We are currently in an era of social media. Nowadays, the salesperson can reach their potential client through various social media accounts and email marketing. Right?! We are in a dilemma with advancement in modern marketing tactics does cold calling work?
(Source: www.tenor.com)
With time, customer expectations change and so do sales techniques. But here's a fact that will blow your mindset: Research confirms that 57% of C-Level and VP-level buyers prefer to connect with sellers on the phone. Thus, people prefer speaking to sales reps over the phone to make the buying decision. Cold Calling ain't going anywhere!
In fact, with more exposure to advertising marketing and social media posting cold calling is more effective than ever before.
What is Cold Calling?
Cold calling is a process where a salesperson contacts an individual who may or may not have previously expressed interest in the product or service offered. Through cold calling, telemarketers approach prospects via phone calls, it can also involve in-person meetings or door-to-door marketing.
Cold calling is a gritty game to crack! One can be successful in the game by staying consistent and engaging prospects in short conversations that result in a positive outcome.
Problem with Cold Calling
Despite being the most traditional marketing approach, cold calling has few challenges that could be a major turn-off.
Anyone who has been a telemarketer would have experienced this scenario
You come to the office and power your laptop. You are ready with the list of leads to be contacted. You start making calls. You are charged up for the day, feeling very confident.
But then
After making multiple calls, you do not hear from any prospects. Or even after hearing, the lead brushes you off and hangs up
This scenario can be the worst nightmare. Unfortunately, it's also a reality of cold calling for most telemarketers. No wonder why the conversion rates are lower in this technique. According to cognism, out of 100 cold calls, a Sales Development Representative can expect only 2 calls that convert into warm calls.
The crucial issues with cold calling approach are:
Buyers Find It Irritating
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Consumers are bombarded with so many promotional calls from different companies that they are already irritated with marketing calls. Most of the time, buyers are already frustrated listening to the same old marketing script that they are least interested in what the telemarketer has to say. As a result, they hung up.
More Time Consuming
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The cold-calling process is slow and exhausting. Telemarketers should be patient and consistent in achieving desired results. The success ratio in cold calling correlated to the number of calls made by the marketer. According to Gartner, it takes 18 attempts to connect and convert a lead into a qualified opportunity.
Statistics Show That Cold Calling Still Works in 2023
Having said all, cold calling is not a cakewalk. But this marketing strategy is still effective for most companies that adopt it. According to a survey by Financesonline, companies that don't practise cold calling in their sales process experience 43% lesser growth.
Also, the data findings say that 49% of buyers prefer to be contacted through phone calls.
Thus, it is evitable from all the statistics that cold calling is an effective approach for marketing still in 2023.
Numbers and statistics are impressive. Data shows that cold calling can be a game-changer for the company if executed well. The right strategy for cold calling can do wonders for a company's sales.
Let's discuss the best strategies and practices to improve cold-calling effectiveness:
Strategies & Best Practices to Improve Calling Effectiveness
Plan Calling Time
The most common challenge that every telemarketer faces is to get connected with the prospect. Knowing the best time to call your potential client can increase your chances of connecting with them. To evaluate the right time to make a cold call, you should address the following aspects:
Are your prospects working from 9:00 to 5:00?
Are they students who have a busy schedule at various times of the day?
Are they homemakers who are busy taking care of their kids before 9:00 AM and after 5:00 PM?
Knowing your customer's daily schedules can help you to track the right time to contact them.
According to our internal studies, the best time to contact your prospect is between 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Followed by 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. These statistics are derived from Callyzer’s database of 4+ CR call logs.
Use a Proven Calling Script
Cold calling script is essential to make your deal a successful one! Create a script, polish and refine it until it becomes your go-to script. For a perfect cold-calling script, you have to incorporate 6 components:
1) Introduction: As they say, "First impression is the last impression." Your introduction should be short and powerful to keep your customer engaged in the conversation.
2) Opener: Personalise the opening speech as per your customer. Mention something specific about your prospect.
3) Reasoning: Explain why you have called. Tell your customer how you can help them to solve their problem.
4) Value: Explain how your product or service can add value. Also, tell them how your product or service is different from your competitor's.
5) Question: Ask them questions to know if they are interested.
6) Close: Try to book a demo or schedule the next meeting.
Make sure you always stick to your script. Also, evaluate your call and make changes accordingly. Proven cold call scripts are developed from proven results. A telemarketer faces many obstacles along the way, the key is to overcome these challenges and come out with flying colors.
Research your Prospect
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Always be well-prepared for your pitch. Perform detailed research about your lead. Always make your customers feel that you know them well. Having enough information and knowledge about your prospect shows competency. It adds credibility and value to your pitch and customer interaction.
It is also essential to understand what your prospects are looking for and know their pain points. When you understand your leads, it becomes easier to connect with them and convert them into paying customers. Also, it leaves a good impression when you know your leads well. They feel you are interested in solving their pain points.
Never Forget to Follow Up
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Right after the cold call, the customer's tendency to buy the product or service is sky-high. With passing days, the customer’s interest loses, and also he forgets about the product. It is very essential to keep your prospect in a continuous connection.
Send a thank you message or email right after the meeting. Your email or message should contain the following:
1) First say, thank you for your time(This will keep your customer’s memory refreshed about when you spoke.)
2) Mention takeaways(This you leave an impression on your customer that you are a good listener)
3) Most Important, Address your next step and schedule the next meeting or a call.
Always remember that one extra call can make all the difference.
Use a Call Tracking Solution
With the advancement in technology and multi-channel promotion, you need an efficient call-tracking solution to keep track of your calling activities and productivity. An efficient call-tracking solution can help you track your inbound and outbound calling data. In today’s modern world data insights help you a lot in evaluating your performance and helping you to make smarter business decisions to up your sales.
There are numerous features that a call tracking solution offers that evaluate the cold calling performance of telemarketers.
Deep Analysis and Statistics of Calling Activities
With a smart call tracking system, you can explore total incoming, outgoing, missed, and rejected calls handled by your entire team from a central dashboard. Even if your telemarketers are working remotely you can keep track of their productivity and performance.
Efficient Lead Management System
The call tracking system comes with a lead management system that allows you to assign leads to your team. Also, telecallers can view their assigned leads and communicate with them. They can also update the status of the lead using a note after each call. With different reports, you can easily track the performance of your employees. Also, you can view the list of leads not contacted and the status history of leads.
Call Tracking software helps you track your team’s productivity and performance. The valuable information available from multiple reports helps you to make your cold calling strategies effective.
Final Words
With all the daily commercials and multi-marketing channels, cold-calling is more effective than ever before. A personalised touch that a sales rep provides cannot be attained with an automated AI. Cold calling has been around since 1873, and it is still an effective marketing tool in 2023.
Want to make your cold calling efforts really effective?
Try Callyzer and improve your team performance and sales productivity now.