Finally, some cold calling lead generation tactics that work! With telemarketing tactics continuing to thrive and update, you and your team must improve your cold calling lead generation. To help you out, we compiled the leading hacks in the industry, so now you’ll only have to implement them!
What is Cold Calling Lead Generation?
Cold calling lead generation is the process of contacting individuals or businesses, in which the telemarketer has never had contact before, to create a relationship, procure sales, and/or receive a donation/information.
Does Cold Calling Still Work?
Cold calling is still alive and thriving!
Nearly 60% of Fortune 500 companies say cold calling is still very effective. The telemarketing business has been around since the ’70s and it hasn’t lost its effectiveness since then. The only thing that has changed is the approaches and techniques used to cold call.
What Is the Success Rate of Cold Calling?
In other words “Is lead generation still profitable?” The answer to that question is yes...but it can take more time than you think. Here's why:
Only 20% of sales occur in the first 1 to 5 calls. Some would say that is rather low, however, telemarketing is most successful with persistence. The other 80% of sales happen after the 6th call!
One thing to note is that these are statistics based on truly cold calling (not knowing whether or not the individual is in your targeted market). Think of how much higher the success rate is if the calls made were ones from lead generation.
As telemarketing is a process of building relationships, therefore the success rate of cold calling only gets higher with each follow-up call made.
What Is a Lead Generation Agency?
A lead generation agency is simply a team of telemarketers who generate leads. Lead generation agencies take the criteria you require out of leads and find leads who qualify as your target market. Outsourcing this task will help in providing more accurate data, as well as save your company time in finding qualified leads.
Improve Your Cold Calling Lead Generation: Top 10 Hacks
The tactics may have changed since telemarketing first started, but the effectiveness has not. We have all the hacks for cold calling lead generation you need to know to update your cold calling tactics for 2021! Let's get started!
Hack #1: Know Your Audience
This is essential for many reasons, but two reasons, in particular, are especially important:
1) You will save yourself loads of time by narrowing down your contact list.
2) You will have a much higher chance of making sales if you know who your targeted audience is, which in return also helps you save time. That being said, be sure to:
- Keep the customer database up to date
- Determine who your targeted market is and be as specific as you can
- Find a good list broker to provide accurate data
Hack #2: Define The Call Outcome
The telemarketer should always keep the call outcome in mind throughout the phone call, and bring the customer to take action at the end of the call.
The desired outcome might be as simple as setting a time for a follow-up call, but the goal should always be to get the prospect further into the sales pipeline.
Q: How cold calling lead generation pipeline works?
A: When defining the call outcome be sure that it requires a commitment out of the prospect until the small commitments lead up to a bigger commitment, like buying the product or service. This takes them from a prospect, to a warm lead, to a hot lead as they continue to make bigger commitments.
Hack #3: Increase the Number of Calls
This should be obvious, however the question remains…
How can I increase the number of calls, while also ensuring that the contacts fit the company's target customer?
Well, you can buy lead generation phone lists to save time and invest the spare time into increasing the number of calls, later on, that's how!
Hack #4: Always Use an Engaging Opening Line
Nine times out of 10 if a telemarketer starts off the call with, “Hi this is [name] with [the company] and I wanted to know if you had a minute to talk?”, it will be hung up. Keep in mind the first 10 seconds of the call is the only opportunity to get the person's attention/interest.
So, instead of the typical introduction try:
- Asking an open question
- Stating a shocking fact related to the product or service
- Give a positive statistic about your product or service
- Tell them the great deal or discounts you have on the product or service
These are just a few examples to reference, but anything out of the ordinary has a better chance at catching the person's attention and getting them to stay on the phone long enough to explain who you are and what you have to offer them.
Hack #5: Build Excitement
The telemarketer's tone and words will define what the outcome of the call will be. For instance, if the telemarketer has a repetitive, monotone voice, then the prospect will be unenthused and will lose interest.
Keeping the tone light and exciting puts the prospect in a better position to answer your questions and listen to what you have to offer them.
Also, referring back to Hack #4, what you say is just as important as how you say it. Give the prospect something intriguing to think about or a deal that they can't pass up.
Hack #6: Ask Lots of Good Questions
The better the questions, the better the information received. Here are just a few that will give you, the telemarketer, better information:
- Are you currently using a company in the industry?
- Why are you leaving [the competitor]?
- What do you need/want out of the product or service?
- What do you look for in a company to do business with?
The whole point of asking good questions is to get valuable information and learn about the prospects’ needs/wants so you can offer the best solution for them. By asking these open-ended questions the prospect won’t simply say “yes” or “no”, they will give a reason or explanation in response to your questions.
Hack #7: Quality Over Quantity
You have heard the saying “Quality over quantity” but how does that apply to telemarketing?
While it's great to increase the number of calls made, as Hack #3 says, it's also important that those calls are quality calls and quality prospects.
It's an absolute waste of time if you call 80 people and only 1 fits your buyer persona. You could have been calling 80 qualified prospects, that would have led to much more follow-up calls and sales!
The BEST way to get quality leads is through a telemarketing list broker who can help you identify and narrow down the best leads of your target buyer. Another helpful tip is doing research on prospects before calling them. Cold calling works, but it works even better if you have some information on the prospect beforehand.
Hack #8: Keep It Conversational Instead of Presentational
You are talking person to person, NOT speaker to audience, so keep it conversational.
It's important that, as a telemarketer, you know the difference between dialogue and monologue. Monologue refers to one speaker who does the talking, whereas, dialogue has two or more speakers engaging in conversation. Too many telemarketers have their written scripts that they read word for word off of without leaving any room for dialogue. Do not do this. Keep a dialogue going and leave room for discussion!
The more conversational you sound the more personal it sounds. Using this tactic will break the stigma that telemarketers “talk customers ears off” and “only care about the customers money”. It will also help you stand out and help the customer feel more comfortable talking with you. This will, in return, build trust and a relationship that can lead to future calls and sales.
Hack #9: Remember to Hear The Customer Out
Don’t spend the entire call talking. You need to listen to the customer and know what their needs/wants are out of a product or service. A lot of valuable information can be found out of listening. Encourage customers to share why they left competitors in your industry or what they do or don't like about their current company that they are using. If you listen they will be able to share information that you can use in the future to better serve and appeal to them.
Hack #10: Agree on Next Steps
This goes hand-in-hand with Hack #2. The customer needs to know what the current call is about as well as what the next call, email, or meeting is about. By having clear communication and defining the next steps, both you and the customer have clear expectations of what will happen at the next point of contact.
If you’re already excited to try what you’ve now learned, buy high-quality leads and get started today.
Works Cited
Montgomery, J., 2021. Guide to Telemarketing Business | TelephoneLists.Biz. [online] Telephonelists.biz. Available at: https://www.telephonelists.biz/telemarketing/the-complete-guide-to-telemarketing-business/ [Accessed 12 June 2021].
Brandon, L., 2021. How To Buy Business Phone Numbers For Cold Call Telemarketing. [online] Telephonelists.biz. Available at: https://www.telephonelists.biz/cold-calling/buy-phone-lists-lead-generation/ [Accessed 14 June 2021].
Carroll, B., 2021. 7 tips to improve your cold calling and lead generation. [online] markempa. Available at: https://www.markempa.com/seve-tips-for-improving-cold-calling/ [Accessed 11 June 2021].