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As a sales rep or recruiter, learning how to cold call effectively is one of the most important skills you can learn and develop.
The sales reps here at Swordfish.ai have years of experience in turning a prospect into a booked meeting on first contact, and we’re going to share all our best tips.
Ready to upgrade your cold-calling game? Let’s jump right in 👇
What is cold calling?
Cold calling is a sales technique where you reach out to prospects through phone calls who have not contacted your company previously or requested to be contacted.
Cold calling can get a bad rep for being intrusive with low success rates but in 2024 with the right strategy and tools, cold calling is a targeted and effective sales strategy with high impact.
How to cold call: the cold call process and strategy
Picking up the phone and interrupting someone you don’t know might feel daunting – but we promise it gets easier.
Before you pick up the phone, it’s best to get the foundations in place and build a strategy to fuel your pipeline.
Know your goal and objectives
When you’re cold calling you need to prepare with the purpose of the call. For most sales reps and recruiters, this will be:
- Highlighting the pain point of the prospect
- Showcasing your product or service as the answer
- Qualifying the prospect and booking a meeting
For the best chances of a successful cold call and meeting your goal, you will need to focus on strategy and technique.
Research your prospect
Knowing your prospect goes a little deeper than them just matching your ideal customer profile (ICP). The objective of an effective cold call is to build a rapport with the prospect and the best way to do this is by understanding who they are as a person.
In 2024 getting to know a prospect is easier than ever with the ability to gather valuable information online. Research your prospect on their LinkedIn profile, company website and anywhere they’re published online.
Use accurate contact data
You’ve got your prospects sorted, now it’s time to enrich your prospects with contact data and create a dialing list.
💡 Accurate contact data is the single most important factor in successful cold calling. Accurate data = high connect rates.
Hint: avoid the gatekeeper and increase connect rates by using cell phone data. Direct access to your prospects for the highest cold calling success.
Get Accurate Contact Data
Dial at a good time
This is going to sound like common sense but its something that’s easily overlooked.
What is the best time to dial? Well – it depends on the prospect. When working our the best time to cold call consider:
- the time zone of your prospect
- are they likely to be currently working?
- is it a usual time for a break, for example around lunch hours?
The truth is, there is no one perfect time to cold call. Taking into account the above you can increase connect rates, but the best benchmark for your niche will be your own data once you’ve started.
What are the best cold-calling scripts?
We’ll let you in on a secret – there’s no singular cold-calling script that will crush every call. The key is letting your script act as your guide and being flexible to adapt to the call.
💡Whilst commonly referred to as scripts, they’re really frameworks. For the best chance at cold call success don’t just read from the screen.
Here’s what you should consider when crafting your cold calling script 👇
First impressions matter – nail the intro
Once a prospect answers, the ball is in your court to nail the intro and make a great first impression. A great cold-calling introduction consists of two things, a creative opener and a pattern interrupt.
The goal is to introduce yourself, and your purpose and most importantly – encourage the conversation to proceed. To avoid a quick objection, use a pattern interrupt to reframe the conversation.
Value proposition – how you’re going to solve their problems
Your cold calling script should include a concise statement of what you’re offering and why it matters to your prospect. How does your solution specifically benefit the prospect and how it addresses their pain point.
Qualifying questions
During the call you’re going to need to gain an understanding of the prospect’s current circumstance and whether they’re in a position to proceed.
Remember your CTA
When you’re deep into a great conversation its too easy to forget your goal, so have your call-to-action ready at the right time. Whether it’s requesting to book in a meeting, arranging a follow-up or scheduling a demo.
Don’t be a robot
As we’ve already touched on, building a rapport with prospects is key to a successful cold call and hitting your objectives. Avoid following a script to the point of sounding like a robot. The script is just the foundation and reference point for your conversation. Use open-ended questions and adapt your flow to suit the prospect’s individual circumstances.
Handling common objections
No one likes rejection, but it’ll be a lot easier to handle and turn around if you can anticipate pushbacks and be prepared with a response.
Here are three of the most common objections and how you can prepare.
“We already have a solution”
When a prospect already has an existing solution, perhaps a competitor, it doesn’t mean they’re a lost cause. Instead, focus on what’s not working about their existing solution and how your product could potentially be a better fit. Make use of battle cards for easy objection handling for specific competitors.
“We don’t have the budget”
There are two scenarios with a prospect who objects on the basis of budget. The first is that they genuinely cannot afford your solution under any circumstance, so are likely disqualified as a viable lead. The second is that they don’t have the budget available right now for your solution and here’s where you can turn the conversation around. Focus on how your product adds value, whether through cost-saving or revenue.
“It’s not the right time…”
Firstly, you’ll need to work out if it’s a genuine objection or if they’re just not interested. If it genuinely is the wrong time, when is the right one? Try and turn it around and focus on loss of opportunity from waiting, or invoke the feeling of FOMO. If all else fails, here’s where you may want to change your CTA and focus on booking in a follow-up call at a later date.
Top 6 Cold Calling Tips
Ready to level up your cold-calling game? Here are 5 tips which we guarantee will make an impact and help you crush quota.
#1 Use accurate and contact data
Low connection rates are one of the biggest causes of missed quota due to lack of opportunity. Use accurate contact data to connect with your prospects on the first dial.
#2 It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.
Tonality matters. You don’t want to sound like a robot reading from a script.
#3 Be expressive and move
Your physical self is represented in your voice. If you can, get up, and move around. Smile even though you’re on a call. Your energy will follow through.
#4 Don’t give up – be persistent
Persistency is key. Did you know it takes an average of 8 calls to reach a prospect?
#5 Record, review and reflect
Record your calls and review with others where you could improve. Reflect and practice getting better.
#6 There’s always another prospect
Rejection sucks, we know. But persistence pays off. Keep the momentum and motivation and move onto the next one. Don’t take it personally.
