7 years ago
February 21, 2017

5 Cold Calling Tips to Get Your Prospects Buying

Here are five cold calling tips to get your prospects buying.

Claire McConnachie Recruiter
Claire McConnachie

Optimize the effectiveness of your cold calls. Making cold calls can be difficult. You have a limited amount of time to get a complete stranger interested in what you have to say. Making several cold calls can be time consuming and if the calls aren’t turning into sales, then you are wasting precious time. You need to revise your cold calling strategy. Here are five cold calling tips to get your prospects buying.

1. Call the right people.

Target relevant buyers. Identify and define your markets and buyer personas. Reach out to the right people, the ones who will be interested in doing business with you, and the ones who make the buying decisions. Once you narrowly identify the markets appropriate for your products/services, your cold calls will be more effective.

2. Do your research.

Find out everything you can about the companies and individuals you are going to call to better understand their needs. In addition to researching your target audience, you need to make sure you have a firm understanding of your industry and market. Keep up to date on industry news. Study your products/services so you can promptly answer questions prospects might ask on the phone. You will gain credibility and trust if you effectively provide useful information and solutions. Stand out next to the competition by arming yourself with valuable knowledge before making your next call.

3. Establish a connection.

Once you have a relevant prospect on the phone, talk to them, ask thoughtful questions, and make a connection. You want to find out more about their needs so you can offer useful solutions that will save them time and money. Show them that you are committed to finding a solution that will meet their needs. Turn cold calls into warm introductions.

4. Develop a good call script.

Regardless of how long you’ve been in sales or how good you think you are, you need to craft a good call script before picking up the phone. You can’t just wing it. Remember, you might only have a brief window to convince a prospect to stay on the phone with you, so you have to use your time wisely. By crafting a solid script beforehand that includes the key information you want to get across, you will be more likely to keep them interested and on the line. Since you have limited time, a written script will help ensure you make the points you want to make quickly, concisely, and effectively.

You don’t want it to sound like you are reading from a script. You should customize your delivery for each phone call. Think of the call script as a framework. Make the necessary points outlined in the script, but be sure your speech flows naturally and you shape each pitch to the different prospects you are calling.

5. Practice.

If you’re new to sales, or if you’re looking to improve your cold calling skills, this may all sound a bit daunting. Don’t worry-like most things, this will take practice. The more cold calling you do, the better you’ll get. There are a number of strategies used to improve phone call performance and presentation including smiling while you speak, standing during calls, and even looking in a mirror while you’re on the phone. You want to sound confident while you’re on the phone with prospects. See what strategy works best for you during cold calls and keep practicing.

Making cold calls can be intimidating, but you want to maintain a professional level of confidence while on the phone with potential customers. Remember that you are trying to turn cold calls into warm introductions. Focus on the right audience for your products/services, do your research, establish connections, use a good script, and practice. Get your prospects buying with these five cold calling tips.

Claire McConnachie Recruiter

Claire McConnachie

Claire has 4+ years of experience in sales and recruitment. As a Director of Client Services, her main objective is to connect great people to great companies by building strong relationships with both top clients and candidates in the sales industry. She specializes in sales roles of all seniority levels for both enterprise and start-up clients North American wide. When Claire isn't networking with top talent, she enjoys being outdoors, traveling and spending time with friends & family.

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