What are cold calls
Recently, such a sales technique as cold calls has been heard. These are calls to potential customers who are not yet familiar with the company (as opposed to warm calls that are made to customers who are already familiar with the company).
The technique of cold calls is not so simple, but those managers who have mastered it will always find a job for themselves. The study of this technique significantly increases the value of the frame in the labor market. If you are a manager, you just need to know what cold calls are.
Conditions under which cold calls will be successful:
Self control;
Excellent product knowledge;
Excellent knowledge of potential customers;
Knowledge of phone sales technology.
It would seem that all these conditions can be fulfilled. In addition, today there are a lot of teaching literature and trainings that will help to master the technique of cold calls.
So, if cold calls increase the cost of a frame in the labor market, why are not all managers owning them? The answer is simple: many managers are afraid to make cold calls due to various fears. The main fear is the call itself and the beginning of the conversation. Few managers are able to call an unfamiliar customer without fear. Another obstacle is the fear of being rejected immediately after voicing a sentence. We all don’t like it when strangers call and start offering something. And managers understand this and are afraid to be rejected at the very beginning of the conversation. But you need to understand that such a person’s reaction can be prevented if properly prepared, to have a conversation unconventionally, to react to a change in the voice of the interlocutor. The manager may fear that it will not be possible to sell something on the phone, which means that everything is useless. But here we must understand that the goal of cold calls is not at all in the instant result in the form of a sale.
Customer knowledge is the key to success
As stated above, excellent customer knowledge is the key to success. Therefore, before calling a company, you need to find out more about it. The benefit of information today is in the public domain, for example, on the Internet. And the first question that the manager needs to ask himself: does our company need our product? In addition, in the process of finding information about the company you can find a reason to call. For example, the reason may be the discussion of any articles and interviews in the media coming from a potential client.
The purpose of the call is not immediate sale.
The true purpose of cold calling is not to sell by phone. Therefore, when a manager begins a dialogue with the phrase “We would like to offer you,” this is regarded as imposing a product. It is best to talk about what your company is doing and ask if it might interest a potential client.
The purpose of the call is to interest and make an appointment with a company representative. This should be done carefully, under a specious excuse. For example: “I am ready to tell more about our product in a personal meeting.”
General recommendations
Of course, after reading one article, you will not become a specialist in cold calls. But we can offer you some general guidelines.
Prepare a call script in advance. A short greeting, a small presentation of the company, possible questions. All this should be thought out in advance.
In the process of communication, be restrained and calm. Do not worry – hardly trembling voice will interest the client. But nobody will eat you on the phone.
Do not swear at all with the potential client. If you answer that now is not the time to talk, it will not necessarily be a refusal to cooperate. Maybe the person on the other end has a lot to do. Ask when it will be convenient for him to talk. If you have received a categorical refusal, do not impose and run into abuse. Apologize for the trouble and say goodbye.
Do not tell absolutely all the information about the product on the phone. When you begin to ask a lot, for example about prices – this is an excellent occasion to meet.
Practice repeated sentences. If the company abandoned your product once, then maybe for the second or subsequent times you can get a meeting. But this should not be done persistently, after waiting a certain time.
Appreciate someone else’s time, especially if you are talking to a leader. It is considered that the call is successful if its duration is from 2 to 5 minutes.
Use magic words. These words are “action” and “free.” If you can offer something like this, then it must be done. For example, product demo, catalog, trial subscription, and so on.
