Does the idea of calling a stranger to convince them to give your products and services a try sound intimidating? If so, you’re not alone. Even the most confident and extroverted sales, marketing, and business professionals find cold calling to be a bit scary. Although you stand by the company’s products, getting others to feel the same way is challenging. How do you connect with them without being overly aggressive? More importantly, how do you convince them to give you a few moments of their time?
Cold Calling Is Effective
While the fear of rejection or concerns about wasting time is valid, cold calling is a practical approach to generating leads and boosting sales. Research shows this sales and marketing technique has a 2% conversion rate. Although this may not seem like much, those two new clients could result in sizable or repeat orders and referrals that lead to more business.
Making It Work
If cold-calling is essential to your sales and marketing strategies, you must find ways to make the process more manageable. Below are some suggestions on simplifying cold-calling to ease your anxieties, save time, and generate more leads.
Identify And Understand Your Target Audience
The first suggestion might seem obvious; however, you’d be surprised how many people start making calls without identifying and understanding their target audience. It’s not enough to assume that anyone you call can benefit from your offerings. For instance, life insurance is something everyone should have; however, not everyone is interested or can afford a policy. Therefore, you need to know who your products and services are best suited for and how your company can accommodate their needs.
You must also go beyond the generalizations of your target audience, like their gender, age, or location. As everyone’s lifestyle and circumstances are different, you must use segmentation to develop consumer profiles. For example, adults over 30 are more likely to have a life insurance policy, which means they would likely be interested in finding more affordable insurance or getting an additional one. However, an older adult working in a high-risk industry might need accidental death insurance.
Knowing the different needs of your target audience makes it easier to connect during cold calls and offer products that serve a purpose in their lives.
Lead Generation Software
Trying to allocate the data necessary to develop consumer profiles is time-consuming. Although many platforms have analytic tools and metrics, deciphering the information is challenging. Automated lead generation software can make things more manageable. It’s a resource that pulls essential data from emails, social media, and landing pages.
Lead generation software can provide contact information and other consumer insights to help you make a more efficient list of leads. Ultimately, when you know you’re talking to someone who has shown interest in the products and services you offer, it’s easier to build a connection and make a sale.
Create Scripts
When you’re making a cold call, your anxiety increases as you try to figure out the best way to draw in new leads. It’s easy to fumble your words, get thrown off track, or overlook sales opportunities. Having a few scripts on hand can help put your mind at ease. It serves as a guide to help you remain focused. Call scripts can help you answer questions, preventing you from placing contacts on hold and potentially losing business.
Create general call scripts to match your target audience profiles introducing yourself and your company’s products and services. Draft a list of offerings that best fit the customer’s needs. Then do some research, develop a list of questions the consumer may have, and jot down the answers. It’s also a good idea to practice the scripts before getting on a call to avoid sounding like a robot. As you get more comfortable, you can add-lib and fine tune the scripts for better results.
Combine With Other Communication Methods
Another way to simplify the cold-calling process is to combine it with other communication methods. As you might imagine, not everyone answers unknown numbers, no matter how many times you call. Frequent calling can also be annoying. Save yourself and potential clients some time and frustration by using other channels to reach them. For instance, after making an initial call and leaving a voicemail, you can send an email, text message, or follow-up on social media in a few days.
By trying to connect with potential clients on multiple platforms, you’re developing a sense of familiarity and comfort that encourages them to reach out to you through a medium that is most convenient for them.
Cold-calling is essential for many industries but is also intimidating, time-consuming, and sometimes defeating. The most effective way to reduce the obstacles of cold calling is to develop strategies that reduce your anxieties, increase your accuracy, and simplify the process. Identifying and understanding your target audience, using lead generation software, creating call scripts, and combining communication methods can make cold-calling more manageable and effective.