Alexa What is cold calling? Meaning, tips, examples, and techniques

What is cold calling? Meaning, tips, examples, and techniques

Marketing | by Patricia Jones
What is cold calling? Meaning, tips, examples, and techniques

Cold calling is a tedious practice, but if done properly it can work wonder for your business. It can be uncomfortable and nerve-wracking to call someone you don’t know and ask them for business. Yes, you cannot convert a cold prospect suddenly but then it can also be a great way to make new connections with people in your industry. If you are interested in learning more about how to use cold calling as part of your sales strategy, read on!

What is cold calling?

Cold calling is a sales technique where you a salesperson or a representative of a business makes unsolicited phone calls to potential customers who have not expressed interest in the product or service being offered. However, there’s a high potential of these cold  prospects turning into customers. The purpose of cold calling is to introduce the product or service, generate interest, and ultimately persuade the potential customer to make a purchase.

Cold calling facilitates establishing first -level connection with potential customers who might be interested in your brand in the long run but may not be actively seeking out presently. The salesperson may guide the prospect  with conversation and try to overcome any objections the potential customer may have. The success of cold calling depends on a number of factors, including the quality of the sales pitch, the relevance of the product or service to the potential customer, and the timing of the call.

Process flow of Cold-calling Sales 

Be prepared to answer questions: You should be ready to answer any questions that come up during the call, but don’t feel like you have to give away all of your company’s secrets. If someone asks about a product or service and you don’t know the answers, say so and ask them if there is something else they would like from you.

Make a sales pitch: When making cold sales calls, it’s important not only for you but also for your prospects that they feel as though they are being sold something rather than just being given information on how good your company is at what it does (which could be true). That said—and this goes back again into preparation—you need some kind of compelling reason why someone should buy from you over their current provider (or another vendor). If possible, try finding out what value each prospect sees in working with yours versus theirs so that when trying out different strategies later on down the road, these factors remain a top priority among others such as price point.

Focus on the customer: Solving your customers’ needs is the secret recipe of a  sales pitch. Do a bit of research on your customer’s business needs, and pain points. Actively listen to the customer and respond with empathy and understanding

While cold calling may sound nightmarish (even to the most happening salesperson), it’s true that cold-calling tactics still play a key role in emotion-based sales. It’s the first step to sparking a conversation with a  potential client. At the end of the day, the sale is an emotional process and without building trust, you can’t accomplish it. Cold-calling for sale is the stepping stone for the same. 

Don’t forget to ask for referrals

Don’t forget to ask for referrals. Asking a customer for a referral is one of the most effective methods of building relationships and retaining customers. If you’re calling someone with whom you have a good relationship, be sure to ask them if they can refer others as well! This shows that you’re not just asking them out of politeness—you genuinely want their help in growing your business.

Even during cold calls you need to have call-to-action. If you’re asking a customer for a referral, make it sure that he knows you are here for making a sale. For example, you can say, “I ‘d appreciate your support to grow my business”! If your friends need any of my products or services let them know.

Working with CRM software can help

In the age of digitization, CRM becomes a mandatory tool. It makes customer relationships easier than ever. Not only does it help in managing your sales pipeline, but also, it provides a detailed report on the leads generated by your marketing efforts. With all the lists, your customer reps can reach out to potential leads via cold calls. Using the customer segmentation capabilities of a CRM, it’s easier to segregate customers based on their needs.

A CRM system is a collection of applications used by an organization or company to collect data about its customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders (or “people” as they are sometimes called). This type of system can help companies deal with issues like customer service problems or complaints from employees who feel ignored at work because there isn’t enough time spent training new hires on how things work around here!

CRM applications are focused on tracking contacts within an organization; typically this includes email addresses with associated accounts where those individuals’ information lives so that someone else can access it easily when needed (versus having everything stored locally within each department).

Cold calling can be an effective sales strategy when done properly.

Here’s some tips to help you become more successful with cold calling:

  • Cold calling isn’t meant for aggressive selling: Cold calling should not feel like a sales pitch; instead, it should feel like an informational meeting with a potential client who has questions about your product or service and wants to know more about what makes them different from other companies in the same industry. Remember that these people have chosen to reach out to you at this time because they trust your company’s ability to deliver on its promises—so don’t lose sight of that!
  • Be polite and respectful during every interaction: Remember that each person is another human being with feelings just like yours (and possibly better ones). If someone asks you why they shouldn’t buy from another company instead of yours because “it sounds better,” for example, respond with something along these lines: “Well…I guess what I can tell you is that our team has been working hard since inception on designing something truly unique within its genre.” This gives them reassurance without making them feel pressured into making a decision now–which could mean losing out on future business down the road because no one else knows about these features yet either!

Make sure that your customers should never feel that you are actually trying to get the product sold and that’s it. Instead, focus on building credibility with your customer and an emotional connection. Customer, who is emotionally connected with your brand won’t mind spending a few more bucks on your product. They will know they are getting value for the money.

The best time to call!

For cold calling, time is precious. Studies reveal calls made on Wednesdays and Thursdays give the best results. Since the beginning of the week is hectic and people mostly are busy dealing with previously scheduled meetings, mid of the week they usually are free. Again on Fridays, nobody wants to deal with work on Fridays. Reaching them out mid of week means you are calling them when they are more relaxed. Also, keep in mind that 4-5 pm is the golden hour for sales calls. 

What do you do with the rest of the time, then?  It’s obvious that all your potential leads are cold call recipients. Some of them have already travelled to the next step of your funnel. The best you can do is to shift your sales team’s focus and let them build and nurture relationships with the warm prospects. 

Cold calling is not a sprint!

Purchase decisions are not made overnight. It takes time. Especially today, when they have more access to information and options, they take time to research and get informed from  multiple sources. So, whenever you are doing cold calls,  never expect that your potential customer will be interested in purchasing your product right away. In fact, a little difficulty in converting your prospect is a blessing because that gives you enough opportunity to nurture it and turn them into recurring customers, which brings long-term profit. Rather than focusing on making a sale, you can take your hot leads to the next stage of the pipeline. If you can set up an appointment or a follow-up from an initial cold call, you have won.

Wrapping Up

Be extremely creative and strategic when it comes to your cold-calling. Remember that it is a powerful tool, but not an aggressive one. You can’t convert a lead right away or maybe you can, but in general, things take time. If you are looking for guidance for cold calling and the secret recipe for success get in touch with the ConvergeHub Experts.

Comments (2) Comments

  1. Your blog article is informative and engaging, offering valuable information in a concise and concise manner.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want to grow?
Join our weekly newsletter packed with sales tips.

Enjoy this article? Don't forget to share.