Cold calling potential prospects is frustrating and challenging. The process isn’t complex but is extremely difficult to do well.
We are calling potential prospects on a daily basis and here are five of our simple tips to help make things easier and warm up more potential buyers.
- Focus on the prospect!
- Plan potential outcomes and questions
- Have a conversation don’t read a script
- Don’t overwhelm the prospect and try to make the sale on one call
- Keep asking but be mindful, remember focus on the prospect not yourself
Focus On The Prospect
This is your initial contact with the prospect and all your focus and attention should be on them. Don’t go overboard talking about who you are and what you do, give them a reason to engage with you then remember it is all about them, not about you. You’ll be able sell far more professionally when you are talking to prospects about his or her wants and needs.
Plan Potential Outcomes And Questions
Think through the likely and desired outcomes then plan out potential questions in a reasoned and logical sequence from more generic to the most specific. Treat these as the ideal but expect to be thrown off track at times. By maintaining focus on the prospect, you will gather more information which will result in more sales.
Have A Conversation Don’t Read A Script
Scripts, by their very nature, can’t be personal and specific to the individual. Once you have a positive response to your opening then try to be conversational when asking about his or her business, markets, budgets, challenges, and so on. If you can paint a picture of how their situation might look with your product or service, then very often people will give you all of this information.
Keep it personal, talk to the prospect an induvial person. A genuine interest in their situation and challenges will go a long way in starting to build a relationship.
Don’t Overwhelm The Prospect And Try To Make The Sale On One Call
Tread lightly during this initial conversation. You don’t need brochures, presentations and samples, if there is genuine interest then the prospect will seek more information. Offer suitable information where you can but treat this as an opportunity to find out more about their reasons for the interest and to schedule further time to go through the detail.
You might get lucky and find a prospect with an urgent desire to fix a specific issue right now but guide them through the process rather than dictate how things should proceed. If the needs and wants are clear, and there is a genuine desire, then you may be able to make the sale but give the prospect options. Remember that first tip, it’s about them not you.
Keep Asking But Be Mindful, Remember Focus On The Prospect Not Yourself
Don’t be afraid to ask. If the prospect is engaged and relaxed and you are open, honest, and are asking out of genuine curiosity then you might be amazed at the information a prospect will give you. They will often give you all the information and insight you need to make a sale.
Try consistently applying these simple approaches and you’ll see an improvement in you cold calling results. Let us know how you get on!
