By Roger Bauer
Whether you’re new to sales or a grizzled veteran, the thought of making a true cold call is unlikely to be on your favorites list. Luckily, there are simple ways to warm up a call that don’t require major changes to your approach. Let’s take a peek at six of them.
TARGETED PRE-CALL LETTERS
One of the easiest ways to warm up a cold call is to send a series of pre-call letters to the decision makers you are trying to reach within a company. Yes, I said letters.
Michael Boylan in his book “Accelerants” talks about a simple methodology of sending letters to each of the key decision makers within a company under the guise that they’ll talk to one another, and there will need to be a decision made as to whom the call should be fielded by once you actually do call.
This turns the tables to where the decision maker actually expects your call versus being blindsided by it. Place a date and time to expect your call, and be sure to make the call on time.
Often times, you’ll have a decision maker within the prospective company call you to where you don’t even have to place the call.
USE FIRST NAMES ONLY
When you finally do call that key decision maker on your list, try using his/her first name only when the gatekeeper answers the phone instead of their formal name.
If the gatekeeper asks “who is calling?” simply state your first name in return. This will make the call sound more personal in nature and greatly increase your chances of getting through.
If the gatekeeper asks if the decision maker is expecting your call, the answer is obviously yes if you sent the pre-call letter ahead of time.
GO FOR NO
When you cold call someone, your objective is to get the prospect to say “no” to something (or many somethings). Instead of pushing for the hard close outright, try asking them a “no” oriented question.
Why, you ask?
As Chris Voss explained in his best-selling book, “Never Split the Difference,” no is empowering. People want to correct you because it lets them feel in charge. When contacting decision makers, they’re used to being in charge so this plays right into their typical mindset and removes the “threat” of you trying to hard sell them.
Without going too far into the deep end, you want to give control to maintain it. It sounds counterintuitive because it is. Most people are taught when attempting to sell something, even if it’s just the next meeting or call, to get the prospect to reply “yes” to a bunch of questions.
Is it any wonder why those folks bang their heads against the wall constantly? Hmm.
LEVERAGE THE WEB
Having your own website that captures basic leads is a must in today’s business climate. Don’t expect your employer to develop a website for you either. After-all, why should they? It’s your job to make sales so what is holding you back from having a website working to capture leads for you 24/7?
The beauty of having your own website, aside from the obvious, is you can change it up should you change jobs, and the leads will go with you versus sticking with your employer.
If you have a non-compete, you’ll obviously have to avoid the clients you signed for your employer for a set period of time, but your pipeline will be relatively full if you’ve done a good job with the site.
START A VLOG
The next step after setting up your own website is to launch a vlog (short for video log) so people can keep up with you and your tribulations. Vlogs are more personal or journal-like in nature so you don’t have to be as formal which will allow your personality to shine through a little more, and people will feel as if they know you better.
Video is great at showing you’re a real person, because you are, and allowing your quirks and unique personality to shine through. This is helpful when attempting to sell because people buy from people.
Remember just to document versus trying to re-create an episode of Saturday Night Live. The more polished your videos are, the less real they will come across to your audience.
Look at it this way, if your prospect is digging through information on each company pitching them today, your website and vlog will set you apart from your competitors that don’t have such tools implemented. You’ll look more professional, and they’ll feel as if you’re in it for the long-haul versus a one time sale.
Cold calling can become warm calling with a few minor changes that turn the tables more in your favor. Try a few of these tips to see if they can improve your success rates.