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10 Cold Calling Tips

Cold calling is still an effective sales tactic if done properly. The purpose of a cold call is to set an appointment to make a pitch, not to make the sale. You need to research your target markets and prospects thoroughly. An organized opening statement and script will help avoid mistakes and ensure all key points are covered. Ask for a specific appointment time rather than a vague meeting request. Be persistent with cold calling as most sales are made after the fifth contact.

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170 views2 pages

10 Cold Calling Tips

Cold calling is still an effective sales tactic if done properly. The purpose of a cold call is to set an appointment to make a pitch, not to make the sale. You need to research your target markets and prospects thoroughly. An organized opening statement and script will help avoid mistakes and ensure all key points are covered. Ask for a specific appointment time rather than a vague meeting request. Be persistent with cold calling as most sales are made after the fifth contact.

Uploaded by

Alfa Saleh
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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10 Cold Calling 

Tips
Part 1: Cold Calling Is Still an Effective Sales Tactic if Done
Right
The obituary for cold calling is premature. While in the perfect world, your phone would be
ringing off the hook all day with clients offering you business, the reality is that if you want
business, you need to go after it, and cold calling is an effective sales tactic if it's done properly.

But many small business people would rather spend an entire day in a dentist's chair than go cold
calling. Does the thought of cold calling makes your stomach drop to your toes? These cold
calling tips won't eliminate your fear, but they will help you make cold calling a more successful
experience.

1) Focus on the goal when cold calling.

Beginners tend to think that cold calling is about making the sale. It's not. It's about getting the
chance to make the sale. Specifically, the purpose of a cold call is to set an appointment to make
the pitch.

2) Research your markets and prospects.

You need to target your cold calling to the right audience. Use market research to focus on your
target market. (See How to Find and Sell to Your Target Market.) Then find out as much as you
possibly can about the company or individual you're going to cold call in advance. This gives
you the huge advantage of being able to talk about their business and their needs when you call
them.

3) Prepare an opening statement for your cold call.

This lets you organize your thoughts before cold calling, and helps you avoid common mistakes
in the cold call opening that would give the person you're calling the chance to terminate the
conversation. For instance, you should never ask, "Is this a good time to talk?" or "How are you
today?" Don't read your opening statement into the phone, but use it as a framework to get the
cold calling conversation off to a good start.

4) What should be in the opening statement of your cold call?

This organizational scheme for cold calling (from AllBusiness.com) works well: "Include a
greeting and an introduction, a reference point (something about the prospect), the benefits of
your product or service, and a transition to a question or dialogue. For example, 'Good afternoon,
Ms. Marshall. This is Ken Brown with Green Works. I read in the local paper that you recently
broke ground for a new office complex. We specialize in commercial landscape services that
allow you to reduce in-house maintenance costs and comply with the city's new environmental
regulations. I'd like to ask a few questions to determine whether one of our programs might meet
your needs.'"

5) Prepare a cold calling script for the rest of your cold call.

Lay out the benefits of your product or service and the reasons your prospect should buy. Write
out possible objections and your answer to them. Without a cold calling script, it's too easy to
leave something out or meander. Once again, it's not that you'll be reading your script word for
word when you call, but that you've prepared the framework of the cold call in advance.

6) Ask for an appointment at a specific time when cold calling.

Say, "Would Wednesday at 11 a.m. be a good time to meet?" instead of saying, "Can I meet with
you to discuss this next week?"

7) Remember that gatekeepers are your allies not your foes.

Be pleasant to whoever picks up the phone or is guarding the inner sanctum when cold calling.
Develop strategies to get the gatekeeper on your side. Sometimes asking, "I wonder if you could
help me?" will help you get the information you need, such as the name of the right person to
talk to or when the best time to contact the prospect is. Learning the names of gatekeepers and
being friendly when cold calling helps, too.

8) Smooth the way for your cold call by sending prospects a small, unique promotional
item.

This helps break the ice and makes your business stand out from the crowd. Pat Cavanaugh, sales
guru of Inc.com), says, "It's amazing. A $2.15 crazy little item we've sent out has helped us get
Fortune 500 accounts. When we call, they say, "Oh yeah....you were the one that sent me that..."

9) Do your cold calling early in the morning, if possible.

That's the best time to reach the decision maker directly, and for most people, the time that
they're most energized.

10) Be persistent when cold calling.

"Eighty percent of new sales are made after the fifth contact, yet the majority of sales people
give up after the second call" (AllBusiness.com).

And above all, practice, practice, practice. While cold calling may never be much fun for you,
you can get better at it, and the more you practice cold calling, the more effective a sales tactic it
will be. So get your script and your call list together and reach for the phone. The people who
want to do business with you are out there - but you have to let them know about you first.

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