Cold calling is one of those marketing channels that carries a bad reputation.
People hate cold calls and telemarketers. They disturb you in the middle of your day and they keep on talking and talking, not to mention they are super annoying!
That’s 100% true.
Those few really inept cold callers ruin it for the rest of us.
If you use cold calling in a B2B setting then it becomes quite effective. Don’t believe me? Here are some stats:
- People still expect B2B salespeople to call them. According to one study by the Rain Group, 57% of C-level executives still expect to get calls from salespeople in order to form business relationships.
- Also, 69% of buyers accepted a call from a new salesperson in the last 12 months.
source: Cold Calling Statistics
That’s some very powerful data that proves that cold calling is used in B2B sales quite often and effectively.
So why do cold callers carry such a bad reputation?
Here are a few reasons:
TOP COLD CALLING MISTAKES AND HOW TO FIX THEM
1. Cold callers are using outdated data
One of the major pitfalls of cold calling campaigns is that often they are using inaccurate data. That’s why it’s super important to use an updated database of contacts and to use a tool that verifies each and every email address that you have on file. This is what the top cold calling companies in London do.
2. Cold callers are calling me after business hours
This is a really basic rule that every cold caller and cold calling company should abide by. Stick with business hours, don’t bother people too early or too late in the day. The business hours depending on the country and state that you are calling so make sure that you are well acquainted with the laws in the particular area that you are calling.
As a sales representative, you always want to have a nice conversation with someone even if you don’t get a lead from it. This is because you will at least leave a positive impression on the person or maybe get the prospect’s attention.
3. Cold callers are calling even after I said that I’m not interested
It’s really important that cold callers abide by the DNC (do not call) lists. If someone asked to not be called it’s important to make note of that and take them off the list. Also, lead databases should be checked through DNC filters to filter out all those leads that they are not allowed to call. Sales calls should not be annoying or disruptive.
The top cold calling companies out there use the most sophisticated technology to make sure that none of these mistakes happen. They have marketing automation built into their CRMs that doesn’t let the salespeople or sale development reps call on a lead that fits into one of the above-mentioned criteria. Don’t bother people who are not interested – the right person will be a potential client if they see the value in your offer.
So how do you make the most out of your cold calling initiative?
Here are some tips:
1. Combine cold calling with other communication channels
Cold calling is most effective when you combine it with other channels. When you reach out to a lead on social media, via email, comment on a few of their blog posts, then a cold call is so much more effective. It’s because you are essentially warming up the lead before the first call. It’s all part of your social selling.
2. Focus on solving an issue rather than selling
Any company that’s successful seeks to solve a problem for its customers and they do so quite well. That’s the secret to success, that your customers have to find your product or service useful to them. So when you are on a cold call try not to be sales, but rather seek to solve a problem for a customer.
3. Focus on building a relationship
I once got a cold call from a marketer of a social media tool and though I didn’t like the tool that he was marketing I built a relationship with the guy. We’ve since worked together on several marketing campaigns and that one phone call really paid off for both of us. So the key as a cold caller is to build a relationship with the person on the other line, and not just focus on getting another sale. Understand the buyer persona, or more generally your target market so that you could start making successful cold calls. Building relationships can be a massive key to your sales success, they can help give insights, referrals, and much more.
TOOLS THAT YOU NEED FOR COLD CALLING A SUCCESS
Like we mentioned before, having a robust and updated database is crucial to the success of your cold calling campaign. Make sure that the contact information you have for your leads is verified and up to date.
Another great tool to use is an email finder tool, like Hunter.io, that you can use to find the email address of pretty much any employee or executive of any company out there. You could even use Hunter.io to look up a company and find a list of several key employee emails. This can save you loads and loads of time.
Another critical tool is an autodialer. This is a dialer that automatically dials every lead you feed it so you don’t have to punch each number into the phone and open each lead. Once someone picks up it usually displays all of their contact information for you on the screen. This tool allows marketers and cold calling companies to double or even triple the number of calls that they can make per day.
Ok, by now you should be completely sold on cold calling. It sounds interesting, and you want to try it. What do you do? Rather than build out your own call center it’s much more effective to hire a cold calling company.
WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A COLD CALLING COMPANY
Here’s why.
It could save you time and money – it’s really expensive to hire a team of people, pay for a building, and purchase all the equipment necessary for a call center. It takes a lot of time, you might need to hire some high-level experts to help you set it up, and most importantly, you might not see success from it if you are not using the right database and tech stack.
A cold calling company has all the technology and expertise – Let’s say that you have a business in London. A top-notch cold calling company in London will have all the technology and team members needed to carry out an effective cold calling campaign for you. They can create targeted cold outreach campaigns and improve your sales strategy as well as streamline your sales pipeline so that it is more targeted. Not to mention, they might know your ideal customers and the cultural nuances of what you are trying to do better than someone you would hire yourself.
Those are just two reasons why you should go with a cold calling company for your next campaign.
RECAP
Cold calling is a really effective marketing channel but should be used with the right technology stack and an updated database. And the most cost-effective way to approach it is to try one campaign with a cold calling company to start.
Curious? Give us a call and let’s see how we could help you achieve your sales goals today.
