Imagine a world where your cold calls are successful all the time.
Imagine a world where you don't have to deal with rejection all the time anymore.
With technology, the success rate of cold calls and all your calls has increased tenfold, this world is not a dream, and it is not a pipe dream. This world is a reality.
Cold calling is the art of marketing that is still in demand. The success of every sales team depends primarily on their capacity to make cold calls and make them productive.
The script provided below will help you make cold calls and make intelligent and logical sales pitches. It is derived after researching thousands of cold calls from our platform for assisted selling.
But before we get into that, let’s understand cold calls and their purpose.
What is cold calling?
A cold call refers to a form of direct marketing done either over the phone or via email, where the seller has targeted an individual or business that is new to them and their company.
This form of selling is known as outbound sales because it generates interest in products or services that the seller in question doesn't currently have a relationship with.
Cold calls frequently take the form of sales pitches, which generally fall into one specific template - known as a sales script - but what most people might not realize is that cold-calling sales reps are almost always prepared for rejection when they make these calls.
But with the right data and tools, the chances of rejection can be substantially reduced.
What is the purpose of cold calling?
Cold calling is a way to bolster your sales.
But before using it, you should try to qualify the potential customer. It means you check out their general interests and give them more information about your product to make sure that they’re looking for what you have to offer.
At the same time, always think about training team members on how to use an effective script or work with non-conventional channels like social media, for example. This would reduce the chances of them getting demotivated because of the high amount of rejection.
Does Cold calling still work?
It’s true that most buyers prefer to do their own research and heavily bank on self-serve services for purchasing any item. But B2B selling still reckons assisted selling as a major medium for outbound marketing, and that is why cold calling is far from being bootless.
Don’t trust us?
Bank on the market research and studies done on cold calling.
- 50% of decision-makers like to connect over a call with a selling assistant after researching. - Rain Group
- 69% of buyers are accepting cold calls from sellers since the pandemic - CRMNEXT
- 71% of buyers prefer attending cold calls when they are in the research phase of their buying stage - Rain Group
- Last but not least, 82% of the buyers accept meetings when sales reps reach out through cold calls - Rain Group
Cold calling can work wonders when the leads are adequately researched and nurtured with personalized and relatable content based on customers’ challenges and pain points.
Customers literally have to be educated about the process's underlying problems before sellers can even start pitching their products, as in most cases, they are not aware of their process dearth.
Now let’s get into how you can create a cold script that boost’s your chances of getting a second meeting.
Steps and tips for creating a cold call script
Calling C-suite executives can be tricky. Hence we have come up with tips to help you better engage the prospects.
You can even check our podcast, where our host Ashish Santhalia is joined by Risa Khamsi, who started her sales journey as an SDR, has had an incredible sales career, and now works as an Account Executive at Stack Overflow. In the episode, some tricks to follow to engage the C-suite executives better and not get in the panic mode!
Check the episode here:
How to cold call C-suite executives?
Now, let’s get into how you can better engage decision-makers with an engaging sales script.
1. Introduce yourself
Even if you call anyone in general for the first time, you will introduce yourself. Cold calling a decision-maker is no different. Give your introduction and why you are calling.
There is no need to tell your full name; the chances are that your prospect won’t even remember your first name itself.
Then take a pause for your prospect to respond.
Additional tip: Don’t start pitching from the start; let your prospect talk.
2. Ask for permission to talk further.
Don’t directly jump to pitching your product; rather, ask your prospect if it’s a good time to discuss a problem statement that they might be having. And To know about the problem, do prior research about the company.
And in case they say if you are faced with the objection that the prospect does not have time, then revert back by saying –
“I understand. Do you think I can tell you a little more about us in 30 seconds so that we can know if a second is required?”
Or
Something like, “I understand; what would be a good time to give you a callback.”
Don't let the prospect disconnect the call without you getting another meeting to discuss your product.
3. Ask questions to build rapport.
Don’t pitch. Instead, let your customers talk by asking them open-ended questions about their day-to-day lives.
Like, ask them, “How was your day?
“Hope you are doing well; how are things in your city?”
Or ask questions that make them think, like situation-based questions.
Ask, “How do their sellers approach their sellers now that selling is mostly remort?”
Or “How do your sellers track their performance or deal pipeline.”
Devise your questions based on the problem statement your customers may have, and your product can solve for them.
4. Research your client
Even if you have a standard call template, every cold call script has to be customized and personalized to make your customer feel that it's not just another sales call but a call that could actually help them.
It is crucial when you are trying to build questions or even introducing yourself, for example,
5. Pitch your product value proposition
Rather than your product, pitch the problem resolution that your product can resolve for your customers.
For example,
6. Always end the call with a question asking for a meeting
Last but not least, the purpose of the cold call is to get your prospect on a second call to discuss your product or even to showcase its abilities. So don’t end the call without having an action item on the plate for you as well as setting a time for the meeting.
For example,
Do these steps sound simple?
We wish it was that simple, but your sellers like ours must face sales objections. That is why here are 3 most common sales objections and how you can tackle them.
Cold call objections and how to tackle them
How to handle objections effectively?
The topmost 3 objections that the sellers usually face are:
1. Using Competitor’s Product
This is one of the most common objections that any salesperson is faced with that the prospect is already using your competitor’s product.
What do you do in that scenario?
We will give you a minute to think about it.
Say thank you and call the next prospect on the list? –If that is your answer, then you couldn't be more wrong.
Instead, acknowledge your competitor's strong point and product and top it up by giving your prospect the competitive advantage your product has.
For example,” We know a lot of people are using xyz products, and it is one of the best in the market, but did you know that it does not have _____ advantage, which at this stage is very crucial for your team’s performance.”
2. Not looking for a product - budget constraints.
Don’t get discouraged when your prospects say that they don’t have a budget or they are not in the market looking for a product.
Rather respond by saying, “I totally understand, but it's never too late to just explore a product that your competitors are using. You can then always use the product when you think your team absolutely needs it. Moreover, it is always good to explore and doesn't cost anything.”
3. Don’t have time
Again, not having time is a very common sales objection sellers always face.
Respond to this objection by asking for 30 sec of their time or asking for another time when you can call them back.
For example,” I understand you have a busy schedule, but can you just give me 30seconds to see if a second call is needed so that we don’t waste your time.”
If they say no, they don’t even have 30sec to spare, ask them for a follow-up call time better suited to their schedule.
Additional cold calling tip
Before getting on the sales call, you must have already heard about researching, preparing, and being ready with all sales objections.
But here is an additional tip: Get yourself excited before you get on the phone with your prospect.
Why?
Because your excitement would reflect your voice, and it would get transferred to your prospect too. If you talk to your prospect excited, full of confidence, and in a human tone, the chance of them hearing you out would increase tenfold.
For this, you can give yourself a pep talk – telling yourself you will crack the deal, you will treat yourself, etc.
Basically, we are saying that be confident and human in the sales calls, the same way you would talk to your friends.
Moral of the story: Don’t be pushy on sales cold calls
Cold-calling is a great way to find new clients and generate new business. It can be a great way to convince new clients to try you out, especially if you're a new business.
If you have any questions about cold calling and how you can use it to generate new clients for your business, please contact us anytime at contact@convin.ai.
Thank you for reading. We are always excited when one of our posts is able to provide useful information on a topic like this!
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