Lead Generation is vital for any business or brand to grow in terms of revenue, development and relevance. Cold Calling is one of the crucial methods to generate high-quality leads and gain a good amount of leads that convert into sales, with persistent effort and some sales tricks, of course.
So, what exactly is cold calling?
As per EducaLingo,
‘It is the action of telephoning a potential customer without making an appointment.’
Another definition of cold calling is the action of calling on a potential customer without making an appointment.
The History of Cold Calling
For decades, cold calling has been used as a method to convert leads. Earlier, only telephonic conversations were possible. However today, there can be innumerable ways of cold calling which further lead to qualifying good quality leads.
Cold Calling is considered to be one of the most effective lead generation strategies even today. It is a humongous task for brands and businesses to put in immense effort to scout leads that are accurate and genuine. In the digital age, several companies have emerged which make the entire process of lead generation easier.
There are interesting ways to improve your cold calling skills and fasten the process of lead generation. Here are the top 10 ways to improve your cold calling skills:
1. Use Technology to Make Cold Calling Simpler
Advanced Technology including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning speed up and simplifies the process of cold calling. With the help of various available features and information, cold calling is no longer a tedious task with email finder tools like Leadzen.ai.
2. Create a Workable Schedule for your Cold Calls
Figure out what timings work the best for your prospects. Understand whether they are comfortable or not. Creating a schedule for cold calls which will work around suitable timings for your leads is a must when it comes to lead generation.
3. Use a Conversational Script
Being conversational in one’s approach is an add on. It helps bring in a lot of key elements required for a good conversation via cold call which can be converted into sales later on. Using a script that is conversational will surely help you improve your cold calling skills.
4. Leave a Voicemail
A perfect Sales Voicemail is like magic. The length of the voicemail along with the factors mentioned in it decides whether it will make it or break it. Leads who are genuinely interested are often appeased by voicemails that are authentic and sales-oriented along with their focus goals.
5. Bring in a Personal Touch
Bringing a personal touch to the conversation in the process of lead generation can prove to be beneficial as it is important to understand that emotions evoke interest in humans. It is a natural tendency to do so.
6. Sell What You Believe In
Sell what you vouch for and believe in. Do not sell something that you feel disassociated with. It will not work out. Selling is an art and you must practice it.
7. Follow-Up is a Must
Following up with someone in order to ask them about their interest in the product/service that you are selling is a good thing to do. It helps you qualify leads and understand their mindset of a ‘buyer’ in a different manner.
8. Use Catchy Opening Lines
Catchy lines are capable of grabbing one’s attention. And when these are used as openers or ice-breakers, the prospect might be intrigued by the way you talk. They would want to listen to your pitch. While these opening lines should be catchy, it should also hold some meaning within, which means that you cannot blabber about mainstream sales or anything at random on a cold call. It has to be unique to create a difference.
9. Listen!
Listening is an excellent skill. Make sure to listen to your prospect and what they are saying or putting forth to you. Understand their expectations/goals to get through this cold call with a possible conversion.
10. Understand Sales Objections
As per Rain Sales Training,
‘A sales objection is an explicit expression by a buyer that a barrier exists between the current situation and what needs to be satisfied before buying from you. In other words, it’s a clear signal that you have more work to do in the selling process.’
Time, money or any other can be a sales objection thus, continuing to be an obstruction for convertibility of leads. Understanding your prospect’s sales objections will assist you in qualifying the leads as well as conversing in a more structured manner on a cold call.
No matter what, all of the above mentioned are proven ways to improve one’s own cold calling skills.
What lies ahead of cold calling in the 21st century is its future, its workability. Although it is unpredictable, let’s know what the sphere of cold calling holds for businesses in the near and far future.
Cold Calling Has a Long Way to Go: A Potentially Bright Future that Lies Ahead of Us
Although a few people believe and state that the process of cold calling is dead in the modern age, this does not hold true. In the digital age, cold calling is efficient and the success rate is high if the right techniques and tactics are implemented specifically in the process of lead generation. What matters is trying out new ways and methods of cold calling to help it survive longer than ever.
There is a long way to go and it has a potential future in the field of lead generation which is significant. It is necessary to improvise the techniques of cold calling and thus, lead generation if we were to state that cold calling has a potentially bright future. It means that optimal efforts should be put in, paired with advanced technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate better execution of the process of cold calling as well as lead generation in the long run.
With email verification tools like Leadzen.ai, cold calling becomes a simpler process as leads are real-time and verified.