Many businesses still practice cold calls to drum up business. Its success rate is extremely low, however: less than two percent of cold calling results in a sale. This rate can feel depressing for business owners who want to see better numbers.
Yet many companies still practice cold calling. It’s just that telephoning leads has changed in recent years due to the shift away from in-person communication methods to more remote methods. But if you approach a cold call correctly, you’re more likely to get a favorable outcome.
Here are some ways you can maximize cold calling in your campaigns.
1) Take Your Sweet Time
For some time, cold calling followed a “spray and pray” method, where salespeople would call as many people as they could in a short time. This was often done during a business lunch hour or immediately after work.
But today, you cut down on your sales if you rush the process. Take your time and make an appointment with the person you want to speak to. Once you have a specified time slot and an address, that’s when you should schedule your cold call.
2) Ask Clients, “How Have You Been?”
Before you decide to cold call a potential lead, make sure you’ve maintained a relationship with them. That means making a visit to their office or store once in a while and asking things like, “How have you been?” and “How’s the family?”
Ask them questions that are related to their business, too. For instance, you could ask, “What do you think of the new app your company released?” or “How has your business been growing?” You’re trying to get a feel for where their company is in relation to your own.
3) Prepare an Outline
Cold calling is hard work. That’s why it’s recommended that you prepare an outline for your cold call. That way, you can focus on the specifics of your campaign instead of rambling about your business until you lose the attention of the person you’re speaking to.
Test out your approach by doing a dry run. Ask a friend to play your target client, then make your call. Pay attention to the questions you ask and how you express yourself.
4) Do Your Research
Cold calling is not for people who have introverted personalities. You do have to be bold enough to initiate a conversation with a complete stranger.
One of the best ways to be bold, however, is to do your research. You need to know as much about your target client as you can. This will help you have a conversation with them rather than just firing off your sales pitch.
5) Don’t Be Discouraged By Rejection
The hardest part about cold calling is that you will get a lot of rejection. You have to have thick skin when it comes to cold calling.
It’s all about persistence, honestly. You just have to keep calling until you get a hold of the person you want to talk to.
Conclusion
Cold calling can help you reach out to potential clients and boost your sales. But you have to do it correctly if you want to be successful.
In order to achieve successful B2B lead generation, you will need professional help. WhoKnows is a powerful tool that will help you address any of your pressing marketing concerns. Get in touch with us today to learn more about what we can do.
