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Cold calling is a popular and viable option among many methods to engage potential customers. However, cold calling isn’t necessarily what many think of it as. The practice has evolved in the last few decades and isn’t as impersonal as it once was. Generally, instead of placing random calls, salespeople have found more success by targeting the right individuals and companies.
Much has been written about whether cold calling is effective. While the answer will likely depend on your business and the services or products you sell, many businesses believe that cold calling certainly has a place within the sales funnel.
Cold calling is when sales representatives reach out to someone they haven’t connected with before. The goal is to get them interested in a business’s products or services. As the name implies, cold calling typically takes place over the phone.
In the past, cold calling meant working down a list of names of people or businesses that may or may not have needs for your products or services. But this isn’t as efficient as taking time to identify your audience. While it can be time-consuming, it can lead to better results.
Cold calling differs from warm calling, which is when a salesperson has met or has a connection with a prospect before reaching out. [Read related article: Best CRM Software]
Unlike warm calling, cold calling is when you reach out to a prospect without having a prior connection.
While cold calling isn’t everyone’s preference, there are benefits of adding this tactic to your marketing strategy.
Editor’s note: Looking for the right CRM software for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.
Cold calling can get results, but you might encounter many challenges along the way.
Cold calling has some disadvantages for both the salesperson and the prospect. It has low success rates (partly because customers don’t like marketing calls and phone calls are so easy to ignore) and could hurt your company’s reputation if it’s not executed tactfully.
You may think scripts make you sound less natural, but they are an important aspect of cold calling. Your script can make or break your interactions with prospects, so be thoughtful about what you want to convey.
Here are some reasons a cold call script is necessary if you’re going to use this sales method:
A script is important to the cold calling process because it can prepare you (and any new salespeople you hire) for the conversation and make you feel more confident.
Before you can write your cold call script, you need to do some research on your prospects.
Your products and services won’t work for companies in every industry. Skipping this step means you won’t be focusing your cold calling on those who might benefit the most from what you have to offer.
To identify the industries you should target, look at your customers and see if any patterns exist. If this route doesn’t work for you, think about what kinds of companies most need your services or products. Start with just a few industries so that it doesn’t become overwhelming.
Now, it’s time to make a list of prospects. You can find the right companies on a website like LinkedIn. From there, you can search for the people within those companies who are likely to be decision-makers. For example, if your company provides tools for marketing teams, you’ll want to target a person on a company’s marketing team. Aim for a high-level employee within this bracket, as someone newer or in a junior role may not have the authority to make purchase decisions.
To personalize your script, you’ll need to know about the company and the prospects. For the company, you should know what it does and how you can possibly help it. For the prospect, this could include what school they attended or how long they have been with the company.
After the research phase, you can start writing your script. Your script should include these elements:
Before you write your cold call script, research the industries that could benefit from your product, the companies within those industries, and the relevant decision-makers within those companies. This will help you create a personalized message and prepare for the conversation.
Your cold call script probably won’t look exactly the same as any other company’s, but here are a few examples that may help you create your own.
Service/product: An all-in-one analytics tool that results in richer data.
Industry to target: Most businesses use analytics tools to measure data, but looking at your past customers, you decide to target midsize marketing agencies.
Prospect: A director of marketing at a midsize marketing agency.
Information about business or prospect: The director of marketing has worked at the company for five years. The marketing agency’s clients include prestigious names.
Introduction: Hi, [prospect]. This is [name] from [company].
Question: I see you’ve been at [company] for five years. What would you say has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on in that time?
A positioning statement: In talking to other marketing professionals, I’ve learned that many are frustrated that they must use many different tools to track campaigns properly. Is this a problem you’ve had?
A follow-up: So, if I’m understanding correctly, you wish your analytics tools to [reiterate the points they listed]. Are you available for a follow-up chat to discuss how [product] can help you solve [problem they described]?
Service/product: Customer service software that helps small businesses improve the customer experience.
Industry to target: Small business is a wide category, but in this case, you decide to focus on online retailers that sell clothes.
Prospect: The founder of a clothing company that sells novelty T-shirts.
Information about business or prospect: The founder started the business because they wanted to create punny T-shirts in Spanglish.
Introduction: Hi, [prospect]. This is [name] from [company].
Question: I love your T-shirts. They are really funny. How do you come up with the slogans?
A positioning statement: When it comes to your customer service experience, what are your biggest concerns?
A follow-up: It sounds like you want to build a better experience with your customers, but you can’t hire a team of support reps. You may be able to do just that with customer service software. Can you schedule a follow-up chat to discuss how [product] can work with your business?
Cold call scripts will vary depending on your targets and what you are selling; the key is to engage the prospect and tailor the script to their needs.
There are certain days and times when you should avoid making cold calls. For example, Mondays and Fridays are not the best days for a cold call. Mondays are busy as people get back into work; by Friday, people are ready for the weekend. Instead, choose Wednesdays and Thursdays, as CallHippo suggests.
The best times are between 11 a.m. and noon, right before lunch, and between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., when people are not likely to start new tasks.
The best time to make a cold call is between 11 a.m. and noon or between 4 and 5 p.m. on Wednesday or Thursday.
Cold calling is not illegal, but there are laws in place to protect people. You must follow these rules when cold calling: