93% Tone
Adam Piasecki
Sales Enablement Trainer @ Exabeam | Global Delivery, Strategic Planning
The Power of Tone in Cold Calling
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An astonishing statistic is making waves: 93% of success in cold calling is attributed to the tone of voice. This may seem mind-boggling at first, but let’s delve into it.
As Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman enlightens us, most people answer a cold call with a System 1 mindset. This means they are not fully engaged, and their attention isn’t captured until something piques their interest.
Interestingly, a significant number of business professionals still answer cold calls. One might wonder why, but the answer lies in our human nature. We are easily distracted, and many of us are not fully engaged in our work, according to numerous studies. If someone is not entirely focused and is seeking a distraction, they are likely to be drawn to anything that provides a hint of entertainment or stirs their emotions, even slightly.
This brings us to the crux of successful cold calling: the introduction. It’s crucial to get through this initial phase, as the success rate likely skyrockets once you’ve crossed this hurdle. Most calls are terminated during or even before the introduction. However, if you approach the call with a dynamic, powerful, motivating, empathetic, unusual, or authentic tone, you’re likely to elicit some sort of emotional reaction. This reaction can occur as soon as you start speaking, even before you utter the first word. Add in strategic pauses and a touch of suspense, and your appeal increases.
Cold calls don’t carry high stakes. You’re aiming to set a meeting or gather information, not sell thousands of dollars’ worth of software on the first call. Therefore, people’s minds are more relaxed. If you catch someone in a moment where they’re not super focused on a particular task and add some entertainment value through your tone of voice, navigating through the introduction becomes more feasible. The 93% statistic starts to make more sense.
From personal experience, I don’t anticipate that any cold call will provide exactly what I need at that moment. However, if the caller is thoughtful, authentic, and utilizes research, I’m willing to engage in a conversation. And that, in itself, is a mark of success.
interesting ...