Is cold calling still effective? - Salesforce EMEA

What is cold calling? Cold calling is a technique in which a salesperson, using the telephone, tries to solicit the business of someone who has not shown ... Skiptocontent LearningCentre Watchdemo Overview CRM Sales SalesManagement ContactManagement DistributionChannels Upselling Cross-Selling Cold-Calling Whatisinsidesales? CustomerService Marketing Tech SME Ecommerce Overview CRM Sales -SalesManagement -ContactManagement -DistributionChannels -Upselling -Cross-Selling -Cold-Calling -Whatisinsidesales? CustomerService Marketing Tech SME Ecommerce CALLUS 0080072533333(FREEPHONE)   Iscoldcallingstilleffective? Watchdemo   WhatisColdCalling?Coldcallingisanyattempttosolicitbusinessfromapotentialcustomer,viathetelephone,whomayormaynotknowaboutyourcompany. Whetheryourcompanyisnewanddoesn’tyethavetheconnectionsorfinancialmeanstoavailitselfofotherformsofmarketing,oryoursalesteamwantstoensurethatallpotentialprospectshavebeenexhausted,coldcallingrepresentsa“ready-to-go”methodoffindingnewleads. Thoughit’snotalwaysconsideredthemosteffective,coldcallingisanimportanttechniqueinanysalesperson’sarsenal.Initstruestsense,acoldcalliscold–notmerelytheinitialcallinachain,butonethatcomesentirelyoutoftheblue.Asthe prevalenceofsocialselling grows,thisisanimportantdistinctiontomake.However,socialmediacanalsoimpactpositivelyon“true”coldcallingduetomorebeingknownabouttheprospectthaneverbefore. YourCompleteCRMHandbook DigintothedetailsofCRM:DownloadtheCompleteCRMHandbook DOWNLOADNOW YourCompleteCRMHandbook     Whatwewillcover: HoweffectiveisColdCalling? ColdCallingTipsandTechniques Coldcallingistricky,butknowingthetricksmakesitworthwhile ColdCalling:KeyfactsandFAQs   Howeffectiveiscoldcalling? Evenaprospectwhoisagoodmatchforyourproductorservicewillnotnecessarilybereceptive,whichiswhytheeffectivenessofcoldcallingisoftencalledintoquestion. Makinganeffectivecoldcallistrickybecausethevarietyofpossibleresponsesfromyourprospect.Manytimes,therecipientwillsimplyhangup;intheworstcasescenario,youmightevenreceiveverbalabuse.Furthermore,thecomparativeattractivenessofcoldcallingisdecreasingincomparisonwithmoremoderntypesofprospectingincluding: SocialMedia(Facebook,TwitterandLinkedIn), Textmessaging Referralsfromcurrentclients Webinarsandnetworkinggroups Evensending“coldemails”–whichrequiresamuchlowertimeinvestmentperprospect–tendstobepreferredbysalespeople,evenifithasnotproventobeanymoreeffectiveatgeneratingleads. Debatesabouttheeffectivenessofcoldcallingarenothingnew.Inrecentyears,however,anumberofmarketanalysts–andaspateofnegativecoverageamongtradepublications–havecalleditspurposeintoquestion.Whoisright? Let'slookattheData Atfirstglance,coldcallingmightnotseemthemostpromisingwaytoreachdecision-makers.ResearchbyLeapJobfoundthatonly2%ofcoldcallsresultinanappointment,whiletheOvationSalesGroupfoundthattheaveragesalespersonprospectsforsix-and-a-quarterhourstosetoneappointment. ResearchbyLinkedInfoundthatlessthan2percentofcoldcallsresultedinameeting,whileastudyResearchbyBaylorUniversityfoundthatonlyforevery209callsmade,onlyoneappointmentorreferralwasset.Whenwethinkofhowfewoftheseappointmentswillactuallybeconvertedtodeals,itseemsmoreinefficientstill. Buthowmuchofthisisdowntobadtechnique–andwhydoanumberofsalesmanagersstillinsistthatphoneisfavourable?Whileit’struethatmethodslike“coldemail”arefarquickerandmorescalablethanusingcoldcalls,thereisstillacasetobemadeforhumaninteractionsoveronlineones. Firstly,anansweredtelephoneinquirywillprovideyouwithimmediatefeedbackastowhetherornotaprospectisworthpursuing. Secondly,it’seasyforemailstobeignored,senttospamorotherwisefilteredout(or,iftheyareopened,disregardedduetoa“massemail”feel). Thirdly,it’simportanttorememberthatwhileyoungersalesprofessionalstendtofavourdigitalinteractions,olderandmoreseniordecision-makersmightverywellrespondmorereadilytoatelephoneinteraction.   ProspectingforBetterSales Learnhowstrategicprospectingcanhelpyouimproveyoursalespipeline. GETSTARTEDWITHTRAILHEAD   ColdCallingTipsandTechniques Beforeyoustandachanceofmakinganeffectivecoldcall,youneedawellthought-outapproach.Thinkingcarefullyabout“when”and“who”cansignificantlyincreaseyourchancesofsuccess.Youthenneedtoknowhowtohandleandfollowupthecall. 1)Plancalltimeswisely Typically,thepeopleyouwishtotarget–thosewiththepowertoinfluenceandmakedecisions–aresomeofthebusiestpeoplewithinanorganisation,whichmeansyouneedtothinkcarefullyaboutthebesttimetocall.willnotbeavailablefrom9to5.Theyhavetoomuchtodotoduringthedaytoanswerphonecallsfromunknownnumbers–andthey’reguardedcloselybyassistantsandlessseniorteammembers.Ifyouwanttoreachthesepeople,thebesttimestocallareearlyinthemorningorlateatnight. Wherepossible,avoidMondays-whenpeoplearesettlingintotheirworkingweek-andFridays,whenthey’rewindingdownfortheweekend.Bymid-week,yourtargetpersonwillgenerallyhavedealtwiththeweek’smostpressingissuesandarelesslikelytoperceiveyourcallasadistraction.Youalsoneedtothinkabouttherighttimetocall.Seniormembersofstafftendtoarriveearlierinthemorning,socallbefore9amtohaveabetterchanceofreachingthem.Youcouldalsoaimtocallbetween5and7pm,whenpeoplehavetieduptheday’sworkandhavemoretimetochat. 2)Setaschedule Onceyou’veexperimentedwiththerighttimetocall,setyourselfatargetnumberofcallsperweekandscheduleawindowtomakethem.Thiswillhelpyougetintoarhythm.Whenyourprospectpicksupthephone,youmightliketoask,“Isthisagoodtimetocall?”Ifit’snot,scheduleatimethatis. 3)Targettherightperson Althoughsaleswillalwaysbesomethingofanumbersgame,youcanincreaseyourchancesbymakingsureyou’retalkingtotherightperson–thatis,someoneforwhomyoursolutionisrelevantandwhohasthepowertomakeapurchaseortosellyoursolutionwithintheirorganization.Bearinmindthatwhilethelattermightnotalwaysbetheultimatedecisionmakerwithintheorganization,theymightbejustasusefulandeasiertoreach(LinkedInisagoodplacetodeterminewhothesepeopleare).It’sbettertospendtenminutesmakingsureyou’retalkingtotherightpersonthandeliveringyourpitchtothewrongone. 4)Preparationiskey Salesisnotaboutsellingproducts;rather,it’saboutsellingsolutionstoyourcustomers’problems.Thisappliesjustasmuchtocoldcallingastoanyothertypeofsalestechnique.Researchyourprospectandthinkabouthowyoucanpresentyourproductinawaythatwillappealtothem.Youmightalsowanttouseascripttokeeptheconversationconciseandontrack–ifyou’renotsurewheretobegin,simplytakeabasicoutlineandtailorittoyourneeds.Alwaysmakesureyouhaveareasonforcallingandavisionforyourprospect’sbusiness;forexample,youmightchooseortailorapre-existingoffer. 5)Followupandbepersistent Asasalesperson,you’llknowthatmostsalesdon’thappenafterthefirst,secondoreventhirdcall.Be(politely)persistentandfollowup–you’dbesurprisedhowmanypeopledon’t.Youmightnotalwaysgetthein-depthmeetingyouwerehopingfor,butyoushouldatleastaimtosecureareferral(andwhenyoucontactthem,you’llhavethekindofcredibilitythatmoneycan’tbuy). 6)Thingsnotworkingout?Beawareofwhereyoucouldbegoingwrong. Thenatureofcoldcallingmeansthateventhemostskilledsalespersonisnevergoingtohavea100%successrate–butifyoufindyourselfhavingastreakof“badluck”,lookcloserandmakesurethere’snothingyoucouldbedoingbetterimprove.Thisguidetocommoncoldcallingmistakesshouldhelpyouidentifypotentialpitfalls! 7)Trackyourprogresswithdata Metricsareaskeyforcoldcallsasforanyotherareaofsales-monitoryourcoldcallingconversionfunneltoseehowyou’redoing. Checkoutourbeginner'sguidetothesalesprocess   GetPersonalisedInsightsintoYourBusiness OurBusinessSuccessScorecardwilltellyouwhatyou'redoingright,benchmarkyourbusinessagainstbestinclass,andgiveyoutipsforimprovement. Takethetest   Coldcallingistricky,butknowingthetricksmakesitworthwhile It’slittlewonderthatmanysalesprofessionalsdreadthethoughtofmakingcoldcalls–afterall,you’redelayingsomeoneelse’sdayinordertogetsomethingyouneed.Yet,aswithalmostallotherprospectingtechniques,theexecutionmakesallthedifferencebetweenrejectionandsuccess. Bythinkingcarefullyaboutyourapproachandpreparingwell,youcanturncoldcallingintoavaluabletool.Youmightstillheara“no”farmoreoftenthana“yes”–but,ifyouhandlethingsproperly,theopportunitiesforclosingbigdealsarethere.Thisisespeciallytrueifyoumakeuseofsocialmediatoresearchyourprospectasthoroughlyaspossiblebeforemakingthecall. What’smore:haveyoueverwonderedhowsomesalesprofessionalsareabletoexceedquotasandmaintainhighratesofsuccess,evenwhilethosearoundthemarestruggling?Thisisusually-atleastinpart-downtoaproperlyhonedcoldcallingtechnique.There’sawealthofcoldcallingtipsavailableforenhancingyourtechnique–whynotseehowmuchbetteryoursuccessratecouldbe?   That’salotofinfo! Here’swhatyoushouldtakeawayfromthisarticle: Whatiscoldcalling?Coldcallingisatechniqueinwhichasalesperson,usingthetelephone,triestosolicitthebusinessofsomeonewhohasnotshowninterestintheproductsorservicesthey’reselling. Howeffectiveiscoldcalling?Researchshowscoldcallingrarelyleadstoconversions,butcoldcallsprovideimmediatefeedback,arecost-effective,andarehardertoignorethanemails. Whataresometipsforcoldcalling?Repswhoarecoldcallingshouldtrytooptimisecalltimes,setaschedule,targettherightperson,followup,andtrackprogresswithdata.     FrequentlyAskedQuestions   Howdoyoumakecoldcalls? Tipsformakingsuccessfulcoldcallsinclude: Plancalltimeswisely,peoplewillbeverybusy Setaschedule Targetthecorrectperson Prepareproperly:concentrateonofferingsolutionstoproblems Followupandbepersistent Ifsomethingisrepeatedlynotworking,figureoutwhy Trackproblemswithdata Doescoldcallingstillwork? Whethercoldcallingisstilleffectiveornotisanongoingdebate,withresearchshowingthatforevery209coldcallsmade,onlyoneappointmentorreferralwasset.However,coldcallsprovideimmediatefeedback,aremorepersonalandhardertoignorethanemails,andcanbeagoodwaytoreachseniordecision-makers.     FrequentlyAskedQuestions   Howdoyoumakecoldcalls? Tipsformakingsuccessfulcoldcallsinclude: Plancalltimeswisely,peoplewillbeverybusy Setaschedule Targetthecorrectperson Prepareproperly:concentrateonofferingsolutionstoproblems Followupandbepersistent Ifsomethingisrepeatedlynotworking,figureoutwhy Trackproblemswithdata Doescoldcallingstillwork? Whethercoldcallingisstilleffectiveornotisanongoingdebate,withresearchshowingthatforevery209coldcallsmade,onlyoneappointmentorreferralwasset.However,coldcallsprovideimmediatefeedback,aremorepersonalandhardertoignorethanemails,andcanbeagoodwaytoreachseniordecision-makers.   Getstartedwithafreetrial TakeyourinsightsfurtherwithSalesforce.SeewhatourCRMlookslikewhenit’stailoredtoyourbusiness.Registerforyourfreetrialnow. Tryforfree