We all know that cold calling and telesales never quite goes as well as they portray in the Wolf of Wall Street.
However, cold calling is a fantastic way to prospect for new business, seek out new opportunities and to get your brand or your products and services in front of your next customer.
For many, cold calling, or even just picking up the phone can be a very daunting task; with many of us now opting to send an email or a social networking message to our prospects instead; but is this truly going to help you to stand out from your competition?
Picking up the phone and making sales calls is the number one method to disrupt your prospect, start a conversation, understand their needs and this will allow you the chance to start developing that all important business relationship.
If you are new to making sales calls, here are out top 6 tips on how to cold call:
Research
Never just pick up the phone without any prior planning or research. Take some time to understand who it is you are calling, and use a bit of time to learn about your prospect. Sure, we are not expecting you to spend hours per call conducting research! But spending a simple ten minutes, five minutes even, researching your prospect before you pick up the call could make all the difference.
It is about them, not you!
If you think you are talking too much and boring your prospect then you most likely are!
Come on, how many times have you received a sales call and without any foreplay or so much as a conversation have you had to endure a sales pitch that just made you want to hang up?
Make the telephone conversation more about THEM and less about YOU. Sure, your company is amazing, but ask questions, understand your prospects needs and pain points and the rest becomes so much easier.
Don’t Rush!
When it comes to selling over the phone, quality should always outweigh quantity. Auto-diallers, and worrying about the amount of dials you make can only have an adverse effect on the quality of calls. It is always much better to have 5 quality conversations with receptive people who are welcome to your conversation than it is to dial out 100 numbers in an hour.
Plan out the conversation!
Having a simple script whilst making cold calls is a great way to ensure your conversations remain on track and that you remain in control of the conversation. Sure, you don’t have to have a line by line, 20 page document outlining everything that needs to be said. However a simple list of questions to ask and simple statements could make all the difference when you are cold calling.
Listen
Your prospect, if you asked the right questions, will tell you all of the information you need to know about what they need to buy, when they need to buy, and to what price they want to buy things for. So never over talk your prospect, and be willing to sit back and just digest all of the information they tell you. Think of yourself like a detective, or even a doctor. The more you listen, the better your cold calling will go.
(PS, don’t take rejection to heart)
There is no doubt about it; when making cold calls, or any sales calls for that matter, you will get rejected. You will have the phone put down on you, and you will also have people turn you away. But it will never be about YOU as a person (unless you do something terribly wrong!). So when faced with rejection, remember to take a breath, and move straight on to the next call.
These simple tips will most certainly help you to win more business over the phone. Why not give them a try and leave us a comment if they helped, or if you think we missed anything vital out.
Of course, it goes without saying, if you understand the importance of telemarketing, telesales or cold calling but don’t have the confidence or time to do so; the Paragon Sales Solutions team are on hand to help and support you and to take your campaigns off your hands.
Paragon Sales Solutions are Leicester’s leading sales consultants, offering:
– Sales Contracts
– Sales Training
– Social Media Management
– B2B Telesales / Telemarketing
We cater for any size business, and what makes us stand out is that we truly care. Our services can be catered for your business and our sales professionals will work tirelessly to ensure your sales targets are met. Be sure to visit our website for more details on how our sales solutions can help your business.
