Are your phone lines ringing off the hook with potential clients or are you with the majority of small businesses who have suffered a decline in customer activity? You have a business, you offer a product or a service, and you have a business goal but now what?
Rarely do customers seek out a business unless they are familiar with its background and brand reputation. If you need the customers, it is up to you to find them. It is your responsibility to target your audience and capture the attention of prospective customers. Advertising and marketing play a vital role in making your business appeal to a specific audience. Lately social media has provided companies with a tremendous, free, and effective marketing tool, however social networking sites are not the only tools available. There are plenty of offline marketing techniques, one of which is Cold Calling. Although cold calling doesn’t have the best reputation, if done correctly it can be a valuable sales tactic for your business.
Cold calling is the marketing technique of reaching out to possible future customers via the telephone. The term cold is used because the potential buyers are not expecting to be contacted nor have they had any prior communications about the product. Cold calling is the opposite of warm calling which is where the potential client directly expresses their interest in your services. Companies that warm call their customers typically gather information using post cards and website information surveys or subscriptions. Compared to warm calling, cold calling relies much more on guess work, calling the right person at the right time, having the right solution, and a little bit of luck.
Some might think that cold calling is only disliked by consumers however sales associates often dislike this technique just as much. For many companies cold calling customers can be one of their greatest weaknesses.
Why consumers dislike cold calling:
- The majority of the time you can easily discover that the cold caller is uninformed about what they are selling.
- These types of calls are often unwelcome interruptions and can distract from actual work.
- Most of the time we probably aren’t interested in the products being sold.
- Sometimes the callers can appear as being manipulative, too resilient by not taking no as an answer, and too chummy or fake in order to get the sale.
Why sales associates dislike cold calling”
- They have to call someone they don’t know.
- They have to call someone they that probably won’t be interested in their product or service.
- They are discouraged easily because the high number of people who reject their sales pitch.
- They have to perform a task that usually brings the worst out of people.
- Cold calling can feel uncomfortable and repetitive, and the cold caller is often lousy at it.
Companies that rely on cold calling as their primary source for generating sales are fighting an uphill battle. However this doesn’t technically mean that it doesn’t work, it just requires more effort and the right skill set. The following are some important tips to follow when you are using cold calling for your business.
Be educated, prepared, and sell the appointment:
Know what you are selling and how to properly sell it before you attempt a cold call. Research the company that you are cold calling and try to identify the decision maker prior to calling. Develop a proper opener and possibly a call outline of the topics and key items you want to emphasize during the conversation.
Always be courteous and display confidence:
Sales calls can often bring out the worst in people but it is extremely important for you to remain polite and respectful to all parties that you encounter when conducting a cold call.
Don’t underestimate the “Gatekeeper”:
The person situated between you and the decision maker is known as the gatekeeper. This person is usually a secretary or assistant that screen callers for the decision maker. When talking to this person don’t lie, or be rude, just be straight forward with them. In order to reach the decision make you must first produce a positive impression on the gatekeeper.
Respect the prospects schedule:
Ask them if it is a good time to talk with them about the opportunities that your organization or products can provide. If they are unable to talk with you at that moment then suggest a specific time to reach them, avoid general lines like “I will call you back at another time”. Instead ask “Would it be more convenient if I called back tomorrow morning at 10am”.
Carrying the conversation:
If you manage to make it through the gatekeeper and the prospect has the time to meet with you then it is extremely important to capture their attention early in the conversation as well as maintain it throughout. Try to utilize their name throughout the conversation to strengthen and develop the bond.
- Be professional but enjoyable
Don’t be afraid to make them laugh or deviate to the occasional small talk. Being honest about a sales call situation can also provide some levity and small talk can help establish a relationship with the prospective customer. For example a cold caller may introduce themselves by saying “Hi my name is Jane and this is a sales call, I know most people hate sales calls, so I’ll be brief but I feel that there are some important opportunities that our service can provide for your company.
- Project Emotion, Create Excitement, and provide value
Use past positive anecdotes and success stories to inspire positive feelings for the prospective client. For a physical product you can suggest a product demonstration and you can refer to past customer experiences.
- Discuss their problem
Try to ask what a common problem for their company is and offer several ways how your business can help eliminate that problem.
- Push past no, but know when to stop pushing:
Being resilient is a necessity that a cold caller must have, they will frequently be faced with rejection and being able to move on and push past “no” is crucial to success. When making a call, if they tell you that they aren’t interested without hearing you out try to jump start a conversation by asking a question. For example you can ask them what problem they face and how much that interferes with their everyday business productivity. If you sense the prospect is upset and is becoming unreasonable you should politely thank them for their time and move on to your next call.
Asking for an appointment:
Even if the conversation has gone well, this is still a sales call and it is very unlikely that the client will ask for an appointment. It should always be you who closes the call by requesting a meeting with the person to discuss in more details. Remember to ask in a way that assumes that they want to meet with you, avoid “would you like” and go with “are you available on Tuesday at 3pm”. The words you choose to say something matter and in this situation they will help make it more difficult for the prospect to say no.
The best way to achieve success is to rehearse prior to the call, analyze your strengths and weaknesses following the call, and improve for the next call.
Hope that you find these tips helpful.
Thanks for Reading!
Dustin
Tags: business, call, cold, cold calling, prospective customers, sales call, warm calling
