For any sales team, cold calling poses a challenge. It also offers immense opportunity, with more than 60 percent of executives crediting cold calling to attending an event or accepting an appointment. So, how can you improve your team’s cold calling success? Find out with our seven cold calling tips:
Download A Free SampleUse a Targeted List
Having a targeted list may be a no-brainer for some sales teams. It’s still important to mention, though, as these lists serve as the foundation to your cold calling project. With a targeted prospect list, you’re saving time, narrowing your audience and raising your rate of success.
To obtain the most helpful targeted list, consider these audience features:
- Income
- Job
- Decision-makers
- And more
Depending on what you’re calling about, you may think about other factors as well.
Choose a Time Frame
Time has an immense influence on your cold calling success. Not only do calls in the early morning and late afternoon have more success, but cold calls on specific days even do better than others. The best days for calling are Thursday and Wednesday, while the worst day is Tuesday.
Think about the period in which you’re calling, too. A cold call for a financial service, for instance, fares better when you call two to four weeks before the fourth quarter ends, compared to calling during the first quarter. Other offerings impacted by timeframes include seasonal services.
Have a Sales Script
Improvisation can lead to cold calling success, but you still want to have a sales script on hand. Use what you know about your prospects to brainstorm a script for your sales team. What do you want your team to say about the services or products you’re offering? How do you think your caller will respond? What questions will they ask?
Answer these questions, and you’ll draft a script that will give your team a valuable reference. Sales scripts are also useful because they build your team’s confidence, which is helpful if they’re anxious about their next call or new to cold calling.
Create a Positive Setting
Office settings can play a significant role in cold calling success. When employees are in a positive, encouraging environment, they tend to perform better when making calls to prospects. While you can help create that environment with support and constructive criticism, staff can also decorate their workspace to set the tone.
Invite your sales team to spruce up their work area with family photos or motivational quotes. Employees could even keep track of the number of prospects they’ve converted to boost their mood and keep them positive about securing another client or sale.
Talk With a Pleasant Tone
One of the biggest tips for cold calling success is your tone of voice. A pleasant, warm voice does wonders when it comes to cold calling. Listen to how your team converses with prospects. Do they sound nervous or uncomfortable? Are they becoming too aggressive or confrontational?
Encourage your team to practice their tone of voice by hosting training sessions. Have one person be the caller and the other the prospect and go through different calling scenarios. With practice, your sales team can perfect their tone and always be ready to reply in a warm, business tone — even in stressful situations.
Set a Call Number Goal
With cold calling, your team’s goal is to connect with prospects and make a sale. Setting a call goal, like 50 calls in 150 minutes, or three minutes per call, keeps your staff on track. Limiting the time your team chats with a prospect also encourages them to introduce themselves, state their purpose and make a sale.
Short, persistent calls lend themselves to more success. Most cold calling success, for instance, comes after the fifth contact, which is when 80 percent of sales are made. Keeping your team’s calls short lets them circulate through the lead list fast and then return to prior ones.
Take Breaks to Refresh
Continue your team’s cold calling winning streak with breaks. Once they’ve made 15 calls, which should take around 45 minutes if you’re going by the “50 in 150” rule, encourage them to take a five-minute break. Stretching, drinking some water or listening to a song during these breaks can help staff dive back into calls with enthusiasm.
Ready to put these cold calling tips to use? Don’t forget to pick up a list for contacting your leads. At TelephoneLists.Biz, we offer a selection of high-quality phone lists for both the U.S. and Canada. Try a free sample, purchase a sales lead list or contact us to learn more today!
