Prospecting Tips For Cold-Calling
Why do people shy away from “Cold Calling” or dread getting that call? Let’s take a look at both sides of the coin:
Why Sales Reps Hate Doing Cold Calls:
- Interrupting the other person and getting rejected by the gate-keeper or the contact.
- Poor product or service offering and lack of training.
- It’s easier to send an e-mail then picking up the phone.
- Stress of calling quotas.
Why Customers Hate Getting Cold Calls:
- Interruptions in their day activities.
- Person calling is reading a script – lack of interaction.
- Not relevant product or service to their business.
- Hate being sold too by pushy telemarketers
As you can see it is stressful for both sides but a necessary evil that creates jobs and opportunities. It doesn’t matter if you are a start-up or a medium sized company, you need to keep your sales funnel flowing consistently to feed the rest of your business. These days with the internet and social media you might be told that “Cold Calling” is not effective and you only need a social presence to achieve the same results. This may depend on your business but you should have a marketing or sales strategy that encompasses the “old school telephone” with the new methods of lead generations.
Here are some tips to improve the “Cold Calling” process:
- As the person calling, you should know how to approach your target market with the right product / service offerings. Do your homework and get rid of the random “dialing for dollars” culture in your business.
- Respect the responses of the contact or gatekeeper and the contact should do the same as the sales person is just creating an opportunity for you to better your business.
- The sales rep should keep in touch with the prospective client using calls and other methods to provide them value while building a relationship. The normal is 6-10 touch points.
- Give the contact a good experience by smiling on the phone while you speak 1-2 sentences at a time with confidence. No one wants to hear a script in one breath. People want genuine connections, especially in today’s world of technology. We’re still human.
So the next time you have to pickup the phone to either make the call or answer it, just remember it’s an opportunity that depends on what you make of it.
