“I love to make cold calls ❤️” 

~ said no SDR.

Cold calls are one of the most prominent ways to fill your pipeline. It is the straightforward act that you could do to begin a conversation with a stranger who may or may not like your business.

Though many claim cold calling is outdated, it is often integral to any sales strategy.

But why? Because you currently don’t own enough warm leads.

Since cold calling is the fastest & cost effective way to propel your sales process, it’s definitely a reliable technique even though you face quite a few rejections in a day.

Ease your nerves, we are here with the best practices that you can follow to make a proper cold call. We also have a script at the end to get you through your first call. 

Just pretend you are the first-time-drunk-kid at a party before making your first cold call 🙂

Let’s get started. 🚀

Does cold calling work even in 2021?

Yes, indeed. A good strategy is vital to the success of cold calling, regardless of the century we live in.

Always script your call before attending it. Break it down to every single minute, frame every word, and decide how you want the conversation to be. 

It is reasonable to claim that this is the most crucial aspect of cold calling. Some people like to let the situation unfold as it does. But if you are a beginner, you can surely depend on a script. 

A script will also help you get that angle of speech and the confidence you’re looking for as a beginner.

Best Practices To Ace Your First Cold Call

1. Make your cold call warm

Rule number one, turn towards social media. Scan your prospects’ LinkedIn or Twitter profiles to glean insights into the type of content they are interested in. What topics do they discuss? What are their interests besides work? Jot down the answers to these questions before you make the call. This information can help you make a cold call warm.

Rule number two, don’t speak like a stranger. Be casual. Open your conversation with a simple question – how are you doing? Explain who you are and why you are calling. Then, sprinkle some of the insights you gained from rule number 1. For example, you may say that you read their recent post on LinkedIn and your thoughts about it.

The idea is to get more comfortable with the prospect without consuming a lot of time.

2. Know your prospects

80% of the time, you should let your prospects speak. The more they open up, the more you will learn about them.

Your goal should be to assist your prospects in solving their problems, rather than to sell your product. Investigate the difficulties they face. Find out whether they are using any tools currently to overcome their objections. These characteristics will help you discover if the prospect is a potential buyer.

3. Ask more questions

Start with simple questions. For example, asking how the prospect’s business fared last year may be appropriate if you are reaching out during January.

As you relax and get comfortable with them, begin your questions regarding their problems. Tell them how you solved a similar problem earlier with another customer. This will direct the conversation in a positive way. 

Ask them if they’re evaluating any products currently. If they say yes, then go ahead and ask what’s the process they follow. Don’t hesitate to speak out loud if you have a solution to make this process better. But ensure to be subtle.

4. Be straightforward & relevant

Don’t be afraid to speak your mind at any point of the call. If you are conversing with the decision maker, be sure to –

• Understand your prospect
• Understand their pain points → ask more questions
• Explain how your solution can solve the problem
• Get the date and time that works for the prospect to schedule a meeting

Finally, mention that you will send a summary of the conversation before closing the call. This might add a whole new perspective to the call; because a good climax can change the way you view a movie 🙂

5. The anatomy of your cold call

First minute: The Opening

The goal of the first few seconds of the call is to catch your prospect’s attention. So, begin with a curious dialogue.

“Hey! This is Erick from *X*. How are you doing? I came across an article that discussed a huge change in your field & I hear that it might have impacts on your *prospect’s field/ industry/company*. Is that true? Will it affect your company in any way?”

You asked the prospect a question. This might nudge them to answer.

If your prospect breaks your heart and call by saying, “Sorry, not interested”, it might be possible that you are talking to a gatekeeper or a person who isn’t the decision maker.

Second & third minutes: Get into more details

Now that you have the prospect’s attention, start asking your questions regarding their business; try to understand their pain points.

An example: Prospect’s sales team is performing 80% of their jobs manually, ending up wasting a lot of time. They need a platform that could automate their everyday activities to save time & manpower.

Your questions could be –

• “Can you please explain to me your daily process that you are trying to automate?”
• “Are you evaluating any product at the moment that solves this problem?”

Once the prospect replies to these questions, you might continue by saying –

“I think this is something that our product could solve. Our product specialist, Emily can help you with more details. I can schedule a quick meeting with her at your convenience. How does that sound, *prospect’s name*?”

Fourth Minute: Close the call

At this moment, you would’ve come through 3/4th of the call. Now it’s time to seal the deal by saying something like –

“It was great talking with you, *prospect’s name*. As I said, I will schedule a call with our product specialist, Emily. She will assist you further. I’ll send you an email with the meeting link & I’ll also include the summary of this call – just to make sure that you and Emily are on the same track. Is there anything else that you’d like to talk about?”

If the prospect says no, finish the call – 

“Alright then, have a great day, *prospect’s name*”

There you go! You just built a relationship that might be a potential buyer 🙂

Bottom line

This script and these tips are just stepping stones to make your first cold call. As you progress through, you will talk with different people from various industries. But whoever your audience is, the ultimate goal is to provide value and not to sell. That being said, may the sales force be with you!