December 2nd, 2016

Don’t kid yourself. Cold calls are still integral to sales. But they continue to be a source of dread.

Prospects who’ve given no real indication they’re interested in your offer may not listen to it. And sales reps who curl up at rejection may not make the calls in the first place.

What can you do to make cold calling less a chore?

Change cold to warm

To ensure the success of cold calling, you need to turn cold leads into warm ones before making your pitch.

Warming up a cold lead—moving her “down the sales funnel”—takes commitment, persistence and a lot of time. Time your sales reps may not have.

Professional marketers have the time—and the skills.

Professional telemarketers are skilled not only at leading substantive conversations with prospects, but at picking up signals from them that indicate a strong intent to buy.

Professional telemarketers are skilled in mastering the details of your brand—and your competitors’. They don’t “read a script.” Instead, they come across to prospects as knowledgeable and credible—an advisor you can trust.

Professional telemarketers don’t force-fit an offer. They take the time to learn the prospect’s pain points and requirements, and never try high-pressure tactics (which don’t work, anyway).

Professional telemarketers are good at follow-up. Once they’ve contacted a prospect, they don’t leave her hanging; they take the extra effort to keep the prospect warm (primarily through email outreach).

And professional telemarketers are persistent. Like Winston Churchill, they “never, never, never give in”—something most thin-skinned sales reps all too often do.

What are you waiting for?

Cold calling is a necessity, and still one of the most effective means of generating leads. But the key to improving your odds is warming cold leads.

Have you tried outside telemarketing recently? If not, what are you waiting for? To learn how it can work for you, call Randy Lieberman at 800.290.8714 or send an email to randyl@foundationmarketing.com.