Cold Call Sales Coaching: Master Cold Calling Tips & Techniques (w/ CHECKLIST)
- by Elay Cohen
- December 2, 2020
- Coaching
Cold calling can be awkward and intimidating at first, but there are some useful cold calling sales tips you can share with your team to multiply their cold calling success, engagement, and sales in no time.
Most people hang up right away when they hear the dreaded “hey do you have a couple minutes to talk about..”, which can be discouraging for a new sales professional. But if they have the right words and a solid grasp of your sales strategy, then they will captivate customers easily, gain confidence, and improve your overall sales prospects.
There is no perfect formula out there, but here some of the best cold calling tips to help your improve sales teams’ performance.
These days only about 2% of cold calls actually lead to a meeting with the customer, so as a sales coach you want to make sure that your team is part of 2% and that your success rate is higher. Every detail can influence the effectiveness of a cold call. The slightest change in a person’s mood can greatly affect the likelihood of the customer even picking up the phone. Despite the stigma of telemarketing, an effective sales call can, of course, increase sales.
As you’re working with your team to develop a strategy, here are some sequential cold calling tips to consider.
This is a crucial step that should be required for every sales call. Everyone is more willing to listen to someone that knows who they are talking to. By doing research you can learn more about the prospect and also appear more knowledgeable. You are able to figure out what they may want or need ahead of time, and they may be more likely to open up to you. This is an important step to make the cold call a warm call that is more personal. Research lets you make calls that are useful and captivating to the prospect.
People are more likely to listen to someone that is an expert or has gone through the same thing. Social proof is a major factor in increasing sales because we are trying to appeal to someone that does not know us at all. Throwing in something or someone that they trust or are familiar with can greatly influence their willingness to listen. For example, if someone were to recommend a product to you that a celebrity uses, you are probably more likely to try it out.
Having a targeted list can save the prospect’s time as well as your own. Even though rejection is still going to happen, it may happen a lot less if you narrow down your list to prospects you believe will be interested. This way you are not calling people that are simply uninterested in what you are selling. Cold calling can take up a lot of time, so do not waste your time trying to reach people that will not benefit from your offer. It will definitely take some time to come up with a targeted list, but it will save you time in the long run.
Practice, practice, practice. Just like you practiced your play lines in front of the mirror before your fifth grade play, cold calls take a lot of rehearsing. That first cold call will be especially daunting, and since cold calling is a two way conversation, we definitely recommend practicing with someone. Even though it can be great to practice your lines and get comfortable with a general script, practicing with a real person can help you get more comfortable with talking on the fly. Your partner may have a similar response to one of your prospects and when you hear it, you will know exactly how to answer.
Even getting rejected by prospects is considered practice. You can learn from where the call went wrong, and try to change that with the next try.
Simply put, there is no way to close 100% of their prospects. Cold callers need to keep in mind that rejection is a part of cold selling and cold calling. It is important not to get discouraged, even if you do get rejection after rejection. If this is happening, it may be helpful to talk to your manager for helpful cold calling tips. It is also helpful to revise your cold script or approach to cold call. We realize that cold calling can be disheartening at times, but you have many resources available that can help you improve.
It is a fact that people are really different and times are constantly changing. Even though you may have written out a general cold call script, it is important to constantly update it according to the calls you make. You can keep track of where you slip up and adapt your cold call script. It is also important to be able to adapt to the person’s tone of voice or mood. There is no perfect way to cold call, so making small changes here and there can help you find the best method for you.
Although the cold callers are the one talking to the prospects, sales managers have the most important role. You train and provide your team with the tools they need to increase enterprise. Just giving your caller a call script is not enough. Provide them with effective sales tips for cold calls. They need a coach, constantly checking up on them to improve their skills. Here are a couple cold calling tips to train your callers to produce effective cold calls.
Research training is so important, since cold calls require a certain level of research. It also depends on what is being sold and the goal that you want them to set. Training in this area is important because if your caller does the wrong research, or not enough of it, they are already set up for failure. It may seem like an easy step to skip and just let them try it out and learn, but research training can go a long way in increasing engagement. A great way to go about this is:
There is no cold cut formula to cold calling, and trying to create a universal approach can really bring down your teams’ sales. One strategy that works for one cold caller may not work for another. Giving everyone a limited call script or having a too straightforward approach is a common manager failure. Working with your callers one on one and practicing constantly with new techniques and approaches can keep cold calling feeling fresh. It can be extremely discouraging for your callers to keep getting rejected, so trying out different techniques with our callers can help to keep them motivated. Do not just hand them a call script and try to get them to reach a certain number of calls in a day. As a manager it is important to find that balance between quality and quantity
Just like your callers need to practice their voice work, it is the coach’s job to work on it with them. Without things like facial expressions or body language, it can be limiting for your team. Be sure to work with your sellers on changing up their tone of voice. Even if they may not know it, even a small inflection in their voice can greatly affect the customers’ decision. Your voice can make or break a sale when it comes to cold calling. Here are a couple things to work on with your callers to help communicate an assertive but empathetic tone.
Different goals can involve different strategies and have different eng goals. Consistently changing the approach can help your team improve their performance. Depending on the call, there are a variety of different objectives to keep in mind. Some attainable goals to work towards include:
As a coach you can come up with a loose guide for your team to follow. Even though you introduced that cold calling strategies are supposed to be flexible, having an overall process can be helpful to direct your team. This process can change and improve with input from your own team. The guidelines can be broken up into different steps of the call: before, during, and after the call. As a sales manager, it is important to make sure your team is prepared for anything.
We cannot stress the importance of this. Even though planning is an integral part of a successful cold call, role-playing can help your callers come up with answers on the fly. You can prepare them as much as you want, but unless your callers get actual practice, they will not be as prepared as they can be. A helpful coach will provide a wide variety of different difficult scenarios for your callers to navigate through. Even though it could be awkward at first, your callers will feel more confident and prepared in their calls.
To make an effective cold call integrate your research into your calling approach. Be sure to catch your prospect at the right time and capture their attention within the first ten seconds. Keep your goal in mind, while still maintaining a meaningful and personable conversation. Remember to be assertive, but not aggressive. After your call, remember to follow-up with them and also take notes on how the call went. If this call didn’t work, do not worry. You have plenty more. Adapt your strategy and you will make more effective cold calls.
Many people think that cold calls and cold calling techniques hamper the sales process these days; however, most of the time it is not effective because it is done wrong. With all the other ways to get buyers these days, cold-calling is not at the top of people’s list, but it actually is a really effective way to gain enterprise. The main reason why cold-calling works is that many B2B buyers would prefer to be contacted by phone. Through the phone, you are able to make a connection and possibly grow that relationship. Even though not everyone can be reached through sales calls, reaching out to the right people is truly effective.
As a manager be sure to properly train your sales team and set them up for success. It can be tempting to just throw sales reps into the field cold for that initial sales conversation, but this will not yield a strong success rate in the long run. Thoroughly train your sales teams to complete all the necessary steps to make an effective call. Not only is training important, but coaching them through the entire process is essential. Cold calling can seem like a really difficult process that may not be worth your sales reps time. But done right, cold calls can be an extremely effective tool in growing your enterprise.