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But that’s not the whole story. You can still make important sales breakthroughs with this approach—if you follow the right steps. And that’s why many organizations have stuck with it even in the age of digital marketing and automation. We’ll explain those steps to success in this article. But first, let’s define the concept of cold calling. What Is Cold Calling? Cold calling means contacting a prospect and speaking with them over the phone, with the hope of leading them closer to becoming your clients. It’s called ‘cold calling’ because the prospect is usually someone who you’ve never previously spoken with. And that’s exactly why it’s a challenge. Most people (perhaps including you) may say no to a cold call because you’ve never spoken with the person at the other end of the phone before. But what if they’re offering you a solution to a pressing problem you’ve had for a while? You might be a bit more inclined to hear them out. That’s what you do with cold calling. You present to your prospect something that could make their life easier and agree with them on a good time to discuss it. Steps To Winning New Clients With Cold Calling Let’s turn to some smart ways to make cold calling work for your business. Call At The Right Time If you’re a working person, you’ll likely not want to receive a call from an unknown salesperson on a Monday morning. You’re still trying to settle down to a new work week. The same goes for pretty much every other person in this category. Calling prospects at late office hours (say 5 PM) is also not a good idea. They’re probably exiting their workplace at that time. So when is the right time to cold call? Some experts say the time before lunch or later in the afternoon on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We nod our heads in agreement. Adopt An Enthusiastic Tone If you don’t speak enthusiastically to your prospect, you’re probably not going to convince them to take the action you want of them. Enthusiasm is contagious; so is dullness. Do what you can to maintain a confident and friendly tone when you speak over the phone. But avoid coming off as pushy. You can strike this balance by putting yourself in their shoes and thinking about what sort of communication you would be open to. Get Straight To The Point The person on the other end of the phone probably doesn’t have all the time to devote to your call. Remember, they don’t know who you are, so they might as well refuse to attend to you. Don’t assume that an attempt at pleasantries is the polite thing to do. It isn’t; you’ll be eating into their time, and that’s not very polite.
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If they do grant you the time to speak, you should thank them for it, introduce yourself, and get to the point. Use A Script, But Be Flexible There are many reasons why you would want to use a script when cold-calling. A good script will contain the basic points of your pitch—what you want your prospect to know about your product or service, and the questions you’ll like to ask them (to gather useful information about their needs). If you’re not using a script, you may fail to make a comprehensive case to your prospect about taking your offer. And they won’t be convinced if your pitch is weak. But it’s also important to respond to their questions and comments. This way, you’ll keep them at the center of the conversation, and they’ll feel that their opinion is valued. This in turn raises the chances of your cold call being successful. Let The Prospect Talk You may have a large number of people to call on any given day, so you won’t want your calls to drag on for long. But make sure you allow them time to speak when they want to. Do what you can to answer their questions (they may warm up to you if you’re responsive). Remember, the aim here is to gather as much information about them and their needs as you can. If you succeed at this, you’ll be able to present your product or service as a solution to their problem. This is one way to draw them closer to becoming your clients (which is your final goal). Don’t Sell (Yet) Yes, this article is about landing clients with cold calling. And you can certainly do this. But it’s a process, and it shouldn’t end with the first cold call. Your aim with the initial call should be to:
- Learn your prospect’s pain points
- Get your communication with them from the status of an interruption to a scheduled meeting with them, where you will have their full attention
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