Cold calling is a challenging but essential skill for outside sales professionals. It can help you generate leads, build relationships, and close deals. However, many salespeople make common mistakes that sabotage their cold calling efforts and hurt their performance. In this article, we will discuss six of these mistakes and how to avoid them.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to call a prospect without knowing anything about them, their company, or their needs. This will make you sound unprepared, irrelevant, and intrusive. You will also waste time asking basic questions that you could have answered with a quick online search. To avoid this, you should do some research before each call and tailor your pitch to the prospect's situation, goals, and pain points. You can use tools like LinkedIn, Google, or company websites to find relevant information and insights.
Another mistake is to call a prospect without a clear and specific objective. If you don't know what you want to achieve with the call, you will likely ramble, lose focus, and miss opportunities. You will also fail to guide the prospect to the next step in the sales process. To avoid this, you should have a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) objective for each call and communicate it clearly to the prospect. For example, your objective could be to schedule a demo, qualify a lead, or overcome an objection.
Some salespeople think that using a script will make them sound robotic, scripted, or unnatural. However, the opposite is true. Not using a script will make you sound unprofessional, inconsistent, or nervous. You will also risk forgetting important points, asking the wrong questions, or saying the wrong things. To avoid this, you should use a script as a guide and a reference for your cold calls. A script will help you structure your call, deliver your value proposition, and handle objections. You can also adapt and personalize your script based on your research and the prospect's responses.
Listening is a crucial skill for cold calling, but many salespeople don't listen enough. They talk too much, interrupt the prospect, or ignore their signals. This will make you sound arrogant, disrespectful, or pushy. You will also miss valuable information, feedback, and cues that could help you close the deal. To avoid this, you should listen more than you talk, ask open-ended questions, and use active listening techniques. Listening will help you build rapport, understand the prospect's needs, and provide relevant solutions.
Objections are inevitable in cold calling, but many salespeople don't handle them well. They either give up too easily, argue with the prospect, or ignore the objection. This will make you sound weak, defensive, or dishonest. You will also lose the chance to address the prospect's concerns, overcome their resistance, and move them forward in the sales process. To avoid this, you should anticipate, acknowledge, and answer objections with confidence and empathy. You can use the LAER model (listen, acknowledge, explore, respond) to handle objections effectively.
We've all done it. We've all had those days when finding they easy yes by bashing through dials is more appealing than overcoming objections and working for your lead. Problem is, there's no value in them. Objections, after all, are a buying sign. Be prepared for objections, practice and have a number of rebuttals ready to use to your advantage. They vital element in handling objections with any prospect is listening and empathize. Use objections, bad experiences, cost objections to your advantage and use things they've said to your advantage when justifying what you're trying to sell / achieve.
The last mistake is to not follow up with the prospect after the cold call. Many salespeople either forget, procrastinate, or neglect to follow up. This will make you sound unreliable, uninterested, or unprofessional. You will also lose the momentum, trust, and interest that you built with the prospect. To avoid this, you should always follow up with the prospect within 24 hours of the cold call. You can use email, phone, or social media to follow up and confirm the next steps, provide additional value, or remind the prospect of your offer.
Following up each lead and call is crucial to your success. Something that has played a huge role in my success at cold calling - is the importance I place on relationships. Even if the answer rite now is a no. Keep in touch, show a genuine interest and keep those bridges in tact. - Ask them when they're happy for the next call. - Tell them what you'll be doing next (emailing, follow up/information - and action it). - Follow up earlier than agreed if the lead is progressing. For example, if you've agreed to send over relevant info / case study / evidence in a few days time, make a point of sending at least half a day or a day earlier than agreed. This allows them to see it in time and not delay talks with excuses.
My golden rules for EVERY cold call I make; 1. Prepare Have a name of who you need to get through to ready and a killer hook for when you get them. 2. NEVER pitch the gatekeeper. You'll be asked your reasons for the call, keep it short. A white lie saying you've been told to call them by another can work, be careful though. 3. What goes around, comes around. Talk too, and treat every person with respect and show an interest. Remember names, and thank gatekeepers for their efforts. Chances are, you'll talk to them again and need them on your side. 4. Listen. If you're doing most of the talking, you're doing it wrong. 5. Honesty. Don't beat around the bush. Be honest, follow up with a question to open the conversation. 6. Be yourself.