4 Strategies That Will Help Your Team Warm up to Cold Calls. – Info Branding

The benefit of Cold Calls and how to Make It A Habit

Cold calls are tough, and it’s likely they are the least favorite part of your sales team‘s job. It’s hard to ring up a person who doesn’t know they need you yet. But brands grow by bringing in new customers and cold calls help make that happen.

Like any other method, cold calls need a bit of nuance to pull off. There are proven strategies that can warm up the tone of the call and bring new customers into the conversation. The key is to remember you are taking up someone else’s time—so you need to project value right away.

Here are 4 strategies to employ.

1. Know Who You Are Calling
Know the basics before picking up the phone. If you are calling a doctor’s office, expect to leave a voicemail. Have a message in mind before dialing the phone. If you are calling an IT company, understand the person on the other end of the line may not have a communications degree and small talk could be lost on them.

A few other things to keep in mind:

• Have a name of someone to speak with before you dial.
• Know the relative size of the operation (one owner doing it all or a team?)
• Have a few company tid-bits in mind.

Also know why this company needs you in the first place. Have specific gains in mind for the person on the other end of the phone and communicate them quickly.

2. Keep it Short
This cold calling strategy has scientific data to back it up. Studies have shown that the brain likes 20-30 second bursts of information. To put that into perspective, a brain may only remember 30 seconds of a 10-minute call. Keeping things short will make you more memorable!

• Don’t overwhelm a total stranger with industry jargon. Even if it’s their industry jargon.
• Speak clearly and calmly.
• Focus on high level information.

Stick to what they will remember and what you think they want to know. If they start asking questions– you know they are interested and paying attention. Try getting them to talk with you right away.

3. No is Expected
It’s not fun, but cold calls are a part of sales. You will be told no, get hung up on, and blown off. Know that’s part of the process and carry on! Knowing how to understand the “no” cold calls is just as important as getting the yeses.

Take notes and adjust:

• When are you losing the majority of your “no” calls?
• What needs to be tweaked before you try that business again?
• Are they more comfortable with emails, texts, or social media?

A lot can be learned from being blown off. Take it in and work it into your cold calling methods. The world is changing and so should the methods of your brand’s sales team.

4. Don’t Try to Close the Deal
It’s a hard lesson, but don’t try to close the deal on your cold call. Focus on information gathering. Treat the cold call like a recon mission.

• Take notes
• Ask questions
• Tell them you will call again soon

Try building a relationship; focus on being friendly, professional, and easy to work with.

Have a plan going in and be flexible enough to read the situation over the phone. Scripts can help but limit them to bullet points so you don’t come off sounding robotic or even disinterested. Remember, you are taking up someone else’s valuable time, so try to be valuable right off the bat. The second they realize they need you, you’re in!

RUSSO is a strategic branding agency that uses consumer insight to change the conversation; forming emotional connections with the target audience. To learn more, click HERE to subscribe to our podcast.