SECRETS TO

SUCCESSFUL
COLD CALLING

Written by Matt Heinz

www.heinzmarketing.com
SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL COLD CALLING

SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL COLD CALLING CONTENTS

Written by Matt Heinz
2 | The Four Cs Of Effective Cold Calling
If you think cold calling is dead, you’re doing it wrong. Gone
4 | Six Reasons Cold Prospects Will Want
are the days when you could pick up the phone and
To Take Your Call
successfully pitch someone on your product or service cold.
Gone are the days when a prospect will take 20–30 minutes 6 | Four Essential Steps Before Cold

out of their day, unannounced, to hear your presentation. Calling A New Prospect
7 | Ten Best Practices For Cold Calling
But if you think cold calling is dead, you’re doing it wrong. 9 | How To Prepare For Your Next
Calling new prospects still works, but the way you approach Sales Call
it has to be right. You can’t call expecting to get much of their 11 | Do You Expect Sales Prospects To
time. You can’t call assuming they want a run-down of your Sleep With You on The First Date?
features right away. And you can’t call to talk about yourself. 12 | Five Tips To Avoid Call Reluctance And
Reach New Prospects
Your prospects are busy. They don’t have time for you. But
that’s exactly how you can approach cold calling to be
effective. Make the call about them. Have something prepared
to offer them, something that ties directly to a priority or
initiative they care about and are working on right now.

Don’t take a ton of their time, not right now. But an effective,
modern cold call can get the engine running.

Following are some additional pieces published previously

offering additional context and best practices on more
effective, successful cold calling.

Matt Heinz
President, Heinz Marketing, Inc.
[email protected]

SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL COLD CALLING

THE FOUR C s OF EFFECTIVE COLD CALLING

The primary sources of call reluctance (and we 2. Context

all have it) are a lack of confidence and failure to Knowing who to call is great, but without context
adequately prepare. If you don’t feel prepared, you’ll just sound like another salesperson. Why
you won’t feel confident. are you calling, based on reasons that have more
to do with the prospect than with you? What
So in an effort to address both, here are four are the compelling events or catalysts inside the
focus areas that, combined, will help you not organization that make your solution a “need to
only feel more prepared and confident when have” right now?
you call, but will also significantly increase your
response rate and engagement with new Leverage public news feeds, individual and social
opportunities. Conveniently, they all start with C. updates, and more to determine which of your
targets are ripe for engaging right now. Use tools
1. Contacts such as LinkedIn, Gist and SalesLoft to automate
It all start with who you’re targeting in the first discovery of good context for those in your
place. Who has a problem you can solve? Who network and pipeline.
cares more intensely about solving that
problem? Talking to the right people usually 3. Content
doesn’t come in a single answer. There are Think carefully about how you convert
multiple individuals and roles in the buyer context into your actual approach. What will
ecosystem that will care about what you’re your email say to bridge the gap between
solving for. their interests and/or priorities, and how you
can help? How will you craft a subject line for
And although you’d prefer to have a your follow-up email that compels an open?
conversation with the C-level first, you might get What is your 30–40 second voicemail script
more engagement, discover more context and that separates you from the riffraff that
urgency, and be better prepared to attack the clutters voicemail inboxes on a daily basis?
opportunity by speaking with someone at a
lower level. So, know who you need to talk to, Spend the time you need enumerating these
and diversify a bit who that includes to increase entry-point content pieces. Work with your
your chances of breaking into the account. marketing team to create templates that can
be used on a regular basis, and across the
sales floor.

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4. CRM
The only way to scale your cold-calling efforts
and drive effective follow-up is by using a good
CRM system to automate the thinking and
reminders for you. This can be something like
Salesforce.com, but I’ve also seen successful
salespeople use Microsoft Outlook and even
Excel to do this. If you have a documented
process, almost any set of tools can be used to
help you track and follow up with your prospects
to increase conversion rates.

Also worth investing in automated follow-up

systems so you’re maximizing your selling time
and automating email follow-up, in particular.
Not a requirement, but it can certainly make you
more efficient and allow you to put more of your
time back on the phone and in front of
customers and prospects.

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SIX REASONS COLD PROSPECTS WILL WANT TO TAKE YOUR CALL

Cold calling is hard enough, but it’s worse when workday isn’t likely to get the phone answered.
you’re just dialing for dollars and going straight And if they do answer, they’ll be harried,
for the product pitch. Nobody wants to hear distracted, and short on time. Try to make more
that, and if you actually get through to the of your calls at the beginning and end of the day.
prospect in the first place you’re going to get Get in early and call before 8 a.m. local time,
shut down quickly. when prospects (executives in particular) may
get in a little early too before their meetings
Fortunately, there are several strategies you can start. Call at this time or after 5 p.m. and they’re
use to increase cold prospect penetration, and more likely to not be in meetings, and it’s also
accelerate their interest in both taking your call likely that any gatekeeper or administrative
and spending time talking to you. Imagine, assistant isn’t at their desk and screening calls.
prospects interested in taking your call!
3. Schedule Them In Advance
Here are six specific things to integrate into your Cold calls, by definition, are interruptions. You’re
own sales efforts. calling someone who isn’t expecting your call,
and who at best might have a few minutes to
1. Offer Something Of Value (Independent Of
spare but not be in the mindset of thinking about
A Purchase)
what you’re pitching. Get permission to have
Know your audience well enough that you can
that call in advance (ideally including that offer of
create and offer them something that
value from the first point above), and you’ll have
immediately helps them in their current job.
a more focused and prepared prospect. This
Make it something that’s fast and easy to say
won’t always be the case, but it may increase the
yes to, and quick to digest as well. This isn’t the
rate of qualified, successful conversations you’re
entire sales process, but the beginning of your
having to move leads into near-term
relationship-building and a great ice-breaker that
opportunities.
demonstrates you’re not just about getting the
sale, but also helping someone solve a problem
4. Get Warm Introductions
or get closer to an intended outcome. White
There are too many tools available today (many
papers, research reports, free samples. They all
for free) that can help you tap into the networks
count.
of your peers, colleagues, fellow sales reps, past
employees, and more. Depending on what you’re
2. Call At A Good Time
selling and to whom, you’re likely no more than
Calling your prospect in the middle of a busy
2–3 connections away from the individual you

SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL COLD CALLING

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want to speak with. Are you actively using those
connections? Is your LinkedIn profile up to date
and are you connected with everyone you know
professionally? Are you using tools like
IntroRocket to tap into the networks of everyone
else at your company?

5. Get The Gatekeeper’s Buy-In And

Approval First
The decision maker, your primary prospect, is
really busy. Their administrative assistant is busy
too, but part of their job is to figure out what’s
most important to get through to their boss.
Treat that individual not as a gatekeeper, but as
an initial decision maker and advocate for the
problem-solving and/or outcome you represent.
If they think you can help them, their boss and/
or their company, they’re more likely to help you
get the conversation you need.

6. Reference Something Important

(And Recent) To Them
Show your prospect that you’ve done your
homework, and that you can attach something
you care about with something they care about.
A recent product launch, a highly-publicized
security breach, a round of funding. Something
important that you can key in on and play to, that
will make what you’re talking about that much
more relevant.

What works for you? What angles or information

or insights do you use to earn conversations with
your prospects?

SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL COLD CALLING

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FOUR ESSENTIAL STEPS BEFORE COLD-CALLING A NEW PROSPECT

Cold calling is really very simple. Primal. Pick up to sound natural). Use a headset. Make sure you
the phone and reach someone. have good energy. The prospect can hear
whether you’re smiling or not. Take a deep
Of course, to do it well, there’s far more nuance breath. Much of this is physical preparation, but
and skill required than that. Before your next it’s extremely important (even though they can’t
cold call (whether you’re dialing once or a few see you).
dozen times today), follow these four steps:
3. Have An Offer
1. Do Your Homework
What’s in it for them? Are you asking prospects
Who is it that you’re calling? What do they care
to sleep with you on the first date, or do you
about? What are they thinking about right now,
have something more compelling to offer at this
and what have they done recently? What clues
early stage that’s enough to pique their
can you gather— quickly— that can not only tell
interest and earn the right to share more?
you that the prospect has an immediate problem
If you’re calling to get demos vs. calling with
you can solve, but also that can customize your
something of inherent, independent value, your
message, pitch and angle so that you’re directly
conversion rates will suffer commensurately.
aligned with what they care about right now?
Much of this kind of research can be done with
4. Be Ready To Leave A Voicemail
tools like Gist and InsideView.
The vast majority of cold-callers “wing it” in their
voicemails. I’m not a fan of using call scripts once
Take a moment or two to find out what you
you have someone live, but voicemails are the
may have in common with the prospect, as well
exception. Here are some tips for how to craft
as who you may have in common. Check their
a better voicemail that generates more interest
social profiles for interests, and look them up on
and response.
LinkedIn to see which connections you may have
in common one or two degrees away (check out
IntroRocket for a great way to do this within your
own organization too).

2. Prepare
Have your key messages handy (but don’t read
from them—you should know them well enough

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TEN BEST PRACTICES FOR BETTER COLD CALLING

Cold calling is hard, there’s no getting around pick up the phone and dial again. Use volume to
that. It can often feel like a machete in the your advantage.
jungle, but some of the most successful
salespeople in the world have and continue to 3. Get In The Zone And Avoid Distractions
drive their own performance and results based It’s all too easy to make a couple calls and find an
on the cold call. excuse to get up. Refresh your coffee, chat with
your manager, do a victory lap, whatever.
Here are 10 specific best practices to improve Ignore the temptation to get up so often, and
your cold calling approach, performance and stay focused on more activity. Turn off your
results. Facebook, put your phone away, put on your
headset and keep working.
1. Have An Offer.
Don’t make the call with an ask, but call with an 4. Get Comfortable With Rejection And Have A
offer. Give something of value to the prospect, Short Memory
free of charge and with no strings attached. The majority of the time you’re cold-calling,
Make it something immediately relevant to their you’re hearing rejection. You will hear “no” far
current business or priorities. Use it as a means more than “yes,” and the best reps in the world
of starting the conversation, breaking the ice, push right through to that and into the next call.
and building some quick early trust and The best professionals in the world—athletes,
credibility. inventors, innovators—all face failure constantly,
but know that their next success is just one
2. Stay Focused On Volume at-bat or idea or cold call away.
Cold calling is a either a numbers game or a ratio
game, depending on who you ask. The numbers 5. Learn From Those Around You
game implies focusing on a high volume of If your organization has a formal best practice-
activities to reach interested prospects, and the sharing focus (via a library or team meetings or
ratio game implies driving a higher rate of otherwise), soak it up like a sponge. Find the
success with the lists, offers and context in which other sales reps on your team who are
you sell. Either way, results are driven by volume. successful cold callers and take them to lunch or
As a cold caller, oftentimes the one and only coffee. Learn their best practices directly. Read
thing you can control is the number of times you books, blogs, newsletters. Constantly improve

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based on what’s already working around you. 9. Set Goals And Mini-Rewards
Throughout The Day
6. Dress Up You’re motivated by closed sales and
There is a big difference between cold-calling in commission checks, obviously. But also give
ratty blue jeans and in nice dress pants. You may yourself mini-rewards to work towards
only be on the phone, but you will feel far more throughout the day as motivation to keep activity
professional and your work product will relay high. It could be a latte run after XX number of
that. Dress the part. dials, or an afternoon treat once you hit a
particular activity milestone. Find the tactical,
7. Use A Wireless Headset tangible ways to motivate yourself throughout
I’m surprised at how many inside sales reps still the day to keep going.
prefer the handset phone. Anything that gets in
the way of keeping a rhythm and staying in the 10. Use A Disposition Process And Move On
zone when you’re calling is a distraction. With a Just because you make one call and leave a
headset, you’re also much more likely to evoke voicemail doesn’t mean you’re done with that
passion into your voice when speaking with a prospect. Create and/or use a disposition
prospect, since you’re hands and body are more process to effectively work through each
free to move naturally as you speak. prospect—with a short sequence of calls,
voicemails and follow-up emails over the course
8. Your Lists Are Always Going To Suck of several business days. If you don’t have any
It’s not marketing’s fault. Lists, inherently, aren’t response after this disposition sequence, mark
perfect. You’re going to call someone who isn’t the lead as “nurture” and move on. There’s a
at the company anymore, or who isn’t the right short point of diminishing returns with a
contact. You’re going to call a company that’s not prospect who hasn’t responded to your
in your target market. Know that the quality of advances, and you’ll be much more likely to
your list is part of the process. Work with your reach a qualified prospect live if you play the
sales manager (and marketing team) to numbers this way.
constantly improve list quality based on call
results and conversion rates, but know when to
quickly move on from a bad contact or number
to the next one.

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HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR NEXT SALES CALL

Whether you’re making outbound cold calls or Have You Done Your Homework?
preparing for a scheduled discussion with a new What do you know about your prospect? What
prospect, the last think you want to do is sit they’re thinking, what they care about, what
down and dial without any preparation. they’ve recently done or written, who they know
Successful selling, primarily over the phone but that you might also know? Take advantage of
in field sales environments as well, has as much tools such as LinkedIn and Gist to quickly do your
to do with preparation as it does with your homework and customize parts of your pitch to
natural skills in reacting to the situation unfolding improve the likelihood that you’ll achieve that
before you. mutually-successful outcome.

The good news is that, with practice and the Why Would The Prospect Take Your Call?
right tools, preparing for your next sales tool can Your prospect is busy, and either didn’t
take just a few minutes, and will have a anticipate your call (if you’re cold calling) or was
significant impact on your conversion rate and nice enough to give you a few minutes out of
success. Here are a few tips. their busy schedule (in anticipation of something
you might give them of value). For the qualified
What Does Success Look Like? prospect, knowing what’s keeping them so busy
Have a clear image of what success looks like (what their primary focus areas are right now)
at the end of the call, both for you and for your and what you have to contribute to that is key to
prospect. What next steps do you want from the getting and keeping their attention. If you can’t
call? Based on your knowledge of the prospect answer this question, or you identify early in the
(or at minimum your expectation of their needs call that you don’t have something to contribute
if they’re indeed qualified), what do you to their priorities, the prospect is likely not
anticipate they would consider a successful qualified. Politely end the call so you can both
outcome of your conversation? This includes give yourselves back the valuable time.
both progress made during the call as well as
expectations and an anticipation of what’s to What Does Your First 10 Seconds Sound Like?
happen after the call (including next steps, You can’t script a sales call word for word, but
promises and deliverables on either end). With you can script the first 10 seconds. It’s what you
this success explicitly in mind, you can ensure say immediately to get the prospect’s attention
your call is always focused or getting back on and earn the right to continue. Especially when
track to meet that outcome. cold calling, your prospect is more likely to blow

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you off than give you a couple minutes. Those building your pipeline. Promise yourself a break,
first few seconds are critical to not only or some small reward, after staying focused for
determining if the prospect is worth your the next 60 minutes. I guarantee you’ll be far
continued time, but also to ensure what you’re more productive and happy with your results.
talking about is important enough for the
prospect to continue the conversation.

How Will You Immediately Follow-Up?

The conversation goes well, and next steps have
been planned. Do you follow-up right away, or
wait until later? There’s value in batching
follow-up activities together after multiple sales
calls, but I believe the value of immediate
follow-up outweighs the efficiency of batching.
Getting the next meeting on the prospect’s
calendar, or sending the follow-up information
immediately (when they’re likely still at their
desk and in their email), gives you a higher
likelihood that next steps on the prospect’s end
will be followed. It also shows the prospect that
you’re on the ball, a professional, someone they
can take seriously.

How Quickly Can You Get Ready For The

Next Call?
Cold calling is hard. Grinding through a slug of
calls, cold or planned, takes focus and discipline.
It’s extremely easy to get off of your last call,
especially if it went well, and defocus. It’s easy
to get up, get some more coffee, do a victory lap
and tell others or your manager about your
progress. But the best thing to do is complete
your next steps, then start the whole process
over again. Get back on the phone, and keep

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DO YOU EXPECT SALES PROSPECTS TO SLEEP WITH YOU ON THE FIRST DATE?

We ask so much of our prospects. They Recognize you. Associate you with something of
download a white paper and we think they’re significant enough value, pertinent to what they
ready to buy. They attend a Webinar and we value and care about, that they’re willing to take
wonder why they won’t return our calls. the next step and spend more time with you.

You don’t know me, we just met, but do you That seminar may be just another step towards
want to go away for the weekend? Wanna come a deeper relationship, a paying relationship,
home with me? The answer is usually no. Not so but that too sometimes takes time to earn and
fast. convert.

But we expect our sales prospects to move Sales is a process. You’re in control of the steps,
quickly. We expect them to make commitments but not necessarily the velocity. The more you
before we really get to know them, and they get push, the more likely you’ll end up turning good
to know us. prospects away. But respect the process, and
the buyer, and you’ll close the deals you’re
When you’re cold calling, do you really ask for 30 looking for.
minutes of their time? Do you ask for an
appointment or try to schedule a demo without
context, without some conversation, without
foreplay? Shouldn’t you offer something first?

Give them something that they value. Woo them

a little. Take time to get to know them, figure out
what makes them tick, and respond in kind. Yes,
this requires patience.

It doesn’t move nearly as fast as you want it to.

But you’re not in control. The buyer is.
Expecting a brand new list of prospects, a cold
list, to attend a seminar next week isn’t
reasonable. Three months from now, maybe.
But first, they need to get to know you.

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FIVE TIPS TO AVOID CALL RELUCTANCE AND REACH NEW PROSPECTS

Most sales professionals hate cold calling. than 40–45 seconds, had a good pace, a sense
Following up with existing leads sometimes isn’t of urgency, and a strong offer or call to action to
much better or easier. Even the best salespeople get your prospect to call back quickly. When you
often have a strong case of call reluctance that’s have a voicemail script like this, that you know
difficult to shake. works, it’s easier and faster to get through more
of your calls (because you know those prospects
But once successful salespeople get rolling, they will be calling back).
often find it easy to keep that momentum and
generate results—live contacts, interested 3. Turn Off All Other Distractions
prospects, new sources of closeable pipeline. You’ve done it too—you make the first couple
Here are five ways to get past that case of call calls, get a kernel of momentum, then check
reluctance and get more of your leads moving your email or Facebook page and it’s all gone.
towards a sale. When you’re ready to make those calls, turn off
everything—email, your Web browser, RSS feeds,
1. Script The First 30 Seconds notifications, everything. Get yourself into a zone
Oftentimes call reluctance comes from a where you’re making those calls and
concern that the beginning of a conversation nothing else. You’ll be surprised how quickly you
may be awkward. Get past that fear by writing get through the list, and drive results for yourself.
down, visualizing and even practicing the first
20–30 seconds of the call. Have a specific script 4. Get Momentum, And Keep Going
you will use printed out and next to your phone. On a related note, have a strong list to call and
It’ll give you confidence that each call will be keep going until you’re through it. Do it at a set
easier to warm up, and get right to the time, perhaps the same time of the day every
conversation you want to be having. day, and make sure those around you know
you’re staying focused. This can take discipline,
2. Have A Great Voicemail Script Ready even if you don’t have distractions. You leave a
Let’s face it, most of the calls you make will result couple good voicemails, maybe have a good
in a voicemail. Many sales pros leave a long, conversation that moves a prospect along, and
rambling voicemail with no direction, no you want to get some more coffee. Tell your
urgency and no call to action. Have a great manager. Avoid these things, and make the next
voicemail script ready beforehand, and use it call.
every time. Leave something that’s no longer

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5. Do It Early, Or Do It Late
When you first get into the office in the morning,
make those calls. There won’t be firedrills, you
won’t know what’s awaiting you in your email,
and you’re more likely to get call-backs later that
day from the voicemails you’ve left in the
morning. Next best strategy is to schedule those
calls late in the day. After 4 p.m., you’re more
likely to catch your prospect in their office, doing
their own catch-up before leaving for the day.
You’ll either reach more people live, or leave
voicemails that will be returned first-thing the
next day (getting your next sales day off to a
great start).

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 MORE ABOUT US

Heinz Marketing, Inc. ABOUT MATT HEINZ

8201 164th Ave. NE, Suite 200 Matt Heinz is the Founder and President of Heinz Marketing, Inc. Matt
Redmond WA 98052 brings more than 15 years of marketing, business development and
Ph. 877.291.0006 sales experience from a variety of organizations, vertical industries and
www.heinzmarketing.com company sizes. His career has focused on delivering measurable
results for his employers and clients in the way of greater sales,
revenue growth, product success and customer loyalty.

ABOUT HEINZ MARKETING

Heinz Marketing is a Seattle marketing agency focused on sales
acceleration. Heinz Marketing helps clients achieve sustained sales
success by growing revenue from existing customers and cost
effectively identifying and winning new customers.

www.heinzmarketing.com
[email protected]

LEARN MORE ABOUT HEINZ MARKETING

Interested in learning more creative ways to make the most of

your marketing?
Request your FREE 10-minute brainstorm at
www.10minutebrainstorm.com

Check out our blog: www.heinzmarketing.com/blog

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