There are an abundance of different ways to do cold calls. But how many of them are really functional? To be more specific, to what extent is success achieved by cold calling? If you’re an executive in the IT department, it does. An article published in The Balance states that “60% of more than 1,000 questioned senior executives acknowledged accepting an appointment or attending an event after getting a cold call or unwanted email.” Reflect on it for a moment! For every 1,000 calls you make, there is a possibility that you will have 600 leads in your sales funnel. That’s a very respectable ratio, if you ask me.

3 Cold calling techniques that work better than you think they will

1. Call smart

There are millions of phone numbers in the United States, but not all of those numbers belong to the people who make up your audience. In point of fact, only a tiny proportion of those numbers will really link you with the individuals who you need to communicate with. You could find that doing a little bit of research on the market helps you to cut down that list. For example, if you sell restaurant supplies, your customer list would consist of establishments located within the area in which you operate. If you work in the insurance sector, your list may be considerably longer than average. Nevertheless, you might still zero in on group health coverage and make contact with human resources departments or owners of small businesses.

Let’s be a little bit more specific about it. Will you let me know? Do you share any business connections with other people? Are you a member of a social media group in which some of your potential customers also participate? These are not restrictions; rather, they are touchpoints that may be of assistance to you over the course of your sales calls. You always have the option of asking for references and growing your network of contacts, which is something you can do even if your original contact does not offer you an appointment with them. When you first begin searching, you may be surprised at how extensive your network of connections might become.

In light of this, we have narrowed the list of possible customers from millions to hundreds. That is still a significant amount of time spent calling numbers and leaving voicemails for all of the individuals who do not answer their phones. Or is it?

You are able to import your contact list, click to dial, and get a preview of your contact before connecting with them, giving you complete control over how you want the call to be personalized. And for all of those voicemails that you will leave, all you have to do is activate a pre-recorded message, and then you can go on to the next person on your list.

The follow-ups are not difficult to carry out either. While you are on the phone with a prospect, you have the ability to send them a personalized email template that you can send with the press of a button.

2. Use a script – and a calendar

You just have a few seconds to capture the attention of your target audience during a cold call. And after that, you won’t have more than a few minutes left to start a friendship with them and arrange a meeting with them. It is simple to lose track of what you are talking about or vital information that you have heard. For this reason, a script is quite useful.

However, keep in mind that a screenplay isn’t simply a few pages that you read and reread over and over again. You might have many scripts (for cold calls, hot leads, and follow-up calls, for example), and you could customize each one to practically any level you need. However, where they can really be of assistance to you is in ensuring that the information you need to transmit is communicated in a clear and effective manner.

Having a script does not make you any less of a human being. All of your favorite public speakers utilize scripts, just as actors do, as do musicians (or at least they use sheet music). They also inject their own personality into the writing, which helps it seem more authentic. You should be able to accomplish it, too!

Oh, and you shouldn’t give up with the script. You are going to need to schedule an appointment even if everything goes according to plan. Additionally, “sometime next week” is not a valid appointment time. On the other hand, there is a meeting scheduled for the 18th at 10:00 on Tuesday. Put a lock on it. If you don’t, you run the chance of not getting the appointment, which means you’ll have to go through a significant portion of this process again.

3. Embrace failure

Some people believe that if you speak about something negatively enough, it will come to pass. You should just think good thoughts and visualize yourself succeeding. Training your attention on completing objectives and building up your lead pipeline is not in any way a bad idea. But we also need to confront the fact that some of our cold calls won’t go as well as we would want them to in the end.

It’s possible that someone may hang up before you’ve even had a chance to say two words. They could give it their full attention and then respond with a “no.” You might be on the cusp of success when you discover that your potential client is unwilling to schedule a meeting with you. That’s alright. Why?

To fail is to get a gift.

Failure presents you with the chance to learn more about your prospect, as well as about your script, your delivery, and many other aspects of your performance.

Every “no” is an opportunity for growth and development. Take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself and inquire as to why the customer may find your product or service unsuitable for their needs. It might be something that is completely beyond your control. On the other hand, it may be something that can be readily adjusted.

Whether you are still experiencing issues, you should go back and review the recordings of your previous calls. This will allow you to determine if there is a particular point at which your calls seem to lose momentum. If you see a recurring point in the conversation when the prospect loses interest, you may want to consider modifying your script. Keep an ear out for any shifts in excitement or energy in the tone of your speech.

Sometimes all that has to be done is some tweaking of your strategies for making cold calls. On other occasions, a whole fresh strategy may be required. In any scenario, using any one of these three strategies may assist you in making better use of your calls and bringing in a greater number of prospects for your lead funnel.