Cold Calling 101

Believe it or not the hardest part of cold calling is not not the actual phone calls. The hardest part of cold calling is building a prospect list that is well qualified. I discuss this in one of my previous posts.

In the Prospecting 101 post I shared how to think about your value proposition. In the Prospecting Tools post I took you through some of the tools that I use to prospect.

I hope you've spent some time building qualified lists. Assuming you have some names we can now discuss what to do when you pick up the phone to generate new business.

I have found that the conventional wisdom about cold calling is no longer valid. It will be even less valid when we emerge from lockdown. Here are some ideas on how to make effective cold calls.

Give Control To Your Prospect

What prospects fear is a fast talking sales person who is going to con them into buying something they do not need. My approach is to give the control back to the prospect. I try to treat them as I would want a cold caller to treat me. Giving the control back means that you have to work at their pace. This can sometimes mean that it takes months before you get the meeting. That's why you have a CRM and a significant list of prospects to call. If you have enough names on the list you mark down when to call the prospect back and move on to the next name.

Focus On Value For The Prospect

The other aspect to focus on is value for the prospect. If what you're offering is not valuable to the prospect then you're unlikely to get a chance to talk to them. You are interrupting someone, when you call them, so you had better make sure what you say to them is valuable to them. Your elevator pitch should make the value they will receive from the meeting with you clear.

Here's an example of what I mean:

In the mid-nineties I used to sell barcode scanners. These scanners help retailers keep track of the masses of stock they have in their warehouses. When I was learning I used to call the prospect and try to engage them on the technology. This technology was quite innovative at the time and I managed to get some meetings. It was usual for a retailer to take a few weeks to complete a stock take. Our technology managed to reduce a typical warehouse's stock takes from a few weeks to a few days.

The epiphany hit me when I realised I needed to sell the solution to the problem. Focussing on the features and benefits of the product was not achieving the results I needed.

I changed my approach and led the conversation with the reduction in time to take stock. This led to a marked increase in the meetings I was able to schedule. The point is that what was valuable to the customer was how the technology might change his life. To the prospect the technology, without context, was interesting but not compelling.

Make sure to write your value proposition so that the value the customer will get from meeting you is clear.

Aim Of The Call

Oftentimes I see salespeople get hold of a prospect then start selling to them on the phone. This may be possible if you're involved in a transactional sales, like retail. It's not possible if you take part in a complex sales cycle (most B2B companies).

Your only aim is to sell the meeting on the call, not the product itself. When we are face to face with a prospect we can read things like body language and emotional responses. This is important non-verbal feedback a salesperson should be looking for. We are unaware of these non-verbal signals if we sell over the phone. Hence it is always easier to sell in a complex sales when you are face to face with the prospect. Even if it is only over a video conference in this post COVID world.

Dealing With Gatekeepers

The gatekeepers is a receptionist or personal assistant. They get tasked with keeping their boss free from distraction. If you have not researched the prospect and are not offering value on your call then the gatekeeper should block you.

In my early days it felt as if intelligence was not the main hiring criteria for gatekeepers. They seemed dull and slow witted and were a pain to deal with. Over the last twenty years that has all changed. The gatekeeper is far more strategically involved in the boss's business than before. They know what's going on in their company and what their boss is looking for.

Always address the gatekeepers the same way you would talk to the actual prospect you are calling (their boss). In fact, if you are able to win the gatekeeper over they can be a very valuable source of information. They can give you the real lay of the land at the prospect's company. They can tell you who the influencers are and who makes the decisions.

Treat them with respect and dignity and they will go a long way to helping you.

They respond very well to a little respect. Which is a sad reflection on us as sales people. Clearly the gatekeepers get shown so little respect that they lap it up when they get it. We can be better as sales people by treating the gatekeepers as we would expect to have them treat us.

Framing The Conversation

On a cold call most sales people I talk to try to highlight their product's features and benefits. That's like going on a first date and spending the first half talking about yourself. You're not going to get the meeting or a second date.

The prospect wants to know how he will benefit from the meeting with you.

What you need to do is frame the conversation differently. Using my barcode scanner example above it would go like this:

Inexperienced sales person:

Hello! This Colin from {Company Name}. We sell a range of rugged barcode scanners that can get used in warehouses and manufacturing plants for inventory control. Can I come show you how they work please?

Experienced cold caller:

Hello! This Colin from {Company Name}. We have worked with other retailers to reduce their stock take times from a few weeks to a few days. I would like to share how we did this to see if our system might offer you the same value.

From this example you can see how the prospect is easily able to identify the value he would get from a meeting with me.

When you have worked out your value proposition read it out aloud then ask so what?

If your pitch answers the so what question then your pitch is good. If it does not answer the so what question then you need to work a little more on refining it.

Dealing With Objections

Objections are the bane of any cold caller's existence. But they need not be. It is a matter of understanding and preparing for objections that makes it so.

There are four major objections you will get:

1. We're not interested
2. The timing is not right
3. We already have a supplier
4. Send me some information

We're Not Interested

This is likely to be the most common response you face. It is not the train smash it might seem though. All you need to do is ask them when it may be a better time to contact them. Once they give you a time then note that in your CRM and move one. While you talking try to ask some qualifying questions about the prospect and his company.

The Timing Is Not Right

If the timing is not right that presupposes that there is a right time. It is likely that they do need to speak about this, they're just not ready. Ask them when the timing would be right, add a reminder to your CRM and move on to the next call.

We Already Have A Supplier

Roughly fifty percent of companies do not like with their current supplier. The fact that they have a supplier is a good sign. It shows that they have a budget for your product. Now is the time to find out when they are likely to review suppliers. If you get a date add it to your CRM's reminders.

You will also one or two objections that are unique to your company or product. What is important here is that you identify these objections. Once you have identified them then work on a response to them. Once you have the good responses worked out you should have more success cold calling.

I'll write a bit more about cold calling again soon. If there is anything you want me to unpack please make a note in the comments.

One pro tip to end the article: right now people are frightened and stressed. They already object to cold callers before COVID. Unless you have a product that is really relevant right now I would not start smiling and dialling. Rather spend this down time refining your pitch and practising it. If you want constructive feedback I can role-play a customer call with you. Reach out to me and we can make the arrangements. Soon enough we will be out of lockdown and your newly honed skills can get put to the test.