The Lost Art of the Cold Call – Three Tips to Improve Your Sales Prospecting
It’s easy to conclude that modern marketing has left more traditional techniques in the dust. But focus all your energies on guerilla marketing and you might just leave a ton of customers for your competitors.
Cold calling is a tried and tested method of sales prospecting and generating interest in your business. You just need to know how to get it right.
Read on for our three tips on the lost art of the cold call.
1. Develop Your Craft
Like anything worthwhile, the art of the cold call is a skill that takes time and dedication to perfect.
Make sure that you have a learning mentality from day one. Don’t just go through the motions. If you keep hitting a brick wall, try to figure out what it is. Is it something with the script? Is it how you’re delivering the script? Is there something you can do differently?
Without going beyond the boundaries of your role, make needed adjustments. The more comfortable you are with your script, the more you understand your customer, and your product or service, the more sales you will make. They’ll come naturally, but only if you focus on learning and improving.
2. Prepare for Success
Cold calling is one of the most effective prospect communication strategies. It puts you in touch with real people, in an actual conversation. You can develop rapport, which is crucial in business relationships.
That person receiving your sales call expects you to be a professional, and know your stuff. If you’re making business-to-business calls, they also expect you to know about them. If you don’t do your homework, you won’t be able to offer them what they need. You’ll waste your time and theirs, leading to frustration all around.
If you’re reaching out to the public, think about timing. When will they be home? When will they be in the right frame of mind to be receptive? A little forethought can go a long way in getting a relaxed customer, allowing you to generate sales leads at a higher rate.
3. Prepare for Rejection
To be successful at making cold calls, you need to be resilient. Now that’s something all of us want to be able to put on our resume.
How do you do it? You need to learn not to fear the word, ‘no’. It’s a word most of us hate to hear, but you need to learn to embrace it. Sometimes that will mean getting to the bottom of why they said no. Working out how to turn it around into a yes.
Other times, it’ll mean picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and moving on. With more experience, you’ll develop resilience and your ‘turnaround time’ will become quicker. Learn to laugh off the rude ones and stay on the hunt for the good ones.
Perfecting the Art of the Cold Call
The art of the cold call is far from a dying art. It’s still a highly effective method of sales lead prospecting. If you approach it like a pro, do your homework, and build your resilience, you’ll be making effective sales calls in no time.
Cold calls are just one of many marketing techniques that can help you take your business to the next level. Make sure you check out our Business section for more articles and advice.