Over the past few years, we have seen a huge transformation in the sales industry. With ever-changing technological advances, there seems to be a new sales method introduced every year. This is great news for businesses because ways to make a sale have become more varied; if one method doesn’t work, you can always try another.
However, sometimes oldies are goodies for a reason. One such sales method that almost every salesperson gets uncomfortable with (at least starting out) is cold calling. You might be thinking that with all the other sales methods out there today, it’s alright to do away with the old-school cold calling. We’re here to tell you, regardless of how many new and innovative sales methods are out there, you still need cold calling in some form or another.
Cold calling is very much still alive, and if it is done correctly, it is an effective way for businesses to target new customers.
What is Cold Calling?
People often confuse cold calling with warm calls. The difference is when you make a cold call, you don’t know any information about the person you are calling. This is unlike warm calling, where you have the chance to call someone that has engaged with your business in some way before.
Reasons Why You Need Cold Calling
Difficult to be Ignored
Email and online messaging are great for a lot of things, but if you are reaching out to a lead for the very first time, email is not always the way to do it. Your potential customers are bombarded with messages in their inbox every day. Between work messages, personal messages, and messages from other businesses, people’s inbox is exploding. If a lead is unfamiliar with you, or not expecting an email from you, it is too easy for them to toss your email in the junk box. Not only that but if they even open your email, they can quickly determine they are not interested.
It’s a lot more difficult for people to ignore you on the phone. Once you make the call and get them on the phone, it’s a more effective way to reel them into a conversation. Making the cold call allows you to get one step ahead because they don’t know who is calling them, so they will, at the very least, answer the phone rather than shut you down before you even make the call.
Direct Communication is Easier
Have you ever received an email and thought to yourself, “Well, that was harsh.” There is a good chance the person sending the email had no intention of coming off so strong or abrupt. It is easy to misunderstand the emotions written in an email. When you send an email to someone you have never talked to before, the receiver of the message can completely misread your emotion. Maybe they will think you come off too pushy or aggressive. Right off the bat, they can decide they don’t want to participate in a conversation.
With a phone call, however, people can get a feel for your emotions just by the tone of your voice. Cold calling offers a softer approach and leads to a better conversation.
It Gives the Lead Options
Every cold call you make won’t be a sale – and that is fine. But who’s to say they won’t be interested down the road or in another product or service from your business? There is a good chance the cold call goes great even if they are not interested at the moment. At this point, you could follow up with an email thanking them for their time and send them the information for when they are interested later on. You might not have been able to capture the sale right away, but there’s an even better chance you’ll sell to them later on.
A good conversation goes a long way. A phone call that has great discussion is what creates a relationship. After that initial call, the lead has a good association with your business, and they won’t just ignore your communication.
You Can Customize the Message
When you make a cold call, you know absolutely nothing about the person you are speaking to. If you were to communicate with them in any way other than a phone call, like an email, it can be tempting to send them a generic, generated email that is sent to everyone.
When you’re on the phone with them, you can customize the message as you go. You can quickly get an understanding of this person’s attitude and personality and adjust your message, so it’s appealing to them specifically.
What’s the Deal with Cold Calling?
So, if there are so many good reasons as to why we need cold calling, why have businesses started to steer away from it? The only way cold calling works is if it’s done right. Those who have a negative association with cold calling have probably been using this method wrongly and ineffectively.
Cold calling can be uncomfortable for many people. After all, you are calling someone you don’t know and trying to pitch your product or service. It can be intimidating, but if you let this fear of cold calling take over, it’s easy for the call to crash and burn.
When you become intimidated by the call, or unsure about the next steps to take, your script can dictate your conversation, and this is how cold calls can come off as too artificial or spammy to the potential customer. You need to come off confident and enthusiastic to the customer because who is really interested in a product that not even the salesperson sounds excited about?
Call Motivated Sellers to Enhance Your Cold Calling Skills
The truth is, businesses need cold calling, and it will deliver incredible results with highly qualified leads if done correctly. Cold calling takes effort and understanding, which is why Call Motivated Sellers is here to help. We want you to be able to put your focus on other things without worrying your cold calling is being done right. We invite you to check out our testimonials and imagine what we can do for your sales team. What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!