Cold calling is essential to many successful B2B organizations. Although many companies feel as if it is an outdated practice, it should never be left out of core B2B business practices. If you’re struggling to start, or need a refresher to renovate your approach, the guidelines below will provide you with the perfect foundation in how to conduct the ideal B2B cold calls.
Define Your Target Audience
Don’t just go calling a bunch of random businesses – this is a massive waste of time that will reduce your productivity and, inevitably, eat into your profits. Sure, calling down a long list of names and organizations may get you numbers and help you meet a quota, but it’s unlikely to earn you any successful sales due to the haphazard nature of the strategy.
If you have a database of existing prospects, search through that and other information to narrow down the type of people you’re trying to reach. You can also visit the websites of competitors to look into any testimonials they may have – this can serve multiple purposes:
Not only will it help you to build a profile of the audience you are attempting to reach out to, but it will also inform you as to what your prospects are looking for in a product or service. Based on these reviews, you can alter your call script to highlight the strengths of your products and services tailored to the customers’ viewpoint. This will surely work to grab the attention of your prospects within only the first few seconds of a call and strengthen your chances of landing a sale.
If you don’t have any company list to start and no traffic on your website yet, check out Vainu.
Our advice; get a tool like Leadfeeder running on your site; you can identify which companies have visited your website. The app will give you a list of companies which already shown interest in your product/service, and you can see exactly where have they been on the site.
Pro tip: How to see your Ideal Customer Profile visiting your website
First Impressions are Make-or-Break
B2B sales calls ride almost exclusively on first impressions. You must get it right straight away, or you risk losing a prospect – starting on the wrong foot can potentially annoy a prospect to the point that they will no longer answer your phone calls in the future. Ignoring your calls is an occurrence that you want to avoid.
Give your prospect a reason to stay on the phone: Introduce yourself and your company briefly in a way that distinguishes your work and establishes your business’ authority in the industry. For instance, you can start by saying,
“Good morning, my name is [Blank], and I represent [Your Company]. We have supplied hundreds of businesses in our industry with top-quality, customizable products for several decades at highly competitive rates. Would you like to hear more about how we can support your company?”
Never open the call with phrases like “Do you have time to talk?” the answer will always be “no.”
Learn from Rejection
Don’t allow yourself to be defeated when you are unable to make a sale. Instead, turn that rejection into a learning experience. Consider the factors that may have led to the rejection and alter your approach for the next sales calls. If possible; ask your prospect why they do not want to do any business with your company.
You must do this carefully, so you do not annoy them and potentially lose a future customer. Understand that a call – even if it does not end in a sale – can plant a seed in your prospects’ mind. Perhaps they were not in a position to accept your offer at the time. They may return later, ready to do business.
Learning never stops, if you haven’t been able to identify what contributed to the lack of a sale, discuss possible solutions with your team. Review your sales pitch and identify areas where it needs work – are you going into the pitch too early? Does your language or tone lack fervour and is therefore not convincing? Using an online dialer system like FreshCaller can record your calls to easy listen back on them.
No matter what, don’t dwell on rejection. All problems can be solved, and this is just one that can be improved with a bit of close observation and some slight alterations.
Our advice; Listen to at least five sales calls from your colleagues per month, no matter how experienced you are. You could also check out this blog with sales videos.
Reading tip: Aggressive Sales Tactics for Hungry Sales People
Use a Sales Script
A sales script is essential to ensure that you avoid distractions and tangents when in a call. A script will keep your pitch concise and engaging, and ensure consistent results no matter with who you speak. Your script should never make you sound like a robot – never allow yourself to be monotoned at any point in the conversation. If you sound monotone your prospect disengage and want to leave the phone call quickly.
Instead, your script functions as a template that should be followed in every call. You have the freedom, of course, to alter words and details to personalize the conversation. A script should never be so generalized that the prospect is unsure of whether you are having a unique conversation or reading from a teleprompter. A good script needs to have the following elements:
- Personal introduction
- Brief description of your company
- What you offer
- The type of client that your business aims to support (It’s typically wise to refrain from using the word “customer” at this point. Until your prospect has heard all the benefits they can access when working with you, don’t insinuate a commitment or purchase of any kind. Save it for when they have been convinced to purchase your product or services.)
Get Rid of All Distractions
Avoid distractions at all costs – this means cleaning off your desk and clearing your work area of anything that has the potential to take your mind away from the company and products you’re representing. You must also avoid multitasking during a call.
You only have a few seconds to make an impression on your prospect. Allowing distractions to take your full attention away from the call can turn a sure thing into a fruitless effort.
A client will also easily pick up on whether your full attention is on them or elsewhere. This is unlikely to go over well and may tarnish your portrayal of professionalism, and thereby damage your rapport with potential prospects.
Cold calling can get monotonous, but you must devote the proper attention and effort to the practice to make a great impression straight away and engage your prospects. Smile while you are doing the calls, even though the other person can’t see it, your smile will be translated in your tone of voice.
Following these guidelines will ensure your cold calls see greater success and boost your business’ revenue!
Final Thoughts
The main thing in sales is to know your product or service, don’t be caught not knowing the basics of it. Make sure you have a calm mind and don’t get flustered. Log all your interactions in your CRM so you can keep track of your conversion.
If you follow all the above tips, you are guaranteed to do better in B2B cold calling.
Don’t like calling? Learn more about Social Selling!
Reading advice: The best Sales Books of all time