4 Cold Calling Tips to Warm Things Up

Cold calling can sometimes feel like a waste of time. It can be exhausting not getting a hold of the right person at the right time and frustrating contacting the wrong person or the wrong type of prospect.

If you can’t sell yourself on why you’re picking up the phone, to begin with, then you’re probably not ready to call your prospects either. If the reason for your call doesn’t make sense to you, it likely won’t translate well over the phone either.

Half the battle of cold calling is connecting the dots to why your company should have a conversation with the prospect in the first place. If you can’t convince yourself, don’t bother dialing. You first need to be knowledgeable and confident in presenting your product or service before you attempt to sell to someone else.

How did I help bring in some of our largest clients who have remained our clients over the years? Patterns. I look for ways of what we are good at with our roster of clients and then think big. Remember, capturing a whale always starts with just one phone call.

Get ready to heat up your cold-calling abilities! Here are some other strategies I’ve used to help bring some of our largest and long-standing clients on board.

Tip #1: Right Attitude

You need to psych yourself up and be confident and comfortable on the phone. The call doesn’t need to be perfect, but it should come across as a natural and unscripted call. Sure, you can have some notes to rely on, but having a more genuine dialogue on the phone will be more attractive. It will get a better response. Be familiar with the product or service that you’re selling and be prepared for the prospect to tell you “No” or my favorite, “Can you send me an email with more information”?

Also, on the days that you don’t feel like speaking on the phone (everyone has those days), take advantage of this time, create a list for yourself when you feel more up to calling, and then do some research! If you’re not preparing for another round of calls, then you better believe that someone else is.

Grant Cardone on why your attitude means so much in sales.

Tip #2: Be Persistent

Most salespeople give up too quickly and easily on their prospects before they even have a chance to speak with them. Giving up too early is an extension of your attitude. It would help if you kept pushing forward and following up with leads when they tell you to call them back next month or three months from now. Put a reminder on your calendar to follow up with them with a note of your previous conversations so you have something to rely on when you call the next time.

Most salespeople will only call a prospect 1 or 2 times max. I have opportunities that I’ve been reaching out to for over a year! One of my candidates was someone I was calling for quite some time, and that person eventually left after being with the company for 15+ years. The new decision-maker had more of an open mind and wanted to meet and now is one of our largest clients.

Persistence pays off; you need to be patient. Remaining vigilant is easier said than done, but in the meantime, when you are busy filling up your pipeline with other prospects that make sense for you to do business with, the time will pass by quickly.

Hubspot on being persistent in sales.

Tip #3: Connect The Dots

When I was initially hired to make sales, my main goal was to contact schools since we focused on higher education. If we were good at recruiting new students to become enrolled and ultimately a start, what about recruiting within a different vertical? This way of thinking helped us now obtain three trucking companies, including a trucking school located in the southwest and one of the largest trucking companies in the country.

It all started with one local trucking company that recruits truck drivers nationwide and combined that with the idea of education. Since we already work with one of the largest trade and technical schools in the country, I saw this as an opportunity, and I mentioned it during my first call with the trucking school. It didn’t take much more convincing to set up our first meeting.

The more effective you are in connecting the dots with sales and marketing, the more success you will have. By figuring out a common denominator with your prospect, you can impact the result of setting the first meeting and justify why you are calling in the first place.

Tip #4: Be Empathetic

By being empathetic in sales, you will create a likability by understanding your lead’s timetable and other variables. Being empathetic is probably the best sales attribute you could have. Empathy builds client relationships with trust, understanding, and honesty. Be understanding of your prospect’s needs. People naturally don’t like to feel pressured or rushed to do anything, let alone spend money even if it’s genuinely beneficial to their business. Be empathetic and show gratitude. Your actions speak louder than your words, especially in sales.

Check out this GaryV blog post on the importance of empathy in business and sales.

The bottom line is that cold calling isn’t going away anytime soon. Cold calling is very much alive and well. Cold calling is getting a face-lift with different software programs like Phone Burner that dials the calls for you and eliminates (with some imperfections) the grunt work of researching a name/phone number per lead. This software dials phone numbers without any break in between calls and can leave a prerecorded voice message with one click. So, what are your excuses?! Start making calls!

You may also enjoy this article: How to Close More Sales When You Start with the End in Mind

Colling Media is a Phoenix, AZ-based full-service advertising agency providing advertising strategy, digital advertising, and media buying services.