Cold calling is a key component of a company’s sales cadence, but the success rate of it is less than 3%.
After seeing that statistic, your first question might be “Does cold calling still work?” The answer? It all depends on you, and how effectively you are approaching the prospect and the call.
What is cold calling?
Cold calling is “cold” because you’re reaching out to someone who knows little about you, your company, or your product. It’s an outbound tactic used to create interest and awareness for your product. But one important thing to remember is, this tactic isn’t just limited to a phone call; it can also include a “cold” email. In fact, we recommend you begin your outreach with a “cold” email, which will help to establish rapport with your prospects before you pick up the phone.
Why is cold-calling important to your business?
Cold calling helps you build trust and ultimately a business relationship with prospects. And through this process, you will be able to quickly and effectively determine if they are a qualified “prospect” or not. But we understand the thought of cold calling can be intimidating and overwhelming. In fact, 80% of salespeople experience “sales reluctance” before they start calling. But, if you are adequately prepared, we have no doubt that you can reduce your anxiety and bring confidence to your approach.
Here are a few tips to prepare for a cold email and call:
Research
We recommend conducting a light investigation into who you are contacting to provide icebreakers and talking points. Your purpose should be to personalize your approach. But keep in mind, there’s a fine line of too much research, which can come across to the prospect as a little creepy.
Here is the data you should gather before making a cold call:
- Name (make sure you know how to pronounce it correctly)
- Position/role/title
- Company & industry
- Location
- Related technologies
- Tools they use to perform their job
- A common interest you share that you found in your online research
Cold email template
Cold email templates help you build a little rapport, and it’s one of the initial steps (LinkedIn being another) for nurturing a lead before calling them.
Here is a suggested format for a cold call email template:
- Subject line that is compelling
- Body that contains a value proposition
- End the body with a call-to-action
- Tone should reflect authority but be conversational and approachable
A well-written email will help warm the client toward accepting your call.
Practice
You have heard it all your life – “practice makes perfect” and prospecting is no exception.Practice your cold-call script until it becomes second nature. This will help make the calls sound more conversational and persuasive.
Another advantage of practicing is that you naturally memorize key aspects of the script and become less reliant on looking at it during the call. If you don’t – then you end up practicing on your first few prospects with far less confidence, and you end up creating the risk of sales reluctance.
So, are you ready to start cold calling?
If you have been struggling with your lead generation efforts and are ready to try a different approach, contact Bill Kiefaber at 614.353.5563 or bill@marketingworks360.com to schedule a time to talk about your needs.