Making a cold call should never feel like an awkward first date – to you or the prospect.
But sadly, too often it does.
When you, as the SDR, are in a rush to meet deadlines and scrambling to close sales, your nervous urgency often comes out during your calls – quickly turning away potential prospects.
Yes, you need to close deals. And no, you don’t want to waste time on uninterested clients.
But remember, people buy from friends. By spending a few extra minutes to enhance the quality of your cold calling, you can turn more of those contacts into acquaintances – and ultimately into clients.
Here are three things you can do to make your cold calls more enjoyable and productive – for both parties.[Tweet “Learn 3 Ways to Warm up Your Cold Calling”]
1. Quickly research the industry, company and person
Doing research on an industry, company, or person has never been easier! You don’t need a library, private investigator, or subscription to the latest industry magazine. All you need is a quick search on your laptop or smartphone.
Doing some background research on your prospects ensures that you call the right people, offer them the right service, and discuss the right topics. By spending a few minutes doing research before each cold call, you can substantially increase your ability to understand and connect with the prospect.
Research the industry
Many of your prospects should come from similar industries. With this in mind, get to know the big picture of what’s going on in each market. What are the challenges and new developments? Who are the big players or competitors that everyone measures themselves against? Who are the thought leaders?
You’ll build this knowledge over time, but you should start with at least a minor understanding of the industry. By understanding the high and low seasons, key players, and latest industry news, you can clearly share how your service can help the prospect excel in their market.
Research the company
Who’s the CEO? What’s the company’s back story? How well are they doing in their niche? Know the answers to these questions and the cold call can suddenly become much more personal.
Being able to congratulate the individual on a recent success, acquisition, or product launch will show that you have an interest in their brand.
And how do you do this quickly? Three steps. First, skim the company’s “About” page. Second, jump on the brand’s LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook feed to see what they’re sharing. And finally, do a brief search for the company on Google News.
Research the person
While you’re on LinkedIn researching the company, go ahead and look up the prospect as well. What schools did they attend? Where do they volunteer? What topics do they discuss most frequently on social media?
If you can find a way to connect with them on a personal level, then you’ll be miles ahead of the competition. If you happen to have the same alma mater, like the same sport, or frequent the same vacation destination, you have something that can easily be integrated into the conversation to make you more memorable.
2. Make the conversation about the prospect
What’s the purpose of your cold calling?
No, it’s not to close more deals – regardless of what upper management might say.
It’s to determine if your service is the right fit for this prospect. If the two are a good match, signing up the new client will be easy!
So stop trying to convince the client that your product is the end-all solution to every need under the sun. Instead, listen to them talk about their needs, challenges, and strengths. Focus the conversation around their short-term and long-term objectives.
Once you have a full understanding of what they need and why, you can help them develop a game plan to achieve their goals. But don’t make it all about your product! Suggest tips, complimentary services, and other valuable advice that can help them succeed – even if they don’t work with you right away.
Keep a record of these conversations using things like email tracking tools and you can ensure that each interaction is focused on the other person and their needs.
When someone realizes that you’re trying to help them solve their needs, rather than sell your product, they will be far more inclined to listen – and ultimately, to buy.
3.End the conversation with a value-add
When a cold call doesn’t end in a sale, the obvious goal is to continue the conversation at a further date.
Too often, SDRs simply do this by trying to call or email the prospect again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, the whole time the prospect knows exactly what’s going on – you’re trying to sell them on something they don’t believe is valuable.
Instead, find a way to end the conversation with a meaningful reason to reconnect. Offer to send them a useful article, connect them with a potential client, or provide a free trial. Give them a reason to touch base again without it being all about the sale.
Then, use a service like SalesLoft to track to-do’s and follow ups – both from calls and emails. By tracking the entire sales process, you can quickly and easily develop the relationship further with every conversation.
Although cold calls will always be a challenge, you can certainly make them easier and more productive. Try using the above tactics to warm up your cold calls and, in turn, increase your sales.
Then, come back and tell us how it worked.
Jonathan Allen
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- 3 Ways to Warm up Your Cold Calling - June 29, 2016