How do you balance quality and quantity in your cold calling activities?

Key component here! People have to understand what success looks like to have perspective in a role like this. As managers and leaders we often celebrate the wins but we also have to reinforce that process to get that win. We should have clear expectations of what you'll have to do to get that win, be realistic with our goals, AND show them how to get there. Whether it realistically takes 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months to go from hello to close for an average lead; your team needs to know that timeline from day 1. Define your key milestones for call volume, contact rate, building your funnel and opportunities, and converting those into closed deals. If you're vision of success isn't clear to the team they will struggle.

One thing to set your intentions on when cold calling is to build trust. When I cold call the objective it to build trust and get to the next phase in the process which typically is to book a discovery call. Key tip: If you focus on building that trust but it doesn’t result in a cold call the next thing you can ask for is simply to connect with them on LinkedIn. From there you can continue to build trust and social sell them as a follow up. No cold call lost!

I think it is a collaboration between leadership and the sale rep, to define and agree to daily, weekly and monthly KPI’s/goals. The days of dictators as leaders are gone, yes you might know what the data says, what success looks like, but unless you have the buy in from the seller. It does not matter, a true leader will lead the seller through a discussion, to the needed goals, and leaving the meeting the seller feels it was them that defined the goals. That is true leadership.

This point and the contributions focus on volume metrics - let's not foget about "what you want to achieve" with your cold calling activities. Break down what you are hoping to get from that call starting at the best outcome to the least and work your way up: -Information about the prospect -do they utilize or have a need for your product/service -decision maker name -decision maker conversation/meeting -sales presentation -quote -close/order Know going into the call (either on the phone or in person) what you want to get out of that call - it will help you ask that extra question and keep the conversation going.

Research is key. There are way too many tools and sites to utilize and ping in order to familiarize yourself with that prospect before making that call.

Understanding the company’s best deals in the last 6 months and top customers that spends the most with the company is a great way to create a lead list. Knowing your numbers helps you to be clear on the quantity of calls you need to have without giving up quality conversations. What are the key transformation your company delivers and align that with the job description of your key decision makers

An important component of this is proper research on the company and its goals. What are strategic initiatives internally? What markets or industries do they focus in? Any achievements of note in the recent past? An annual report can be skimmed fairly easy and is a wealth of information. Being able to mention specific keywords or phrases can go a long way in getting an executives attention.

Cold calling needs to be a mix of quantity and quality. There is only so much research that can be done before you call and the point of the call is often research in itself. Starting the conversation with something along the lines of "I'm calling to learn more about you and your needs/challenges in this space" can provide information that you could never get from research alone. To say that you need to know if someone is "interested in your offer" before ever contacting them is silly - you can't know if they are interested until you talk with them and they can't know if they are interested until they talk to you!

CRM software is arguably one of the most significant technological innovations in the sales arena in recent years. While challenges like data accuracy and administrative overlap are real, the benefits of giving insights about a customer or prospect are significant. This service can increase net revenue by deepening relationships and customer loyalty, improving collaboration between sales, marketing, customer success, executive leadership, and product development, and more. It’s important to inflect authenticity in sales conversations, however scripts are crucial particularly for newer representatives. Buyers today can quickly pick up on lack of knowledge, so firms should protect their opportunities by arming their teams adequately.

Deals are won in the follow up! Period. Using a CRM that clearly allows you to track what phase your leads are in is necessary. Even cold calling their are outcomes you can identify and place your leads. 1. Yes to discovery call ( move to next phase) 2. More information 3. Not a good time, call back. 4. Not interested (move to social selling follow up) Create a follow up work flow that allows you to maximize your cold calling efforts.

Scripts can be helpful once you have practiced them so much that they don't sound like a script. A good comparison is acting - the actors learn their lines so well that they don't think about them anymore and they are able to deliver them with authenticity. Since probing and asking questions and then listening to the answers is what you should be doing, having the language prepopulated in your mind allows you to focus on their words, not yours.

Along with testing/developing of your delivery with Cold Calling, you should try to find your vibe or swag when speaking with potential candidates. Scripts are one thing but if you sound robotic or unnatural it will push interest away. Finding your groove and comfort will carry you farther in the Cold Calling arena.

Do Not Test All At Once. If you switch, for example, your cadence, your questions, or your vertical all at once you don’t know what was working vs what wasn’t. Optimizing is a process, so be efficiently patient with the process.

Spend time cold calling with others. Let them listen to you and you listen to them. Good sales people "steal" from each other all the time and there is no greater form of flattery than imitation. find out what works and then make it your own. American Idol contestants that do well pick good songs that everyone loves and then they change it up to reflect their style and personality.

A draining cold call session can turn your next session to a daunting task. Procrastination can creep up, so I urge you to create an Action & Reward Routine. I focus on 1. Show Up Reward 2. Success Reward 3. Growth Opportunity Reward 4. Weekly Goals Met Reward Whether it’s a good cold call session or opportunity for growth session reward yourself for showing up. Is that a relaxing walk, your favorite Starbucks drink, fancy lunch, or new office nicknacks like phone holder, desk raiser. Reward yourself for your efforts and that can create a habit of eagerly showing up because you’re looking forward to the reward on a daily basis vs procrastinating a daunting task. Let me know if you implement it. I wanna know how it worked out for you

Switching up the types of calls you are doing can also provide much needed variety. For example, if the phone has been stuck to your ear for hours, get up and go outside and knock some doors. If you have been getting short, nonresponsive contacts all day, call a client or prospect that you know will talk to you and be nice even if you don't think they are buying at the moment. Reach out to a network contact to have a coffee talk instead of a sales call. Switch it up, keep it interesting!

Keep calling - don't give up. Even after years and years of cold calling, I sometimes get off the phone and give my self a big fat raspberry...bllrrgghh...and say, boy did I ever blow that one! It's ok, they won't all be 5 star calls, they won't all result in a valid connection. But, they will all keep you moving forward and keep you learning!

-the first time I was given a cold call list I had anxiety calling but I pushed thru, my family depended on me. I made so many sales the company made a new policy on capping sales commission tiers for new reps. I kept saying to myself, there's a sale in here somewhere I just have to find it. -Don't take rejection personally, they are rejecting the product, not you. -listen to intuition After smiling and dialing 5 pages of a former member list I stopped at a name and my inner voice said "don't call this one" I looked up the name and it was a teen who committed suicide in the parking lot. Thank you God for that whisper.

Concentrate I'm making 30 to 35 good calls a day the ratio is for me. I don't ever 17 calls I get one really good lead. I also balance it by taking inbound calls and making it cold calls so I switch it up. That's the best advice I can give you got about 30 seconds to get their attention. If not, you lost them so make account.