What is Cold Calling?
A Cold call can be defined as an unplanned call or telemarketing or a visit by a salesman to make a sale of a product or service to a prospective client or customer who hasn’t yet heard off or shown interest in purchasing or using a product or service sold by them or their firm.
In simple words, it is more like an effort made by a batsman who, in an attempt to find the boundary more than once, goes on swinging his bat aimlessly from ball one.
In sales, the interest level of a customer/client in purchasing a product is defined in terms of Heat Map.
Ø A customer who is interested in learning more about a product and is eager to know about its uses can be classified as Hot on a heat map.
Ø A customer who can be defined as a Cold prospect on a heat map is one who has neither heard off nor has yet shown interest in purchasing a product marketed or sold by a firm or salespeople.
Ø A Warm prospect falls perfectly in between the earlier two on a heat map. A customer who can be defined as warm is one who knows about the product and is actively looking to purchase the same but hasn’t been directly called or visited by a salesman or their firm in an attempt to make a sale.
Although it may not be the most preferred activity on a salesman’s to-do list, a cold call by none can be defined as the worst or one that generates the least results. To take it a step further, we at Great Learning listed 5 Cold calling techniques to help you reach the epitome of your sales curve in 2022.
5 Cold calling techniques
Technique 1
Learn to embrace rejection
Rejection needn’t always mean the end of a road. More so, it could be the start of a new beginning. The first thing you need to do as a salesman is to put yourself in the shoes of your prospective customer. Ask yourself, would you want to use a product that is forced upon you? Would you want to purchase a product that you know you do not need? The answers you discover from within for these questions will help you understand why you or your product was rejected. Your goal should be to understand your customer’s needs and position your product accordingly to feed the need or, if not, create a new need in this process.
Technique 2
Don’t always look to achieve big numbers
This is seldom easier said than done. As a salesman, it is your responsibility to always look beyond the value of the numbers that you achieve. In other words, you need always to try your best to learn something new from every sale you make. Every person is unique, while some may want to get done with the sale as soon as possible. On the other hand, some of your prospects may want to build a strong relationship with you and your organization before they decide to put money on your product. Hence as a salesman, you should always keep your eyes and ears wide open to facilitate every need and requirement of a prospect, not just to get done with the sale but also to implement what you learn in the next sale.
Technique 3
Learn about your playground
As a salesman, it is always your responsibility to know who your audience is. You should do enough research to learn about who requires your product and who isn’t. Although cold calling, as a process, involves you as a salesman to find new markets and prospects to add to your list of customers, it certainly doesn’t mean you list the contact details of every second person you meet on the way or after a sale.
Technique 4
Learn the value of time
A good salesman knows the value of time. He always makes it a point to do his homework clean and clear to know exactly whom to meet to make the process of a sale as quick as possible. This is only possible when your list only includes the contact details of companies and prospective customers you already need your product or services. Shooting arrows in the air and hoping to find a target in the process may not always be the right method to follow.
Technique 5
Think beyond the words in your script
Don’t always just read from your script. Always take a few minutes before your call, understand it, and add the required emotions to make it feel more genuine. Remember, a script is just another sales tool. It certainly doesn’t guarantee your numbers in the form of sales. What would guarantee you a sale is your knowledge about your product and the audience or prospect you intend to sell your product to. Hence, instead of using an entire day to learn your script by heart, take a few minutes and try to learn about the product and the target audience’s requirements.
The list certainly doesn’t end here. However, these 5 techniques can be used as a yardstick to give way to new techniques to improve the conversation rate of sales during a cold calling process. Sales is an art, and cold calling is a process. It is important to learn the art and use whatever you learn to make meetings with clients and prospective clients more successful as a salesperson.
To learn more about sales techniques and improve your numbers as a salesman during the cold calling process, you can always sign up for professional courses designed and developed by the best industry professionals. The list above can help you spear ahead your career in sales and help you become a salesperson who knows the needs and wants of a client.
