managers still insist that phone is favorable? It’s true that methods like “cold email” are far quicker and more scalable than using cold calls. However, there is still a case to be made for human interactions over online ones while still helping marketers optimize their cold-calling marketing efforts.
Consider these metrics:
- Firstly, an answered telephone inquiry will provide you with immediate feedback as to whether or not a prospect is worth pursuing.
- Secondly, it’s easy for emails to be ignored, sent to spam, or otherwise filtered out (or, if they are opened, disregarded due to a “mass email” feel).
- Thirdly, it’s important to remember that while younger sales professionals tend to favor digital interactions, older and more senior decision-makers might very well respond more readily to a telephone interaction.
It’s little wonder that many sales professionals dread the thought of making cold calls – after all, you’re delaying someone else’s day to get something you need. Yet, as with almost all other prospecting techniques, the execution makes all the difference between rejection and success. Thinking carefully about your approach and preparing well can turn cold calling into a valuable tool.
You might still hear a “no” far more often than a “yes” – but if you handle things properly, the opportunities for closing big deals are there. This is especially true if you make use of social media to research your prospect as thoroughly as possible before making the call. Now, have you ever wondered how some sales professionals can exceed quotas and maintain high rates of success?
Cold Calling Is Tricky; Knowing The Secrets Makes It Worthwhile
For your information, although research shows cold calling rarely leads to conversions, a strategic plan for cold calls can still help provide immediate feedback. One thing is sure: Cold Calling is a cost-effective method that is harder to ignore than email marketing or social media outreach techniques. Technically, during the sales process, cold-calling data metrics are key marketing tools.
One aspect is to monitor your cold calling conversion funnel to see how you’re doing. As mentioned, have you ever wondered how some sales professionals can exceed quotas and maintain high rates of success even while those around them are struggling? This is usually – at least in part – down to a properly honed cold-calling technique. There’s a wealth of cold-calling tips available.
There are crucial tricks that are essential in terms of enhancing messaging – why not see how much better your success rate could be? Before you stand a chance of making an effective cold call, you need a well-thought-out approach. Thinking carefully about “when” and “who” can significantly increase your chances of success. You then need to know how to handle and follow up the call.
Created from the best teachings by the best front-line managers, the next section will help you with various elements. This includes the best practices to prepare for a call, how to efficiently organize your sales team, tips on how to make a connection every time, why the phone beats email, great tools to measure yourself and stay organized, further study external resources list, and much more.
#1: Plan prospect call times wisely
It’s worth noting that the core goal of cold calling might be to close on an in-depth meeting, but it’s unrealistic to think that will happen with every call you make. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get something out of the call, namely the next best thing: a referral. Why? For one, it means the door hasn’t been shut. And two, a prospect referral may give you a new name to talk to.
Typically, the people you wish to target – those with the power to influence and make decisions – are some of the busiest people within an organization, which means you need to think carefully about the best time to call. will not be available from 9 to 5. They have too much to do during the day to answer phone calls from unknown numbers – they’re guarded closely by assistants.
Otherwise, they are less guarded by senior team members. Therefore, if you want to reach these people, the best times to call are early in the morning or late at night. Where possible, avoid Mondays – when people are settling into their working week – and Fridays, when they’re winding down for the weekend. By mid-week, your target person will generally have a reaction to make.
They may have dealt with the week’s most pressing issues and are less likely to perceive your call as a distraction. You also need to think about the right time to call. Senior members tend to arrive earlier in the morning, so call before 9 AM for a better chance of reaching them. You could also aim to call between 5 and 7 PM when users have tied up the day’s work and have more time to chat.
#2: Organize the baseball by skills
Once you’ve experimented with the right time to call, set yourself a target number of calls per week and schedule a window to make them. This will help you get into a rhythm. When your prospect picks up the phone, you might like to ask, “Is this a good time to call?” If it’s not, schedule a time that is. Here is another aspect to note; in baseball, there are starting pitchers and closing pitchers.
They have very different roles on the team based on what they do best, all focused on winning as a team. By the same token, you must realize that your sales team is no different. To create new opportunities and sales pipeline, understanding everyone’s skills is essential to playing the right people, at the right time. Perse, our sales managers have identified four essential areas for success.
The benchmarks:
- Inbound lead qualification:– listening, gregarious, and curious
- Outbound lead prospecting:– improvisation, curiosity, and listening
- The ultimate deal closing:– negotiation, competitive, and visionary
- User account management:– consultative, process-oriented, and collaborative
By all means, identifying these skills needed for each role has also allowed our agency to create the right incentives to deliver the best results. For example, people who qualify leads are rewarded on volume whereas closers and account executives are rewarded on total dollars sold. Meanwhile, prospecting teams and business development reps are rewarded on the pipeline generated.
It’s no surprise that the Internet is full of news. And any sales team worth its salt do plenty of research before calling a prospect. Ensure you take full advantage of Google News Alerts, and check in with LinkedIn and Facebook to see what insights the social world can give you. At the very least, these credible resource references can put a face to the contact information you already have.
#3: Target the right prospects
Selling to a customer shouldn’t feel like a one-night stand. Instead, it should feel more like a courtship that will ultimately lead to a long-term relationship. Although most salespeople know this, many still make cold calls without enough preparation to turn even a short conversation into something more. The best prospecting teams work with marketing and product teams.
As a result, they can build extensive “personas” to discover who may be the best fit for the product. While some data prospecting tools can be a foundation for these with insights into titles, company hierarchy, and industry overviews, you need to go much further and deeper for a complete picture. A good prospect “persona” details motivations and outlines day-to-day job calls.
It also highlights the core functionality, mentality, and most importantly, the biggest pains that a business may have. Although sales will always be something of a numbers game, you can increase your chances by ensuring you’re talking to the right person – that is, someone for whom your solution is relevant and who has the power to make a purchase or to sell your business solutions.
Bear in mind that while the latter might not always be the ultimate decision-maker within the organization, they might be just as useful and easier to reach. For example, LinkedIn is a good social media platform that can help determine who these people are. It’s better to spend ten minutes making sure you’re talking to the right person than delivering your pitch to the wrong one.
#4: Always have a reason for calling
Ever gotten a call that starts: “I’m just calling to touch base?” What’s the reaction you have? You immediately dismiss the person as a “fisherman” or someone trolling for a conversation that might lead them to a sale. But how do you develop a real reason to call with someone that leads to more? It’s a simple step process to building the background you need to make your calls pointed.
You may use a data analytics tool to help you understand a prospect’s title, while also gathering D&B information about the company they work at – including ideas about how the company is organized. Even a little information about your prospect can help you learn more and develop a vision about how you can help them. Research their company’s current marketing campaigns.
Dig into business news articles that might mention them. Then again, using what you already know, show them you have a vision for their business. You can do this by developing or choosing a pre-existing offer for them. In this cases, essential tools such as Webinars, eBooks, a ROI calculator, a White Paper or analyst report can all make it clear that you understand their business.
Be (politely) persistent and follow up – you’d be surprised how many people don’t. You might not always get the in-depth meeting you were hoping for, but you should at least aim to secure a referral (and when you contact them, you’ll have the kind of credibility that money can’t buy). Think about anything you ever cared about getting better at: conversion, sales, or business growth.
#5: Research, follow up and persistence
Sales is not about selling products; rather, it’s about selling solutions to your customers’ problems. This applies just as much to cold calling as to any other type of sales technique. Research your prospect and think about how you can present your product in a way that will appeal to them. You might also want to use a script to keep the conversation concise and on track.
It’s very easy to do the right thing and see better cold-calling feedback – if you’re not sure where to begin, simply take a basic outline and tailor it to your needs. Always ensure you have a reason for calling and a vision for your prospect’s business; for example, you might choose or tailor a pre-existing offer. A prospective person to call may be someone you didn’t even have on your radar.
Even better, because you’ve been referred, your call to that referral gives you credibility you can’t get anywhere else. When you connect with someone based on a referral, the likelihood they accept a meeting goes up. Usually, 84% of the time executives respond positively to referrals – and while the scientists probably have a fancy term for it, we just like to call it “peer pressure.”
Last but not least, the key to staying productive is leveraging the right suite of tools. For your sales team, that means using Salesforce tools such as Sales Cloud for CRM, Data.com for leads and Chatter to collaborate on deals and across teams. The team can also leverage marketing tools like Radian6 to listen and monitor public sentiment on the companies they are prospecting.
The Notable Practices To Make Cold Calls, Benefits And Drawbacks
As a reminder, Cold Calling is the art of making unsolicited phone calls or sending unsolicited emails to potential customers. The whole process requires a salesperson to pick up the phone or draft an email, reach out to a prospect, and pitch their product or service. When it comes to general sales and marketing strategies, cold calling has been a tried-and-true method for decades.
It involves proactively reaching out to individuals who have not expressed any prior interest in the product or service being offered. The goal is to capture their attention, engage them in a conversation, and ultimately convert them into customers. When a salesperson engages in cold calling, they are essentially taking the initiative to introduce themselves and their offerings.
The aim is to help reach the marketing message to potential customers who may not be aware of their existence. With that in mind, for the process to work effectively (optimize leads conversion rate), it requires a certain level of confidence, persuasion, and communication skills. This helps navigate through the initial resistance and objections that may arise during the conversation.
Focus on these key tips:
- Plan call times wisely, people will be very busy
- Ensure you know your buyer personas and set a schedule
- Prepare properly: concentrate on offering solutions to problems
- If something is repeatedly not working, figure out why
- Learn how to train your team so they target the correct person
- Follow up, be persistent, and track problems with data
- Explore great sales behavior training resource references
In a nutshell, the concept of cold calling can be defined as the act of making unsolicited contact with potential customers to generate sales leads or conduct direct sales. It involves initiating conversations with individuals who have not shown any previous interest or engagement with the product or service being offered.
Advantages:
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Direct Reach: Cold calling allows businesses to directly connect with potential customers, bypassing the need for inbound leads or referrals. This direct approach can help in establishing a personal connection and building a relationship from scratch.
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Lead Generation: By reaching out to a wide range of individuals, cold calling can generate a significant number of leads for the sales team. It provides an opportunity to tap into untapped markets and expand the customer base.
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Immediate Feedback: Cold calling provides immediate feedback on the sales pitch, allowing salespeople to refine their approach and tailor it to the needs of potential customers. This real-time feedback loop helps in continuously improving the sales process and increasing the chances of success.
Furthermore, cold calling can also serve as a valuable tool for market research. Through conversations with potential customers, salespeople can gather insights about their pain points, preferences, and needs. This information can then be used to enhance the product or service offering, making it more aligned with the target market’s requirements.
Disadvantages:
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Low Success Rate: Cold calling often results in a low conversion rate, as the majority of prospects may not be interested or receptive to the sales pitch. It requires persistence and resilience to handle rejection and keep pushing forward.
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Brand Reputation Damage: Cold calling can sometimes be perceived as intrusive or annoying, potentially damaging the reputation of the business. Salespeople must approach potential customers with respect, empathy, and a genuine desire to help, to mitigate any negative impact on the brand image.
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Time-Consuming Process: Cold calling requires significant effort and time investment from the sales team, as contacting a large number of potential customers can be labor-intensive. It involves researching prospects, preparing scripts, making calls, and following up, which can take away valuable time that could be spent on other sales activities.
Despite these challenges, cold calling remains a valuable tool in the sales arsenal. When executed strategically and with the right mindset, it can open doors to new opportunities, foster meaningful connections, and drive business growth.
In Conclusion;
It’s worth noting that Cold Calling is a business marketing and sales technique that can help a salesperson, using the telephone, try and solicit the business of someone who has not shown interest in the products or services they offer. Realistically, marketers who are cold calling may try to optimize call times, set a schedule, target the right person, follow up, and track progress with data.
Today, the debate on whether email is more effective than the phone rages on. On one side, pundits claim email gives you scale and speed you can’t achieve with the phone. However, our managers all insist the phone is best. And the reasons are simple. An answered phone call quickly puts you onto the path of qualification so you waste less time on a prospect that goes nowhere.
Equally important, emails are easy to ignore, and sometimes never even seen due to filters. And while the younger generations starting in sales are more apt to use digital communications, the buyers they are targeting are probably a bit more traditional and respond faster to the phone. For your information, there are still a few things you can do to increase your chances of success.
Consider the following:
- Call at different times of day
- Call in 2-hour blocks
- Print up a list of people you want to call
- Turn off your email and web browsers
- Leave voicemails sparingly so you can call back on your time
Now, given the ever-evolving cloud technology revolution and innovative marketplace systems landscape, the comparative attractiveness of cold calling is decreasing in comparison with more modern types of prospecting including Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), SMS Geofencing, Text Messaging, Current Referral Clients, Webinars, Networking Groups, and more.
Overall, it’s worth mentioning that picking up the phone can be tough. Likewise, making enough phone calls can also be tough. Getting past the gatekeeper can be a challenge. Eventually, working out the above-highlighted tricks, tips, and strategies before you call will shape everything that happens after the first “Hello”, putting you on much better footing to develop a selling relationship.
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