How To Adapt Your Cold Calling for 2023?

Cold calling and selling in the pandemic required a new strategy. Everyone thought that when the pandemic ended, their sales process would go back to “normal.” But no. People like being remote.??

?According to Forbes and WFH Research, in 2023, 12.7% of full-time employees work from home, while 28.2% are hybrid workers. That’s nearly half the workforce working remotely at least part of every week.??

For a salesperson, that means it’s not any easier to reach prospects now than it was during the pandemic. Your approach to them has to change – permanently.?

The Cold Calling Challenge?

With people working remotely, they are harder to find, not just harder to access.??

Fewer businesses have receptionists who can connect you. Phone systems are automated. Prospects’ phone numbers may be forwarded from an office or may ring to nowhere. More likely, they are mobile numbers or unlisted altogether. Company voicemail boxes may go unchecked.?

?Even with all the right phone numbers to reach a prospect, you still may not connect.?

The new definition of cold calling?

This gives cold calling a whole new definition. It’s not just reaching out by phone. It’s expanded to prospecting using any means you can use to reach a cold contact. (Any ethical means within reason!)??

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What’s a cold contact??

A cold contact is someone you’ve never spoken with before and who didn’t request a call or email. They may have looked at your website or downloaded information, but they didn’t ask for follow-up. They aren’t expecting to hear from you.??

You have to use all your sales prospecting skills to not just reach a contact, but to generate interest with them in a way that they will want to set a first appointment and hear more.??

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Should you stop cold calling??

Given how difficult it is to reach contacts, you may be asking yourself that very question.??

The answer is an emphatic no!?

One-on-one outreach is a critical element of your B2B lead generation system. Marketing alone is not enough. While marketing will drive traffic, interest, and leads, it won’t convert without a strong MQL follow-up strategy driven by your sales rep.??

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The 2023 sales prospecting challenge?

2023 has had the added challenge of economic uncertainty, due to a 4.5% United States inflation rate, following an 8% rate in 2022 and 4.69% in 2021.??

Prospects have pulled back their spending, making it difficult to reach them, because they don’t want to be reached.?

Business owners may need your services and know it, but they don’t want to spend money. To avoid temptation, decision making contacts are dodging any interactions they think may lead to a sales discussion.??

Use consultative sales skills?

To get past the avoidance roadblock, one of the top hunter sales skills your salesperson must have is consultative selling. Using consultative skills, their approach messages must sound compelling. When they do, executives will want to talk with them – even when those decision makers are unsure they want to spend money.?

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It’s Time To Change Your Prospecting Strategy?

For successful hunting, your salesperson’s strategy must be flexible, adapting with the economy, target market, and technology. Ideally, you’ve put a repeatable cold call process in place for the company and it, too, should allow for shifts.??

Step back, examine your prospecting strategy, and see what needs to be adapted to improve results. Incorporate these five strategies.?

1. Don’t Ignore LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a treasure trove of information about prospects and an alternative to phone and email. There are many ways to engage and reach contacts using LinkedIn prospecting techniques.?

Ways To Engage??

You can:?

• Connect with a contact?
• Ask a shared contact for a referral?
• Comment on a prospect’s posts?
• Read their articles and comment?
• Join groups they participate in??

In a 2023 poll of our community, 34% actively participate in LinkedIn groups. You aren’t limited to a prospect accepting a connection invitation to meet and engage. If they don’t accept, use a different strategy.?

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6 quick tips for using LinkedIn to prospect ?

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1. Don’t send LinkedIn spam messages?

Connect with prospects, send messages, and don’t come across as desperate for a meeting or as robotic. Contacts can tell when you send a generic message. They despise self-promotional messages. Take the personalization techniques you successfully use in emails and adopt them for LinkedIn.??

2. Integrate LinkedIn prospecting with your Bloodhound Follow-Up Strategy?

Follow the cadence outlined in The Bloodhound Prospecting Strategy to weave LinkedIn naturally into your hunting strategy. Mix in a connection invitation, commenting on posts, and sharing useful information to avoid looking like all those salespeople who are spamming.???

3. Get an introduction on LinkedIn?

You used to ask a colleague at an event to introduce you to their connections. You know you can do the same on LinkedIn. Yet few people take advantage of this feature anymore. Integrate asking for introductions into your prospecting strategy and make your connection requests stand out. Find your top prospects on LinkedIn and check for mutual connections.??

4. Make emails pop with personalization??

With all that great information people share in their profiles, you’ll find everything from where a person went to high school and jobs they’ve had to causes they care about. Take what you learn about a prospect and add it to your cold emails and LinkedIn messages to heighten the one-on-one, personal feeling.?

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5. Nurture your connections?

You probably have thousands of connections on LinkedIn. Hidden in those connections are people you haven’t spoken with in years, and some you may never have met. Identify contacts who fit your target market to reach out and reconnect.??

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6. Join groups where your target market hangs out, and get active?

As you do, you’ll meet new contacts. Many of them will be with companies you weren’t aware of but who fit your ideal client profile. If you and your team aren’t using groups, listen to this YouTube video with Stacey Hall for How To Leverage LinkedIn Groups To Make More Sales.??

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2. Embrace Video, Smile, and Hit Record?

KLA has always been a virtual company, and we were comfortable with video before the pandemic hit. Now, it’s a natural part of doing business for everyone. Still, there are people who resist. Use that to your advantage and distinguish yourself.?

Master selling on video?

You can’t read important cues and body language on a phone call, but appearing on screen can be intimidating. Despite using video frequently, salespeople admit that they aren’t comfortable being on camera. If this is you or your team, here’s video expert Julie Hansen sharing how to deliver a memorable value proposition in a virtual meeting. It’s time to overcome reluctance and embrace video for all calls.??

Embolden yourself?

Appearing on camera is a critical sales tool. Turn on your video from the very first meeting – even if your prospect doesn’t. It’s a way to establish a relationship, allowing people to get to know, like, and trust you. When your camera is on, they get the full perspective of you.??

Send sales prospecting videos?

Meetings with a prospect aren’t your only opportunity to leverage video. Record a short message and send it with an email or LinkedIn message. Tools like Vidyard.com and BombBomb make it easy to create quick videos. It’s a way to make your prospecting messages stand out and get noticed.???

In our 2021 video poll, 82% of people said they did not send cold email messages with video in them. Yet a Vidyard study reported on Business Wire that same year found that more than 70% of sales reps who do use custom videos in the sales process experienced higher prospect engagement.???

In 2023, video continues to be uncomfortable for many reps and business owners. Buck the trend. When prospects receive a video you’ve made specifically for them, they notice it.???

Ways to use sales videos are:?

• Recap a meeting??
• Share the purpose of a meeting?

• Send a proposal?
• Provide references?
• Provide a reference introduction?
• Introduce them to another team member?
• Thank them for a referral?

• Thank them for an order?

When prospects and clients see you on video, you distinguish yourself from your competitors. You’re engaging in a personalized way. Decision makers notice and remember the extra steps you took during the selection process.??

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Evaluate and improve?

Remember the first time you heard a recording of your own voice? You probably thought That’s what I sound like? Recording video prospecting calls can be equally eye-opening.??

The next time you’re on a video call, hit record. Then, set aside time to evaluate your performance and what you can do better.?

As the manager of a sales team, review their videos together.??

What to evaluate?

Pay attention to how they come across on camera and pinpoint areas for improvement. By playing back the recording, you’ll catch bad habits and identify key places to coach your salesperson to elevate their skills.??

Master the 2023 Landscape with Proven Strategies and Insights?

The shifting terrains of cold calling and sales prospecting in 2023 demand not just attention but agile adaptation to the digital and remote work era. Our comprehensive blog is your gateway to mastering these strategies, laden with even deeper insights and actionable tactics to keep your prospecting not just contemporary but exceptionally ahead of its time.??

Read our full blog now and embark on your journey to redefining and conquering the challenges of sales prospecting in 2023 and beyond! https://www.klagroup.com/how-to-adapt-your-cold-calling-for-2023/#3_Integrate_Drop-by_Cold_Calling??

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