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Cold Calling: Everything a Salesperson Needs to Know
Home » Cold Calling » Cold Calling: Everything a Salesperson Needs to Know
Cold calling is not dead! It’s still kicking butt and taking names.
Did you know that the average businessman or businesswoman receives over 115 emails per day? While it’s hard to stand out in a decision-maker’s flooded inbox, their phone is often left underutilized. In fact, 51% of executives would rather hear from sales reps via phone compared to email, LinkedIn, and in-person visits.
What they need is someone who understands the complexity of a sales call, what needs to be said, and how to say it. Today, it’s more than knowing exactly how a product or service can help a customer’s business flourish.
It’s acting as your customer’s go-to trusted advisor by delivering a value-added, consultative, and personalized experience. This is the golden key to cold calling!
We’ve got you covered with the ultimate guide on everything you need to know about cold calling. Click the links in the table of contents 👇 to skip to the chapter of your choice, or read this post from top to bottom.
Just be sureyou print and bookmark this blog post so you can take it with you wherever you go, wherever you sell. And share it with your sales colleagues. They’ll thank you for it.
In its simplest form, cold calling is the act of calling someone whom you’ve never had contact with before, with the ultimate intention of selling them your product or service.
The activity of cold calling usually evokes eye-rolling and frustrated sighs from both cold calling recipients and cold calling makers.
Yet…
82% of buyers have reported that they accepted a meeting with a cold-calling salesperson as a result of their initial call. So, cold calling must be doing something right?
Cold calling has evolved over the years; no longer do sales reps simply type a telephone number from a list and give it a bash. No. Nowadays, cold calling is a highly targeted approach with hours of work in the backend spent on research, strategic thinking, approach, and the identification of ideal prospects.
In other words, boosting a salesperson’s cold call success rate takes plenty of effort even before the phone is used!
Is Cold Calling Dead?
The question should not be if cold calling is dead because no form of generating sales is ever truly dead, but rather, is cold calling right for you and your business?
Cold calling requires a passion for continual improvement. You’ll need to constantly adopt new call strategies that are relevant for your target market and ideal customer while refining your technique. Those who think cold calling is dead are likely using tactics from the 80s.
Furthermore, cold calling is comprised of more than just a phone and a list. Thanks to the prominence of CRM software like Salesforce, there are several sales technology integrations that improve the success rate of cold calling, such as auto dialers, cold email marketing, gamification, and more.
Depending if you’re an inside or outside sales rep, you’ll make anywhere from 45 calls to 200 calls in a run-of-the-mill workday. Successful sales calls will usually take around six minutes. That’s a lot of time on the phone, a lot of time that can be refined and better spent productively if a salesperson goes in with the right strategy and the right tactics.
Write this on a post-it note for your desk. Always be closing.Always Be Helping!
The thing is, buyers today have many more tools at their disposal than they did a decade or two ago. Cold calling is not truly cold calling unless your prospect has no clue about your product or service, or your brand. This is highly unlikely if the rest of your marketing efforts are doing their job.
So, is cold calling dead?
No. Simply put, Cold Calling is alive! Let’s make it your next great competitive advantage.
How To Cold Call For Sales
Cold calling is not just about knowing how to work the phone and being good with people.
It truly starts where you know your industry, you know the vocabulary to be an expert within your industry, and ultimately, being an advocate for solving the problems that your potential buyers have.
This is where cold calling has changed in recent years. Where it used to be driven by “Sell, Sell, Sell!“, it’s now driven by, “Help, Help, Help!” How can you, not just your product or service, solve the customer’s problem time and time again.
Your cold calling tactics will be about making those problem-solving abilities known without being too pushy or too soft. It can be overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out which is the right strategy for which client.
Before you know how to cold call for sales, you’ve got to be prepared to put that bit of work in beforehand. Have a look online into who it is that you’re calling, understand how them buying from you can help them be better, and good reasons why they should choose you over a supplier.
If you’ve got that information ready, then you’ve armed yourself with enough power to cold call your prospect and attempt to make that sale. The next step is the rehearsals.
Yes, you read that right.
Using scripts and rehearsed conversations can get you or your salespeople prepared for any scenario. We’ll look more into this after we’ve broken down the steps to cold calling.
1. Do Your Research
Before you get started anywhere, you need to understand your prospects better. Look at their business, where they operate, how they operate, and how your service or product can help them.
There is no shortage of online resources for you to leverage. ZoomInfo, Slintel, and Crunchbase can offer you glimpses behind every company’s curtain. And don’t forget free business intelligence resources provided to you by your local library.
Here’s an idea that works 10 times out of 10! Send a survey to all of your prospects. Incentivize them by entering their name into a contest, inviting them to a webinar that will review the findings, and delivering a free report that shares the takeaways. Reciprocity and curiosity are great tools to improve cold calling efforts. Not only will you better understand your prospects, but you’ll also convert prospects into MQLs!
2. Work On Your Script
Using the right script for different prospects can mean the difference between success and failure. What you’re after here is to avoid being caught off guard.
Know what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.
While most of you will open a word document to write a script, choose your computer or smartphone recorder instead. Some of the best scripts come from improvisation. You’ve done all the research, you know your customer, now trust in yourself to come up with the right talking points while also sounding confident and captivating.
With the introduction of video calls due to Covid, improving your pitch and presentation over a screen can only help your conversion rates.
3. Anticipate Objections
By anticipating what your prospect might object to, you can be prepared with a legitimate answer for each.
Ultimately, you’re after getting an appointment to showcase your product or service, and to go into more detail. So really, your best way to anticipate objections is to have a reason why they should give you time in their planner.
Here’s a helpful tip. When you’re making calls, always have a spreadsheet open to record the objections you hear. Keep a tally of the most popular ones, sit back and contemplate how you can pivot and respond to these objections, and share them with your sales and marketing team. Collaborative efforts like these are trending in the highest-performing sales organizations.
4. Be Positive, Start Calling
This step is all about believing in yourself and believing in what you are selling.
Attitude can make or break your sales call efforts, so make sure that you go in with a good one. Be absolutely confident in the value that you can add to your prospect’s business.
How can you build your confidence in cold calling? In addition to the aforementioned video recording tip, expand your cold outreach to social media. By sharing helpful, consultative content and comments in the same LinkedIn groups or hashtag feeds you find your customers, you’ll develop a positive reputation while achieving likes, connection requests, and direct messages—thereby boosting your dopamine and serotonin levels.
5. Be Prepared to Leave a Message
Leaving a message shouldn’t be a long, winding one-sided conversation about what you’re selling. A brief introduction to who you are, why you’re calling, and some information on when you intend to call back.
Here’s a helpful script for leaving a voicemail: “Hello FIRSTNAME, this is YOU from COMPANY, please give me a call back at PHONENUMBER, again this is YOU from COMPANY, PHONENUMBER. Thank you.” Curiosity will drive response rates on this voicemail through the roof!
If you stumble into a gatekeeper the next time you call, don’t simply mention that you’ve sent the decision maker an email or phoned them—be specific. Share how you sent the decision maker a report to help them with their pain point and you wanted to know their thoughts. Or, if you have access to the company’s Org chart, specify someone just below the person you are calling to demonstrate familiarity with the organization.
6. Handle The Objections
When you launch into your script, remember not to read it! You’re going to want to put some of your own personality and twist into it so that you’re confident in what you’re saying.
You may get a few objections initially as to why the client may not meet with you. Decide on what your quota is. If you reach three objections, for example, then simply thank the prospect and end your call politely.
Here’s a trick for overcoming the most stubborn customers: “What would it take for you to say ‘Yes’, FIRSTNAME?” Just leave it at that, and anticipate a revelation from their response.
7. Keep Going, Daily Dedication
The best thing to do is to manage your day just as you would with meetings. Dedicate a time slot every day to cold calling and lead generation.
This should be the time that you have a minimum amount of cold calls that you would like to make. Also, decide what your success rate is going to be.
For example, if you’re going to call 10 prospects per day, then perhaps two qualified prospects along with meetings would be a good way to measure your success.
Here’s another cold calling tip: Use cold email tracking software. By knowing the days and times your prospects are engaging with their inbox, you’re also knowing the days and times their more apt to answer their phone.
Use Personalized Cold Calling Scripts
When it comes to sales, it’s easier to sell something to someone that has an absolute need for your product than something that is just good for them.
For example, imagine calling up someone to sell them a car jack, yet they drive a motorcycle. Your product would not be suitable for that prospective client at all.
But perhaps, if you’re selling these car jacks and they are compact and easy-to-use, then a great prospect to call would be a taxi company or a courier company, because who spends more time on the road than those guys?
Do you see where we are going with this?
Your personalized cold calling scripts should center around your prospective customer’s pain points. The first part of your conversation should really focus on what problems they’re having or facing, how their success is measured by the C-Suite, and what deep frustrations they’re experiencing. Only after this would you bring up the fact that you have a solution.
Your takeaway?
Pain points first, solution last!
Best Cold Calling Scripts
Do you know what makes a cold calling script the best?
One word!
PREPARATION.
The best cold callers are ones that go in armed with information. To create the best cold calling scripts, you’ve got to put together a minimum “digging requirement” for your prospect.
What do you need to know before you punch in those numbers?
Preparing or prospecting, as others might call it, means that you’re going to take the time to build a profile on the prospects you’re calling. You want to know what these guys are all about. Build a page of information that includes things like:
Basic company details such as executive names, their industry, their products, and offerings and their competition
Have a look at what content they’re posting online, look into what events they’re holding, what their LinkedIn page is talking about and any press releases they’ve recently been featured in
Try to create a list of their pain points; you can do this by thinking creatively outside of the box in terms of challenges they may be facing and by looking into customer reviews online of their company
Make sure that your prospecting efforts really cover this research phase, it’s absolutely what will make the difference between a good cold calling script and an amazing cold calling script.
B2B Cold Calling Script
Business to business cold calls is totally different from those that call in from a call center somewhere trying to get you to upgrade your television package.
These are the guys who expect you to call prepared and be respectful of their time. This is key to using a results-driven B2B cold calling script, like this one:
“Morning, this is (your name) from (your company). How are you?”
“Fine.”
“That’s great! (prospect’s name), I’ll keep this brief as I appreciate that you’re busy. I came across (prospect’s company) and I can see you do (brief explanation of services). Have you got a minute for me to explain why I’m calling?”
This is the first section of the call where you establish rapport with the prospect. By taking note of the fact that you know they’re busy, you’re starting off on the right foot.
The next stage of your cold calling is the pitch itself. There are three things to keep in mind when you’re running into the pitch:
Keep your pitch clear and make sure you adapt it for each client
Keep it concise and remember that you don’t have to share every detail of your product inside of 30 seconds.
Keep it easy to remember, otherwise, you might forget what you were going to say and start stalling too often
Here’s how you might springboard into the pitch part of your cold call:
“(Your company) helps companies like yours build and manage an effective sales database through interactive software built specifically for the B2B industry.”
Or perhaps something like:
“Because we’ve worked with countless companies, such as yours, we have unparalleled expertise in how to maximize the use of your B2B data management tools and make them work for you.”
The third stage of your B2B cold calling script is where you present the client with a question that may open the door to some of the challenges they’re currently facing.
You could ask things like:
“How do you currently find and manage prospective clients?”
“What is your current lead generation strategy?”
“Do you currently have an in-house resource for managing your CRM and data management processes?”
It’s best to include questions that are more open-ended, this is a tactic for getting the prospect talking about current pain points in his or her business. You’ll find that with the right question, you may even battle to get them to stop sharing!
The fourth stage of your B2B cold calling script is the conversation part which you just initiated in the questions section of your phone call. Here, you’ve got to focus on how you’re going to chat with your prospect in a slightly less formal tone.
Decide on things like the tone you’re going to take, use pauses in the right places to create suspense and interesting dialogue, and finally, use repetition and mirroring (repeating what the prospect said) as a tactic for establishing rapport.
For example, your prospect may say, “Actually, our sales team manages their own database and lead generation in isolation.”
You would then respond with, “You mean to tell me that your sales team operates in isolation when it comes to lead generation and database management?”
By doing this, you’re reiterating how crazy something they just said might be and reinforcing the idea that this is the cause behind their pain points.
Finally, you will have reached the closing phase of your B2B cold calling script. Here, you’re after the prospect welcoming you into their calendar so that you can go and see them. So, how do you do that?
“So, (name of prospect), I’ve taken more of your time than I initially promised I would. It would be ideal if I could come through to your office and show you how our system works and what it can do for you? Have you got an open slot this week or next?”
As you navigate the closing of your cold call, ask the prospect if they’d like you to include anybody else in the meeting request. Also, repeat email addresses and ensure that you’ve got the spelling of names correct.
And that’s a wrap!
You’ve just completed your best B2B cold calling script yet; how does it feel as that calendar slowly starts to fill up with prospect meetings?
Or perhaps you need cold call script guidance for a specific industry… Continue reading.
Tech & IT Cold Calling Script
The thing about tech and IT buyers is they live and operate in isolation. These guys know their industry, they know their customers, they know the value that they add, and they always know their competition inside and out.
Before you even attempt to sell your tech or IT product and service to someone, you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got those boxes ticked.
A tech or IT buyer will usually have a very specific product that they’re looking to buy. Here’s how you’re going to make that tech or IT cold call work for you.
“Hi (name of prospect), this is Joe from (your company name).”
Then add in something that shows you’ve read up on their company like:
“I see (prospect’s company name) has recently published a whitepaper on (subject), I really enjoyed reading it.”
Or,
“Congratulations on your recent partnership with (other tech company name), I can see the value in you joining forces.”
Now, just with that one line, you’ve established that you know some of the industry and what their business has been up to. You can go straight for the reason you’re calling now, in the right tone of course.
“So (prospect name), I know you’re busy and I don’t want to take up too much of your time. But, we’ve identified your company as one that can benefit from our product or service name (such as managed IT or cloud computing software) such (name drop some other clients here) have recently done.”
You should add in a line about your unique selling proposition. So, if your software either saves time or saves money, drop a line in about this too.
“We can help you drive efficiency while ultimately saving you money through our (software or offering or product). Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?”
At this point, your prospect might share some valuable information with you as to their internal processes and the current pain points.
“Guess what, (prospect’s name), our services are exactly what you need to solve that problem. Have you got an open slot in your planner this week or next for one of our solution architects to come to demonstrate our product for you?”
This is where your call should be a slam dunk with a meeting made and in your calendar. If you’re experiencing some obstacles with the client committing, don’t be afraid to list some of the unique, specific problems that your product solves.
“It sounds like you’re feeling hesitant, (prospect’s name), but if you’re experiencing anything like (insert list of the unique challenges these guys face without your product), then we really are the ones that can help you resolve it. Just 30 minutes of your time.”
Remember, you don’t have to oversell your IT or tech solution, simply by reviewing the challenge that you can help these prospects overcome, the value in your product should sell itself.
SaaS Cold Calling Script
Before we launch our discussion on this SaaS cold calling script, let’s just clarify that SaaS and IT & tech are not the same things. Your cold calling approach needs to be different and tailored to the SaaS product that you’re selling, and exactly how they are relevant to the type of industry you’ll be calling.
Your introduction is key to making a successful cold call. Try going for something slightly more casual like this:
“Hi (prospect’s name), this is (your name) with (your company). Do you have just three short minutes so that I can chat to you about how (the fundamental benefit of your SaaS product)?”
Once the recipient agrees, hit them a staggering statistic!
“Did you know that (this many) businesses struggle with the same challenge you’re facing? And it usually costs (dollar figure) to solve it?”
Remember though, that your call should really flow more like a conversation than a script, even though it is a script!
Be prepared for some questions flying your way. It’s best practice to know what kind of questions this type of company might ask you.
The thing with SaaS is that you’re able to offer things that some other industries cannot such as free trials.
“Thanks for your time (prospect name), how about I send over a free 30-day trial for you to try out? I can even include an additional login for your (insert relevant position here) to try out alongside you.”
If the customer agrees, try to set up a discussion in his calendar for some time during this trial period so that you can resolve any doubts that they may be having.
Real Estate Cold Calling Script
Real estate! It’s a difficult industry to be in, it’s one of the few where you, as a realtor, manage both the buyers, sellers, vendors, suppliers, and everything else in between.
Your cold calling efforts, however, will usually be centered around finding more sellers for your listing portfolio.
The one thing to remember at the core of this is that not everybody has considered selling their home. Or, it may be a distant thought for some people. Start off by establishing yourself as somewhat of a local expert.
“Good morning (or afternoon), is this the owner of the home? You’re chatting with (your name) from (name of your realty agency). I’ve got a number of buyers lined up, looking for homes in your area, and I was wondering if you’d ever thought of selling, and if you had potential buyers already lined up?”
The key here is to make sure that the homeowner knows that you’re not just going to put their home onto a web page and let it sit there. You’re actively looking for buyers and you’re going to sell their home!
When it comes to real estate, don’t be afraid to blow your own whistle!
“I understand your sentiments, (repeat the homeowner’s name), I’ve recently sold a property two streets away from you for considerably more than their asking price!”
Thank the homeowner for his or her time, and ask if you can drop by to leave your business card and discuss the selling of their home further.
“When would be convenient for me to pop in and chat a bit more about your home? Let’s see if we can get you what you want.”
Use A Captivating Opening Line
As with any form of advertising, there is a very small window of time that a business gets to capture the attention of their viewer, reader, or listener. The same applies to cold calling.
Your opening lines can either make or break cold calling efforts. Here are some basic tips for captivating with an opening line:
Use a reference or referral as your “in”
Recognize the importance of the recipient’s time, quickly mention what you’re after and ask if they have a few minutes
Name drop their competition
These three are certain to get ears prickling on the other side of the call.
Best Cold Call Opening Lines
The best cold call opening lines are ones that are totally personalized to the business you’re calling. Even though we’re talking about scripts, there is no blanket approach to any cold call.
Your opening line should immediately mention the company’s name, the industry, or its competition.
This way, you’re showing, almost immediately, that you’ve done your research, you know your stuff, and you likely have name recognition in the industry.
CEO Cold Call Opening Line
Getting to the big brass is not easy, but once you’re there, it’s always about how you open your call.
A, “Hey, how you doing?” is just not going to cut it. When you’re trying to get in with the CEO, try this instead:
“Hi (CEO’s name), I can’t tell you how awesome it is that I caught you. Did you manage to have a look at the email I sent earlier in the week?”
When you catch the CEO, it’s always great to have something to reference, either an email you sent a few days before or a referral like this:
“Morning (CEO’s name), I’m glad I got you on the phone. I was chatting at length to (CEO of another well-known organization) and he was saying how he thought that you could benefit from our service too.”
Similar to ‘Always Be Helping’, you should ‘Always Be Asking’, too. “(CEO contact), would you mind if I shared your success story with other CEO’s?” Bonus points for you if you can find a referral with a real, personal connection to your cold calling target.
Decision Maker Opening Line
Key decision-makers are generally quite protective of their time. These are the guys who field mass amounts of cold calls and emails from countless sales reps.
This is where you need to make sure that your unique selling proposition is what makes you stand out.
“Morning (prospect’s name), I’m (your name) calling from (company name). We’ve just wrapped up implementation over at (one or two competitor company names) and I’m wondering how your company uses (type of service or product you’re selling) in your (process it serves)?”
Here, you’re planting the seed that their competition has an edge that they don’t.
“Hi (prospect’s name), it’s (your name) from (company name). Have you got 30 seconds for me to tell you why other companies in your industry see us as a good fit?”
You’ve created curiosity. They’ll want to know why similar professionals, possibly competitors, are already working with you.
Gatekeeper Opening Line
Gatekeepers are probably one of the most difficult obstacles you’ll encounter on your cold-calling journey. These people are there, specifically, to help the big guns manage their time wisely.
“Good morning, thanks for taking my call. I wonder if you can help me. I am looking to connect to (position of the decision-maker), I’d like to chat with him/her about (insert unique value proposition here).”
People usually have a want to help people who ask for it, you’re tugging on instinct strings here. Use the word ‘help’ whenever you can.
“Good afternoon, this is (your name) from (your company), I’d like to follow up with (decision maker’s name) about an email I sent last week. Is he/she available?”
This gives the gatekeeper the impression that you already have an established relationship with the person you’re trying to get to, even if the email sent was just an introductory one.
Use Intriguing Voicemail Scripts
They all say that it can take upwards of eight touchpoints before you get your foot in the door with a prospect. Using voicemail is just another way for you to tick a touchpoint off your list.
You never want to use a voicemail to just sell, sell, sell. If the voicemail you leave is all about you, you’re going to lose the listener and never get a callback.
You want your voicemail to be intriguing enough to warrant a callback.
Best Cold Call Voicemail Scripts
Be prepared for the scenario that you may have to leave a voicemail, don’t get caught off guard and stutter your way through it.
Rehearse exactly what information is pertinent to leave behind. A voicemail is not the time to sell anything or everything you can in the small window that you have.
One characteristic of a good voicemail script is one that doesn’t go past 30 seconds. Try to keep your voicemail short and sweet. Here’s a good example:
“Hi (prospect’s name), this is (your name) calling from (your company). We’re working with another retail brand that’s just recorded a 20% increase in sales as a direct result of our service. After looking at some numbers, we’re confident we can do the same for you. Could you call me back at (your phone number)? Thanks!”
See what we did there? They’ll think, “What numbers? What numbers am I not looking at on my end.” They press the replay button. Viola!
Or, you could opt to go shrouded in mystery, and do a voicemail similar to this:
“Hi (prospect’s name), (your name) here. Could you please call me back before the end of the day on (your phone number)?”
That’s it.
Curiosity will win this one, and when he calls back, you’ve got them for your original cold calling script. Go for it!
The “Costanza” Voicemail
George Costanza was probably one of the most memorable characters to come out of the Seinfeld series, let alone any sitcom, and understandably so.
The idea of the Costanza voicemail is based on an episode where he left a lady’s apartment not without saying his last name with a slight jingle to it; “Cooooo-STAN-za!” She couldn’t get him out of her head, leading her to call him back and ask him out (after dumping him).
George was creating memorability and familiarity while establishing his own persona.
Ask your friends what makes you, YOU. What do they like about your conversation style? What words or phrases do they identify you with? What personal voicemails do you leave them that urges them to call you back immediately?
Now apply those answers to your B2B voicemails! Like I do here:
“(prospect’s name). Samir. I haven’t from you in awhile. Call me back when you have a minute, will you? (phone number). Thank you.“
Okay, I may not be as memorable as George Costanza (I think that’s a good thing), but I always leave the prospect wanting to answer not my question, but my observation that they haven’t called me in awhile, planting the seed that THEY owe me a call.
Your recipient wants to hear credibility and positive energy from you, so be yourself.
Cold Calling Tips
You’ve got what it takes to make cold calling a specialty of yours, and just to add that cherry on top, we’ve got some great tips for you.
Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know before you pick up that phone:
You need to know when to call, because timing can make or break your efforts
Practice your tone; don’t come across boring or uninterested
Stick to all those scripts you’ve practiced so hard at
Our final tip before we dive deeper into the world of cold calling numbers is to never give up prematurely. Set your limit, say four or five calls, and have your give-up line. Don’t give up before that.
It’s A Numbers Game
Is cold calling really just about numbers?
Yes and no.
We’re not trying to confuse you, but yes, if you call 100 prospects today, then you’re bound to get a certain percentage of meetings out of it. But that’s a really hard way to gauge your success.
What works in one industry may not work in another. The numbers may be different, some will see higher success than others, and it’s hard to create an average upon which you’d be comfortable to measure.
If you want to make your cold calling numbers about something, then determine your cold calling plan, start with a number and work your way forwards from there. Rate your success against your first list of 100 prospects and use that as a benchmark as you train more reps.
ABC: Always Be Calling
ABC is not just a children’s nursery rhyme; it’s also something that your sales team will start to repeat!
ABC is the acronym for always beclosingcalling.
The idea is that the more you call, the better you get at it, the more appointments you get, and it starts the snowball effect. This doesn’t mean you can’t take a lunch break or grab a coffee.
Set your calling schedule and stick to it, ABC!
How Many Cold Calls Should You Make In One Day?
There are two general rules of thumb that you should keep in mind:
Some sales reps say that 60 calls per day is the magic number
Other successful sales reps measure their calls by the three-hour rule
Whichever one you pick, remember that the actual dialing and calling is not the only time to be measured. Research and administration also take up a salesperson’s day.
How Many Cold Calls To Get a Sale?
If you read a mountain of resources, you’ll come out with one average number:
It usually takes 5 to 6 phone calls to convert a first-time call receiver to a cold, hard sale.
Don’t give up; the sale is coming!
Interesting Cold Outreach Fact: While it takes 5-6 cold calls to reach and convert with a prospect, the opposite is true for cold emails. If you’ve emailed a prospect more than 4 times and they haven’t responded, your chances for conversion go down, unlike calling.
Use Sales Technology To Optimize Calls
Handwritten diaries and wall calendars are a thing of the past.
Nowadays, there is a wealth of resources available to make a sales team more productive through the sales management tools they use and the Sales Artificial Intelligence available to them.
The right sales software can double as a calling calendar and CRM tool to allow the storing of important customer and prospect data, as well as the progress made to each of them, and which sales rep they belong to.
Cold Calling Software
Cold calling software is what will enable your sales reps to more effectively manage their leads, and even measure their sales activity in relation to their call numbers and performance.
Some software options to look into include:
Myphoner helps sales people organize and track their lead information
Toky is a software option that integrates well with existing systems
Whatever your choice is, the most important thing is to ensure ease-of-use and optimum integration with other systems, such as Salesforce.
Quick Dialer
As you know, finding, storing, and dialing numbers can claim a significant portion of a sales rep’s day.
You might be thinking, “Hang on, isn’t cold calling spammy?” While there are users and abusers of any best practice (yes, robocalls are annoying), it shouldn’t discourage you from practicing it in an acceptable fashion. The same can be said for cold emailing.
The one characteristic that’s important about cold email is that hard selling is not the way to go.
If you approach email in the same way you approach calling, then your cold email can come full circle in helping you close that cold call by being the perfect value-add to which you reference in your call.
How To Write a Cold Email
Writing may seem a little easier and less intimidating than making a call, but there are some things that can make your cold email soar or flop.
First, you’re going to want to write a subject line that is intriguing and catches the prospect’s attention. Steer clear of lines that scream spam and try to make yourself seem like the actual human you are.
Second, your introduction in your email is the same as the first 10 seconds of your phone call; make it count! Get creative!
Third, always have a call-to-action. Even the most well-written email will end in nothing if your recipient doesn’t know what you want them to do.
Cold Calling Statistics
By this point, you’re probably searching for a little validation that all this work is worth it, right? Let’s take a look at the cold calling statistics that matter:
69% of buyers took a call from a salesperson in the last 12 months
Wednesday might be the best day for cold calling, with a 46% higher success rate
If you can call within an hour of the first inquiry, you’ve got your customer in the bag
80% of most cold calls go to voicemail; be prepared with your script
You’re going to find yourself at the top of positive cold calling statistics if you’ve taken notes throughout this article, we promise.
Heating Up Your Cold Calling Tactics
Cold calling doesn’t have to be a nightmare. It’s your way in. The results you get are a direct result of the effort that you put in, both before you pick up the phone, during the phone call, and what you do afterward.
Monitoring your cold calling progress is just as important as being able to have that call, so don’t let the focus on that go.
Samir is the CEO and Co-founder of Veloxy. After spending 20+ years creating corporate systems, boosting revenue, and eliminating inefficiencies, Samir started Veloxy to help sales professionals shorten sales cycles, accelerate pipelines, and close more deals.
Cold calling is not dead! It’s still kicking butt and taking names.
Did you know that the average businessman or businesswoman receives over 115 emails per day? While it’s hard to stand out in a decision-maker’s flooded inbox, their phone is often left underutilized. In fact, 51% of executives would rather hear from sales reps via phone compared to email, LinkedIn, and in-person visits.
What they need is someone who understands the complexity of a sales call, what needs to be said, and how to say it. Today, it’s more than knowing exactly how a product or service can help a customer’s business flourish.
It’s acting as your customer’s go-to trusted advisor by delivering a value-added, consultative, and personalized experience. This is the golden key to cold calling!
We’ve got you covered with the ultimate guide on everything you need to know about cold calling. Click the links in the table of contents 👇 to skip to the chapter of your choice, or read this post from top to bottom.
Just be sure you print and bookmark this blog post so you can take it with you wherever you go, wherever you sell. And share it with your sales colleagues. They’ll thank you for it.
Table of Contents
What is Cold Calling?
Is Cold Calling Dead?
How to Cold Call for Sales
Use Personalized Cold Calling Scripts
Use a Captivating Opening Line
Use Intriguing Voicemail Scripts
Cold Calling Tips
Use Sales Technology to Optimize Calls
Cold Email is a Cold Caller’s Best Friend
Cold Calling Statistics
What Is Cold Calling?
In its simplest form, cold calling is the act of calling someone whom you’ve never had contact with before, with the ultimate intention of selling them your product or service.
The activity of cold calling usually evokes eye-rolling and frustrated sighs from both cold calling recipients and cold calling makers.
Yet…
82% of buyers have reported that they accepted a meeting with a cold-calling salesperson as a result of their initial call. So, cold calling must be doing something right?
Cold calling has evolved over the years; no longer do sales reps simply type a telephone number from a list and give it a bash. No. Nowadays, cold calling is a highly targeted approach with hours of work in the backend spent on research, strategic thinking, approach, and the identification of ideal prospects.
In other words, boosting a salesperson’s cold call success rate takes plenty of effort even before the phone is used!
Is Cold Calling Dead?
The question should not be if cold calling is dead because no form of generating sales is ever truly dead, but rather, is cold calling right for you and your business?
Cold calling requires a passion for continual improvement. You’ll need to constantly adopt new call strategies that are relevant for your target market and ideal customer while refining your technique. Those who think cold calling is dead are likely using tactics from the 80s.
Furthermore, cold calling is comprised of more than just a phone and a list. Thanks to the prominence of CRM software like Salesforce, there are several sales technology integrations that improve the success rate of cold calling, such as auto dialers, cold email marketing, gamification, and more.
Depending if you’re an inside or outside sales rep, you’ll make anywhere from 45 calls to 200 calls in a run-of-the-mill workday. Successful sales calls will usually take around six minutes. That’s a lot of time on the phone, a lot of time that can be refined and better spent productively if a salesperson goes in with the right strategy and the right tactics.
Write this on a post-it note for your desk. Always be closing. Always Be Helping!
The thing is, buyers today have many more tools at their disposal than they did a decade or two ago. Cold calling is not truly cold calling unless your prospect has no clue about your product or service, or your brand. This is highly unlikely if the rest of your marketing efforts are doing their job.
So, is cold calling dead?
No. Simply put, Cold Calling is alive! Let’s make it your next great competitive advantage.
How To Cold Call For Sales
Cold calling is not just about knowing how to work the phone and being good with people.
It truly starts where you know your industry, you know the vocabulary to be an expert within your industry, and ultimately, being an advocate for solving the problems that your potential buyers have.
This is where cold calling has changed in recent years. Where it used to be driven by “Sell, Sell, Sell!“, it’s now driven by, “Help, Help, Help!” How can you, not just your product or service, solve the customer’s problem time and time again.
Your cold calling tactics will be about making those problem-solving abilities known without being too pushy or too soft. It can be overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out which is the right strategy for which client.
Before you know how to cold call for sales, you’ve got to be prepared to put that bit of work in beforehand. Have a look online into who it is that you’re calling, understand how them buying from you can help them be better, and good reasons why they should choose you over a supplier.
If you’ve got that information ready, then you’ve armed yourself with enough power to cold call your prospect and attempt to make that sale. The next step is the rehearsals.
Yes, you read that right.
Using scripts and rehearsed conversations can get you or your salespeople prepared for any scenario. We’ll look more into this after we’ve broken down the steps to cold calling.
1. Do Your Research
Before you get started anywhere, you need to understand your prospects better. Look at their business, where they operate, how they operate, and how your service or product can help them.
There is no shortage of online resources for you to leverage. ZoomInfo, Slintel, and Crunchbase can offer you glimpses behind every company’s curtain. And don’t forget free business intelligence resources provided to you by your local library.
Here’s an idea that works 10 times out of 10! Send a survey to all of your prospects. Incentivize them by entering their name into a contest, inviting them to a webinar that will review the findings, and delivering a free report that shares the takeaways. Reciprocity and curiosity are great tools to improve cold calling efforts. Not only will you better understand your prospects, but you’ll also convert prospects into MQLs!
2. Work On Your Script
Using the right script for different prospects can mean the difference between success and failure. What you’re after here is to avoid being caught off guard.
Know what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.
While most of you will open a word document to write a script, choose your computer or smartphone recorder instead. Some of the best scripts come from improvisation. You’ve done all the research, you know your customer, now trust in yourself to come up with the right talking points while also sounding confident and captivating.
With the introduction of video calls due to Covid, improving your pitch and presentation over a screen can only help your conversion rates.
3. Anticipate Objections
By anticipating what your prospect might object to, you can be prepared with a legitimate answer for each.
Ultimately, you’re after getting an appointment to showcase your product or service, and to go into more detail. So really, your best way to anticipate objections is to have a reason why they should give you time in their planner.
Here’s a helpful tip. When you’re making calls, always have a spreadsheet open to record the objections you hear. Keep a tally of the most popular ones, sit back and contemplate how you can pivot and respond to these objections, and share them with your sales and marketing team. Collaborative efforts like these are trending in the highest-performing sales organizations.
4. Be Positive, Start Calling
This step is all about believing in yourself and believing in what you are selling.
Attitude can make or break your sales call efforts, so make sure that you go in with a good one. Be absolutely confident in the value that you can add to your prospect’s business.
How can you build your confidence in cold calling? In addition to the aforementioned video recording tip, expand your cold outreach to social media. By sharing helpful, consultative content and comments in the same LinkedIn groups or hashtag feeds you find your customers, you’ll develop a positive reputation while achieving likes, connection requests, and direct messages—thereby boosting your dopamine and serotonin levels.
5. Be Prepared to Leave a Message
Leaving a message shouldn’t be a long, winding one-sided conversation about what you’re selling. A brief introduction to who you are, why you’re calling, and some information on when you intend to call back.
Here’s a helpful script for leaving a voicemail: “Hello FIRSTNAME, this is YOU from COMPANY, please give me a call back at PHONENUMBER, again this is YOU from COMPANY, PHONENUMBER. Thank you.” Curiosity will drive response rates on this voicemail through the roof!
If you stumble into a gatekeeper the next time you call, don’t simply mention that you’ve sent the decision maker an email or phoned them—be specific. Share how you sent the decision maker a report to help them with their pain point and you wanted to know their thoughts. Or, if you have access to the company’s Org chart, specify someone just below the person you are calling to demonstrate familiarity with the organization.
6. Handle The Objections
When you launch into your script, remember not to read it! You’re going to want to put some of your own personality and twist into it so that you’re confident in what you’re saying.
You may get a few objections initially as to why the client may not meet with you. Decide on what your quota is. If you reach three objections, for example, then simply thank the prospect and end your call politely.
Here’s a trick for overcoming the most stubborn customers: “What would it take for you to say ‘Yes’, FIRSTNAME?” Just leave it at that, and anticipate a revelation from their response.
7. Keep Going, Daily Dedication
The best thing to do is to manage your day just as you would with meetings. Dedicate a time slot every day to cold calling and lead generation.
This should be the time that you have a minimum amount of cold calls that you would like to make. Also, decide what your success rate is going to be.
For example, if you’re going to call 10 prospects per day, then perhaps two qualified prospects along with meetings would be a good way to measure your success.
Here’s another cold calling tip: Use cold email tracking software. By knowing the days and times your prospects are engaging with their inbox, you’re also knowing the days and times their more apt to answer their phone.
Use Personalized Cold Calling Scripts
When it comes to sales, it’s easier to sell something to someone that has an absolute need for your product than something that is just good for them.
For example, imagine calling up someone to sell them a car jack, yet they drive a motorcycle. Your product would not be suitable for that prospective client at all.
But perhaps, if you’re selling these car jacks and they are compact and easy-to-use, then a great prospect to call would be a taxi company or a courier company, because who spends more time on the road than those guys?
Do you see where we are going with this?
Your personalized cold calling scripts should center around your prospective customer’s pain points. The first part of your conversation should really focus on what problems they’re having or facing, how their success is measured by the C-Suite, and what deep frustrations they’re experiencing. Only after this would you bring up the fact that you have a solution.
Your takeaway?
Pain points first, solution last!
Best Cold Calling Scripts
Do you know what makes a cold calling script the best?
One word!
PREPARATION.
The best cold callers are ones that go in armed with information. To create the best cold calling scripts, you’ve got to put together a minimum “digging requirement” for your prospect.
What do you need to know before you punch in those numbers?
Preparing or prospecting, as others might call it, means that you’re going to take the time to build a profile on the prospects you’re calling. You want to know what these guys are all about. Build a page of information that includes things like:
Make sure that your prospecting efforts really cover this research phase, it’s absolutely what will make the difference between a good cold calling script and an amazing cold calling script.
B2B Cold Calling Script
Business to business cold calls is totally different from those that call in from a call center somewhere trying to get you to upgrade your television package.
These are the guys who expect you to call prepared and be respectful of their time. This is key to using a results-driven B2B cold calling script, like this one:
“Morning, this is (your name) from (your company). How are you?”
“Fine.”
“That’s great! (prospect’s name), I’ll keep this brief as I appreciate that you’re busy. I came across (prospect’s company) and I can see you do (brief explanation of services). Have you got a minute for me to explain why I’m calling?”
This is the first section of the call where you establish rapport with the prospect. By taking note of the fact that you know they’re busy, you’re starting off on the right foot.
The next stage of your cold calling is the pitch itself. There are three things to keep in mind when you’re running into the pitch:
Here’s how you might springboard into the pitch part of your cold call:
“(Your company) helps companies like yours build and manage an effective sales database through interactive software built specifically for the B2B industry.”
Or perhaps something like:
“Because we’ve worked with countless companies, such as yours, we have unparalleled expertise in how to maximize the use of your B2B data management tools and make them work for you.”
The third stage of your B2B cold calling script is where you present the client with a question that may open the door to some of the challenges they’re currently facing.
You could ask things like:
“How do you currently find and manage prospective clients?”
“What is your current lead generation strategy?”
“Do you currently have an in-house resource for managing your CRM and data management processes?”
It’s best to include questions that are more open-ended, this is a tactic for getting the prospect talking about current pain points in his or her business. You’ll find that with the right question, you may even battle to get them to stop sharing!
The fourth stage of your B2B cold calling script is the conversation part which you just initiated in the questions section of your phone call. Here, you’ve got to focus on how you’re going to chat with your prospect in a slightly less formal tone.
Decide on things like the tone you’re going to take, use pauses in the right places to create suspense and interesting dialogue, and finally, use repetition and mirroring (repeating what the prospect said) as a tactic for establishing rapport.
For example, your prospect may say, “Actually, our sales team manages their own database and lead generation in isolation.”
You would then respond with, “You mean to tell me that your sales team operates in isolation when it comes to lead generation and database management?”
By doing this, you’re reiterating how crazy something they just said might be and reinforcing the idea that this is the cause behind their pain points.
Finally, you will have reached the closing phase of your B2B cold calling script. Here, you’re after the prospect welcoming you into their calendar so that you can go and see them. So, how do you do that?
“So, (name of prospect), I’ve taken more of your time than I initially promised I would. It would be ideal if I could come through to your office and show you how our system works and what it can do for you? Have you got an open slot this week or next?”
As you navigate the closing of your cold call, ask the prospect if they’d like you to include anybody else in the meeting request. Also, repeat email addresses and ensure that you’ve got the spelling of names correct.
And that’s a wrap!
You’ve just completed your best B2B cold calling script yet; how does it feel as that calendar slowly starts to fill up with prospect meetings?
Or perhaps you need cold call script guidance for a specific industry… Continue reading.
Tech & IT Cold Calling Script
The thing about tech and IT buyers is they live and operate in isolation. These guys know their industry, they know their customers, they know the value that they add, and they always know their competition inside and out.
Before you even attempt to sell your tech or IT product and service to someone, you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got those boxes ticked.
A tech or IT buyer will usually have a very specific product that they’re looking to buy. Here’s how you’re going to make that tech or IT cold call work for you.
“Hi (name of prospect), this is Joe from (your company name).”
Then add in something that shows you’ve read up on their company like:
“I see (prospect’s company name) has recently published a whitepaper on (subject), I really enjoyed reading it.”
Or,
“Congratulations on your recent partnership with (other tech company name), I can see the value in you joining forces.”
Now, just with that one line, you’ve established that you know some of the industry and what their business has been up to. You can go straight for the reason you’re calling now, in the right tone of course.
“So (prospect name), I know you’re busy and I don’t want to take up too much of your time. But, we’ve identified your company as one that can benefit from our product or service name (such as managed IT or cloud computing software) such (name drop some other clients here) have recently done.”
You should add in a line about your unique selling proposition. So, if your software either saves time or saves money, drop a line in about this too.
“We can help you drive efficiency while ultimately saving you money through our (software or offering or product). Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?”
At this point, your prospect might share some valuable information with you as to their internal processes and the current pain points.
“Guess what, (prospect’s name), our services are exactly what you need to solve that problem. Have you got an open slot in your planner this week or next for one of our solution architects to come to demonstrate our product for you?”
This is where your call should be a slam dunk with a meeting made and in your calendar. If you’re experiencing some obstacles with the client committing, don’t be afraid to list some of the unique, specific problems that your product solves.
“It sounds like you’re feeling hesitant, (prospect’s name), but if you’re experiencing anything like (insert list of the unique challenges these guys face without your product), then we really are the ones that can help you resolve it. Just 30 minutes of your time.”
Remember, you don’t have to oversell your IT or tech solution, simply by reviewing the challenge that you can help these prospects overcome, the value in your product should sell itself.
SaaS Cold Calling Script
Before we launch our discussion on this SaaS cold calling script, let’s just clarify that SaaS and IT & tech are not the same things. Your cold calling approach needs to be different and tailored to the SaaS product that you’re selling, and exactly how they are relevant to the type of industry you’ll be calling.
Your introduction is key to making a successful cold call. Try going for something slightly more casual like this:
“Hi (prospect’s name), this is (your name) with (your company). Do you have just three short minutes so that I can chat to you about how (the fundamental benefit of your SaaS product)?”
Once the recipient agrees, hit them a staggering statistic!
“Did you know that (this many) businesses struggle with the same challenge you’re facing? And it usually costs (dollar figure) to solve it?”
Remember though, that your call should really flow more like a conversation than a script, even though it is a script!
Be prepared for some questions flying your way. It’s best practice to know what kind of questions this type of company might ask you.
The thing with SaaS is that you’re able to offer things that some other industries cannot such as free trials.
“Thanks for your time (prospect name), how about I send over a free 30-day trial for you to try out? I can even include an additional login for your (insert relevant position here) to try out alongside you.”
If the customer agrees, try to set up a discussion in his calendar for some time during this trial period so that you can resolve any doubts that they may be having.
Real Estate Cold Calling Script
Real estate! It’s a difficult industry to be in, it’s one of the few where you, as a realtor, manage both the buyers, sellers, vendors, suppliers, and everything else in between.
Your cold calling efforts, however, will usually be centered around finding more sellers for your listing portfolio.
The one thing to remember at the core of this is that not everybody has considered selling their home. Or, it may be a distant thought for some people. Start off by establishing yourself as somewhat of a local expert.
“Good morning (or afternoon), is this the owner of the home? You’re chatting with (your name) from (name of your realty agency). I’ve got a number of buyers lined up, looking for homes in your area, and I was wondering if you’d ever thought of selling, and if you had potential buyers already lined up?”
The key here is to make sure that the homeowner knows that you’re not just going to put their home onto a web page and let it sit there. You’re actively looking for buyers and you’re going to sell their home!
When it comes to real estate, don’t be afraid to blow your own whistle!
“I understand your sentiments, (repeat the homeowner’s name), I’ve recently sold a property two streets away from you for considerably more than their asking price!”
Thank the homeowner for his or her time, and ask if you can drop by to leave your business card and discuss the selling of their home further.
“When would be convenient for me to pop in and chat a bit more about your home? Let’s see if we can get you what you want.”
Use A Captivating Opening Line
As with any form of advertising, there is a very small window of time that a business gets to capture the attention of their viewer, reader, or listener. The same applies to cold calling.
Your opening lines can either make or break cold calling efforts. Here are some basic tips for captivating with an opening line:
These three are certain to get ears prickling on the other side of the call.
Best Cold Call Opening Lines
The best cold call opening lines are ones that are totally personalized to the business you’re calling. Even though we’re talking about scripts, there is no blanket approach to any cold call.
Your opening line should immediately mention the company’s name, the industry, or its competition.
This way, you’re showing, almost immediately, that you’ve done your research, you know your stuff, and you likely have name recognition in the industry.
CEO Cold Call Opening Line
Getting to the big brass is not easy, but once you’re there, it’s always about how you open your call.
A, “Hey, how you doing?” is just not going to cut it. When you’re trying to get in with the CEO, try this instead:
“Hi (CEO’s name), I can’t tell you how awesome it is that I caught you. Did you manage to have a look at the email I sent earlier in the week?”
When you catch the CEO, it’s always great to have something to reference, either an email you sent a few days before or a referral like this:
“Morning (CEO’s name), I’m glad I got you on the phone. I was chatting at length to (CEO of another well-known organization) and he was saying how he thought that you could benefit from our service too.”
Similar to ‘Always Be Helping’, you should ‘Always Be Asking’, too. “(CEO contact), would you mind if I shared your success story with other CEO’s?” Bonus points for you if you can find a referral with a real, personal connection to your cold calling target.
Decision Maker Opening Line
Key decision-makers are generally quite protective of their time. These are the guys who field mass amounts of cold calls and emails from countless sales reps.
This is where you need to make sure that your unique selling proposition is what makes you stand out.
“Morning (prospect’s name), I’m (your name) calling from (company name). We’ve just wrapped up implementation over at (one or two competitor company names) and I’m wondering how your company uses (type of service or product you’re selling) in your (process it serves)?”
Here, you’re planting the seed that their competition has an edge that they don’t.
“Hi (prospect’s name), it’s (your name) from (company name). Have you got 30 seconds for me to tell you why other companies in your industry see us as a good fit?”
You’ve created curiosity. They’ll want to know why similar professionals, possibly competitors, are already working with you.
Gatekeeper Opening Line
Gatekeepers are probably one of the most difficult obstacles you’ll encounter on your cold-calling journey. These people are there, specifically, to help the big guns manage their time wisely.
“Good morning, thanks for taking my call. I wonder if you can help me. I am looking to connect to (position of the decision-maker), I’d like to chat with him/her about (insert unique value proposition here).”
People usually have a want to help people who ask for it, you’re tugging on instinct strings here. Use the word ‘help’ whenever you can.
“Good afternoon, this is (your name) from (your company), I’d like to follow up with (decision maker’s name) about an email I sent last week. Is he/she available?”
This gives the gatekeeper the impression that you already have an established relationship with the person you’re trying to get to, even if the email sent was just an introductory one.
Use Intriguing Voicemail Scripts
They all say that it can take upwards of eight touchpoints before you get your foot in the door with a prospect. Using voicemail is just another way for you to tick a touchpoint off your list.
You never want to use a voicemail to just sell, sell, sell. If the voicemail you leave is all about you, you’re going to lose the listener and never get a callback.
You want your voicemail to be intriguing enough to warrant a callback.
Best Cold Call Voicemail Scripts
Be prepared for the scenario that you may have to leave a voicemail, don’t get caught off guard and stutter your way through it.
Rehearse exactly what information is pertinent to leave behind. A voicemail is not the time to sell anything or everything you can in the small window that you have.
One characteristic of a good voicemail script is one that doesn’t go past 30 seconds. Try to keep your voicemail short and sweet. Here’s a good example:
“Hi (prospect’s name), this is (your name) calling from (your company). We’re working with another retail brand that’s just recorded a 20% increase in sales as a direct result of our service. After looking at some numbers, we’re confident we can do the same for you. Could you call me back at (your phone number)? Thanks!”
See what we did there? They’ll think, “What numbers? What numbers am I not looking at on my end.” They press the replay button. Viola!
Or, you could opt to go shrouded in mystery, and do a voicemail similar to this:
“Hi (prospect’s name), (your name) here. Could you please call me back before the end of the day on (your phone number)?”
That’s it.
Curiosity will win this one, and when he calls back, you’ve got them for your original cold calling script. Go for it!
The “Costanza” Voicemail
George Costanza was probably one of the most memorable characters to come out of the Seinfeld series, let alone any sitcom, and understandably so.
The idea of the Costanza voicemail is based on an episode where he left a lady’s apartment not without saying his last name with a slight jingle to it; “Cooooo-STAN-za!” She couldn’t get him out of her head, leading her to call him back and ask him out (after dumping him).
George was creating memorability and familiarity while establishing his own persona.
Ask your friends what makes you, YOU. What do they like about your conversation style? What words or phrases do they identify you with? What personal voicemails do you leave them that urges them to call you back immediately?
Now apply those answers to your B2B voicemails! Like I do here:
“(prospect’s name). Samir. I haven’t from you in awhile. Call me back when you have a minute, will you? (phone number). Thank you.“
Okay, I may not be as memorable as George Costanza (I think that’s a good thing), but I always leave the prospect wanting to answer not my question, but my observation that they haven’t called me in awhile, planting the seed that THEY owe me a call.
Your recipient wants to hear credibility and positive energy from you, so be yourself.
Cold Calling Tips
You’ve got what it takes to make cold calling a specialty of yours, and just to add that cherry on top, we’ve got some great tips for you.
Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know before you pick up that phone:
Our final tip before we dive deeper into the world of cold calling numbers is to never give up prematurely. Set your limit, say four or five calls, and have your give-up line. Don’t give up before that.
It’s A Numbers Game
Is cold calling really just about numbers?
Yes and no.
We’re not trying to confuse you, but yes, if you call 100 prospects today, then you’re bound to get a certain percentage of meetings out of it. But that’s a really hard way to gauge your success.
What works in one industry may not work in another. The numbers may be different, some will see higher success than others, and it’s hard to create an average upon which you’d be comfortable to measure.
If you want to make your cold calling numbers about something, then determine your cold calling plan, start with a number and work your way forwards from there. Rate your success against your first list of 100 prospects and use that as a benchmark as you train more reps.
ABC: Always Be Calling
ABC is not just a children’s nursery rhyme; it’s also something that your sales team will start to repeat!
ABC is the acronym for always be closing calling.
The idea is that the more you call, the better you get at it, the more appointments you get, and it starts the snowball effect. This doesn’t mean you can’t take a lunch break or grab a coffee.
Set your calling schedule and stick to it, ABC!
How Many Cold Calls Should You Make In One Day?
There are two general rules of thumb that you should keep in mind:
Whichever one you pick, remember that the actual dialing and calling is not the only time to be measured. Research and administration also take up a salesperson’s day.
How Many Cold Calls To Get a Sale?
If you read a mountain of resources, you’ll come out with one average number:
It usually takes 5 to 6 phone calls to convert a first-time call receiver to a cold, hard sale.
Don’t give up; the sale is coming!
Interesting Cold Outreach Fact: While it takes 5-6 cold calls to reach and convert with a prospect, the opposite is true for cold emails. If you’ve emailed a prospect more than 4 times and they haven’t responded, your chances for conversion go down, unlike calling.
Use Sales Technology To Optimize Calls
Handwritten diaries and wall calendars are a thing of the past.
Nowadays, there is a wealth of resources available to make a sales team more productive through the sales management tools they use and the Sales Artificial Intelligence available to them.
The right sales software can double as a calling calendar and CRM tool to allow the storing of important customer and prospect data, as well as the progress made to each of them, and which sales rep they belong to.
Cold Calling Software
Cold calling software is what will enable your sales reps to more effectively manage their leads, and even measure their sales activity in relation to their call numbers and performance.
Some software options to look into include:
Whatever your choice is, the most important thing is to ensure ease-of-use and optimum integration with other systems, such as Salesforce.
Quick Dialer
As you know, finding, storing, and dialing numbers can claim a significant portion of a sales rep’s day.
You can eliminate this with Quick Dialer. Quick Dialer starts more profitable conversations in a fraction of the time by allowing you to simplify your phone outreach processes.
Cold Email is a Cold Caller’s Best Friend
You might be thinking, “Hang on, isn’t cold calling spammy?” While there are users and abusers of any best practice (yes, robocalls are annoying), it shouldn’t discourage you from practicing it in an acceptable fashion. The same can be said for cold emailing.
The one characteristic that’s important about cold email is that hard selling is not the way to go.
If you approach email in the same way you approach calling, then your cold email can come full circle in helping you close that cold call by being the perfect value-add to which you reference in your call.
How To Write a Cold Email
Writing may seem a little easier and less intimidating than making a call, but there are some things that can make your cold email soar or flop.
First, you’re going to want to write a subject line that is intriguing and catches the prospect’s attention. Steer clear of lines that scream spam and try to make yourself seem like the actual human you are.
Second, your introduction in your email is the same as the first 10 seconds of your phone call; make it count! Get creative!
Third, always have a call-to-action. Even the most well-written email will end in nothing if your recipient doesn’t know what you want them to do.
Cold Calling Statistics
By this point, you’re probably searching for a little validation that all this work is worth it, right? Let’s take a look at the cold calling statistics that matter:
You’re going to find yourself at the top of positive cold calling statistics if you’ve taken notes throughout this article, we promise.
Heating Up Your Cold Calling Tactics
Cold calling doesn’t have to be a nightmare. It’s your way in. The results you get are a direct result of the effort that you put in, both before you pick up the phone, during the phone call, and what you do afterward.
Monitoring your cold calling progress is just as important as being able to have that call, so don’t let the focus on that go.
Well, we’ve covered all there is to cover with cold calling, do you want expert know-how on cold emails too?