Cold calling is a foundational outbound sales technique where businesses actively pursue prospective customers. It ensures potential sales opportunities are never left unexplored.
What is Cold Calling?
Cold calling is the art of reaching out to prospects directly, even if there’s no prior relationship. This is a proactive sales method that’s typically executed over the phone. The idea is to introduce a product or service, qualify a potential client, and initiate the sales process.
Is Cold Calling Still Relevant?
Even though so much of what we do takes place online, cold calling still remains relevant.
Email and social media have certainly diversified outreach methods, but the direct nature of a phone call cuts through the digital noise. A well-executed cold call can instill instant rapport, which is more difficult to achieve over email or direct messages.
Cold Outreach: Calls, Email, or Video Messaging?
The first contact you make with a prospect can make or break a potential deal. Successfully engaging with a customer for the first time means choosing the right channel. But which one should you use?
Cold calling is still one of the most reliable direct engagement methods. A call is more personal, and objections can be handled immediately. One downside of cold calling is that call screening apps can make it more tricky to reach prospects.
If scalability is important to you, cold emailing may be a better fit. It gives potential clients the freedom to engage when they feel ready and keeps a record of communication. However, low barriers to entry means cold emailing is often overused and can be seen as spam.
An emerging favorite among these sales tactics is cold video messaging. It pairs the personal touch of cold calling with the convenience of email. Video messaging is engaging but effective. It has the power to simplify complex ideas and includes the human element. What’s more, videos can be viewed at a recipient’s preferred time.
Useful Cold Calling Tools
Thanks to technology, sales teams can now enhance the cold-calling process.
- Power Dialers. These automated systems dial numbers from a predefined list. Power dialers help streamline the cold calling process and minimize downtime between calls.
- CRM Integration. Integrating a dialer with a customer relationship management (CRM) system ensures that all call data is captured and stored systematically. This facilitates follow-ups and complements sales funnels.
- Local Presence Dialing Software. This tool allows calls to come through from a local number. If a prospect believes the call is local, they’re more likely to answer it.
- Call Recording. From a training and quality control perspective, recording calls is invaluable. It gives sales reps the opportunity to review and refine their approach.
3 Best Practices for Cold Calling
- Preparation is Key. Before dialing, know your prospect. Gain an understanding of their industry, potential pain points, and how your solution fits in. This will make your call more genuine and relevant.
- Craft a Compelling Opening Statement. First impressions matter. Your opening statement should be concise, relevant, and immediately engage the prospect's interest. A potential customer can immediately tell when a call is overly scripted.
- Listen Actively. While you may have a script, it's still essential to listen to a prospect's responses and adapt the conversation accordingly. Their feedback will guide the flow and outcome of the call.
