For any company, the issue of finding new clients, which is associated with working in a “cold” market, is always relevant. How do “cold” sales differ from “warm” sales? How to turn a skeptical stranger into a “hot” client?
How are “cold” sales different from “hot” sales?
Negotiations with clients without intermediaries are called “Hot” and “cold” sales and are carried out in different markets. The “hot” market is regular customers, store visitors, that is, the target audience.
For any company, the issue of finding new clients, which is associated with working in a “cold” market, is always relevant. As a rule, “cold” sales involve business trips, telephone conversations and a mandatory meeting with a product presentation.
“Cold” calls are telephone conversations, the result of which should be a positive attitude, an agreement on a meeting or a concluded deal.
Specifics of working in a “cold” market
Working in a cold market has its pros and cons.
Positive sides | Negative sides |
Effective work gives a significant increase and allows you to increase the competitiveness of the company, product, service. | Salespeople who have not been taught how to use cold selling and calling techniques receive many rejections and lose enthusiasm. |
“Cold” sales are an unlimited number of potential customers. | Developing professionalism in this matter takes time. |
Minimum financial costs and reduced advertising costs. |
Any cold sales department needs technology that will help it work effectively with customers.
10 rules for successful cold sales
- Before negotiations, let go of tension and relax. A successful salesperson is an energetic and confident person.
- Self-motivation.
- Thoroughly know the product to be sold.
- Create a comfortable environment for the client and evoke sympathy. To “hook” the buyer, simply to interest them, but not to “shove” the product.
- Get a feel for the client. What language, with what intonation does he speak? You can use similar vocabulary, tone of voice, style of speech.
- Generate interest in yourself, in your product, service, company with the help of the media and participation in buyer meetings, forums, fairs, exhibitions and other events. Creation of mailings, leaflets with useful information for potential clients.
- Record effective “cold” calls with appointments.
- Constantly and daily replenish the database of new clients.
- Remember that every “no” brings you closer to closing the deal. In order to conclude a profitable deal, you must be prepared to hear a lot of refusals.
- Be sure to prepare before calls and meetings using cold sales scenarios.
Ability to respond to failures
Drawing up a form (table) for entering information received during negotiations.
Work in pairs. Conversation with the manager, department head and director. The goal is to make an appointment.
How to bypass Cerberus?
Choose a tactic and come up with a wording to bypass the adamant secretary.
Objections
Remember the answers to common objections and work in pairs.
- “We entered into an agreement with another company.”
- "We're not interested in that."
- "We don't need this."
- "We can't afford it."
- “Call another employee.”
Statistics show that almost 90% of information received at trainings and seminars is forgotten after a month. Trainings are useful if the sales manager regularly trains, repeats and consolidates the knowledge acquired during the training.
Conclusion
All the secrets of “cold” sales lie in constant work on yourself. Those who are capable of self-motivation succeed. Faith and love for your work help resolve any difficult situations!
Active telephone sales or telemarketing is a tool that has long gained recognition and popularity in the business environment as a relatively inexpensive, but quite effective way to attract new customers.
In addition to the fact that it is almost universal in relation to the goods and/or services sold, it is also successfully used in working not only with legal entities, but also with individuals.
Hot, warm, cold calls as an effective way to sell goods and services
"Cold Call"- this is the initial, one of the main stages in the overall series of events in the difficult battle for new consumers.
Currently, there is no clear definition of the term “cold calling”. However, traditionally cold calling means practice of advertising telephone calls carried out by employees of trading companies in almost all business industries, with the aim of attracting potential customers and/or concluding a contract for the supply of goods or services, as the final stage in the sales chain. Sometimes, the cold calling technique is also used to collect the necessary information about potential clients, which can subsequently be used to make a sale.
Cold calls are carried out without prior agreements and only on the initiative of employees of companies that sell goods or services.
At its core primary goal of all cold calls means an increase in the customer base.
Experienced sales specialists, authors of various business literature, as well as developers of various sales courses and trainings share outgoing calls to cold, warm and hot. 
Cold type- this is a call made for the first time and addressed to a person who is not familiar with the selling company, its products, services, service and prices. At the time of making a cold call, the contact person’s plans do not include familiarity with the company’s activities, its services and capabilities, therefore it is assumed that the manager making the call will receive a “cold reception” at the other end of the line.
Unlike cold calls warm type carried out by persons who are already in one way or another familiar with the activities of the selling company and are to some extent interested in cooperation. The purpose of warm calls may be to restore once interrupted cooperation, inform about new products or services, promotions or upcoming price increases, remind yourself in the form of pleasant communication with a contact person or collect information about the intentions of the contact person or his plans in the area of possible cooperation etc.
And finally, under hot calls Sales professionals understand calls made to customers who have a direct intention of doing business with the selling company. Unlike warm calls, hot calls are made with the goal of bringing a deal to its logical conclusion, which in 95% of cases ends in success for the sales specialist.
The essence and purpose of cold calling
Cold calling is the most difficult type of telephone conversation. This is due to the fact that most of the possible clients already, as a rule, have some suppliers of goods and/or services with whom everyone is satisfied with cooperation or solve their problems in some other way (for example, they have a staff of necessary specialists and do not need hiring a third party company to solve some problems).
Therefore, many experienced and practicing sales professionals do not set themselves the goal of making a sale as a result of a cold call. The main goal in this case, it is collecting information about the existing or possible needs of the potential client’s company, and reaching agreements on holding a business meeting at which the following takes place:
- personal acquaintance between the seller’s representative and the potential client’s company representative;
- presentation of the selling company’s capabilities;
- discussion of plans for further cooperation.
Only if these conditions are met, the chances of a “cold” contact transitioning into “warm” and “hot” significantly increase.
Difference cold calling of legal entities and individuals lies only in the fact that when working with legal entities, as a rule, a sales specialist from the selling company travels to the territory of the potential customer. If cold calls are made to a database of individuals, then they are invited to independently attend an event or establishment.
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The main difficulties of cold calling
You can select following difficulties when making calls via a cold base:
- The main difficulty of conducting cold active telemarketing events is the reluctance of potential customers to communicate with strangers.
- In addition, newcomers to the field of sales, forced by the nature of their work to call cold contacts, find it difficult to overcome various barriers that arise on the way to the right contact person.
- And, of course, working with objections. Where would we be without her? And potential clients have a lot of objections, from the standard “We don’t need anything”, “It’s too expensive” and “We already work with suppliers” to the most extravagant and unexpected, for example “I don’t like your voice, so I won’t work with you” or “Stop calling me, I’m dead to you.”
However, all these complex tasks have their own professional solutions, and the sales technology of “cold” calling the client base remains the most popular technology in the field of active sales.
Rules for cold calling
There is a certain scheme for making almost any cold call. It is versatile and suitable for use in a wide variety of business sectors.
To improve efficiency For such calls, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work, which consists of the following: 
- Necessary prepare an up-to-date contact database for an upcoming call. The current database is a list of organizations with valid phone numbers. Ideally, the database already contains the names and positions of the necessary contact persons. But often, managers involved in cold calling have to obtain such information on their own in the process of work.
In addition, before making a call, the sales specialist must know exactly the position and area of responsibility of the contact person with whom he will have a conversation. So, for example, it is advisable to discuss the supply of stationery with the administration service, personnel training with the HR department, the supply of software with the technical director, etc. - The sales manager needs to thoroughly and carefully explore the product or service offered. It is necessary to know all the features, unique qualities, disadvantages and the same about the products or services of the main competing companies. This knowledge is necessary for effective work in general, and for working out objections if they arise already at the cold calling stage.
- Before making the first call, a sales specialist must clearly understand the purpose of the call. It is extremely rare for a transaction to be completed after the first and only call. Therefore, the ideal goal of a cold call is to set up a meeting or reach at least some agreements, for example, send a commercial proposal and call back, call back the next day if the contact person is too busy today or find out the contacts of a deputy, etc.
- Preparing a conversation script. Even experienced sales specialists from time to time prefer to look at some “cheat sheets” - an approximate script or conversation plan. In professional terminology, the scenario of a telephone conversation is called a “script” and it schematically depicts almost all possible options for the development of the conversation, with answers to standard objections and professional tricks in order to return the interlocutor to the direction of the conversation that is convenient for the sales manager.
For beginners, such scripts help to cope with uncertainty and fears and more or less competently conduct a dialogue to its logical conclusion.
As many years of practice have shown, despite the fact that cold calls are one of the most popular sales technologies, the effectiveness of cold calls is very low in almost any business segment. Thus, existing statistics indicate that if, as a result of 100 cold calls, at least 5 transactions are made, then these are very good indicators.
Therefore, for maximum efficiency, for a continuous flow of new clients, sales managers must make calls to cold databases CONSTANTLY. And this is a rather difficult, stressful and very painstaking process.
The following video training is devoted to the competent implementation of cold calls:
Features of the work of a sales manager
In this regard, successful sales managers working with cold bases must have some specific qualities that are either given to a person by nature (which is rare) or acquired in the process of professional growth.
So, to these qualities include:
- Stress resistance. A sales manager is a person who probably hears rejections more often than people in other industries, and the lack of immediate positive results can greatly impact overall motivation. Therefore, there is no place for overly receptive and sensitive people in sales.
- Tenacity and perseverance. The saying “they are in the door, and they are out the window” best characterizes successful sales specialists. It is not uncommon that only through stubborn persistence can one overcome all the barriers and obstacles on the way to the person making the decision to complete a transaction. Without these qualities, it is extremely difficult for sales managers to achieve great success in the profession.
- Energy, high level of activity, self-discipline and high performance. A specific feature of the profession is the dependence of the result on the amount of effort expended. This means that the chances of success in the profession increase if the manager always has extra energy for a couple more cold calls beyond the plan or for one more meeting during the day.
- Ability and desire to learn, the desire to learn as much useful and necessary information as possible, suitable both in professional activities when communicating with clients, and for personal growth and development.
- Sociability. Due to the nature of his work, a sales manager has to communicate constantly, sometimes throughout the entire working day and even after it. It is much more difficult for introverts, people who are not sociable and reserved to build professional activities.
- Responsibility and diligence. Failure to fulfill your obligations is fraught with the loss of a potential or existing client. So, for example, if a manager promised to call back in a day and did not call back at the agreed time, this may characterize him as an unnecessary and irresponsible person, and the desire to work with such a “specialist” is sharply reduced, especially when there are a lot of other similar offers on the market.
- Sense of humor- quality is not mandatory, but desirable. A good, correct sense of humor helps a sales specialist establish contacts, even when they are still completely cold. In addition, this is a very valuable human quality that helps to look at the current situation with optimism, no matter how it turns out.
Tips for properly organizing the work of an active sales manager are given in the following video.
Part 1:
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“Give me a point of support and I will move the earth”
Archimedes
To conduct successful cold calls, the “Ledge” technique is used in world practice.
Using the Ledge technique, you can make effective cold calls on the phone, an example of which will be discussed below.
The essence of this method is to use the first question or negative answer of the interlocutor as a fulcrum for turning a protracted call in the right direction.
The purpose of this is to arrange a meeting with the client. But often sales agents get drawn into any conversation, but the subject remains in the shadows.
How do failed cold calls happen?
It goes something like this. The interlocutor becomes interested in the information and says: “Please tell me in more detail.” Thus, a moment occurred that should have been avoided at all costs.
In this situation, the sales agent cannot refuse the interlocutor and is forced to explain to him the whole essence of the work, but he achieved a completely different goal than was pursued. After all, the main task is to schedule a business meeting. What to do?
It is very important to properly prepare for this issue. The sales agent must be a bit of a visionary, having previously planned for such a situation and thought through possible responses. It is impossible to leave the question unanswered. But simply answering the client is wrong. Here is a clear example of a cold phone call.
The manager calls a potential client, and on the other end of the line he hears the question: “How many years has your company been on the services market?” He enthusiastically replies: “We are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. That's a solid number, isn't it?" Client: “Yes, indeed, a considerable age. Please tell us more about the company’s work.”
This is followed by detailed explanations from the manager, a listing of the company’s areas of activity, and its most successful projects. Then the other person says, “This is amazing. How did you become so successful? The question is again followed by long and numerous explanations from the manager.
Suddenly, at the most interesting point, the client unexpectedly interrupts the conversation with the words: “Wonderful, but all this is not for me.” In this case, the manager’s main mistake is that he began presenting the service before he knew anything about the potential client. The latter was simply not satisfied with the services offered.
Example of a cold call using the Ledge method
Let's take a closer look at how Ledge works using the following example:
Trading agent:“Hello, Mr. Sidorov. Are you worried about Andrey Shishkin from A.B.V. Corporation. It is the world's largest sales services firm."
Mr. Sidorov:"Good afternoon. We were just thinking about this. Please tell us more."
Mr. Shishkin: “We have been working in sales for about 15 years. During this time, we have achieved significant success and have practical experience in this area.”
Mr. Sidorov:“Very interesting, and what kind of developments are these?”
Mr. Shishkin: “These are developments in the field of successful sales, training, management, and marketing. The most recent one is how to do cold calling, telesales.”
The conversation flows in a positive direction until the interlocutor is interested in prices. “The price range varies from B to C,” the sales agent replies, and the client objects: “Unfortunately, it’s expensive for us.”
At this point, the response scenario can go in two directions: the manager will begin to defend himself and argue, proving his point of view and describing the merits of his program, or he will simply say: “Mr. Sidorov, many people with whom we are actively cooperating now also reacted this way at first.” , have not yet been convinced of the benefits of our proposal.
Therefore, I propose to meet. Will it suit you on Wednesday at one o’clock?” The basic principle of the “Ledge” method is that no matter what the interlocutor says, always answer: “We definitely need to meet.”
Cold calling - examples of the use of the Ledge technique
The Ledge cold calling method can be used for conversations that go in completely different directions.
1. The client is not interested in the services offered by the manager. The conversation might look like this:
Client: Sorry, we do not provide professional development to our employees.
Trading agent: Excuse me, please, how is your team trained?
Client: No way. They work under mentors, that's enough.
Trading agent: Amazing! Many companies we cooperate with today also worked this way. I suggest we meet. Is Thursday at twelve convenient for you?”
Thus, the question “Curious how you train employees?” allowed me to find a foothold in the conversation and maintain control over it.
2. The client cooperates with another company.
Client: Please forgive me, but we have already made a deal with another company.
Trading agent: Let me ask you which company you work with?
Client: This is a SUPER company.
Trading agent: Great. We should meet because we can strengthen the promotion of your programs, making them more successful.
The conversation may proceed in a different aspect.
Client: We recently signed a contract with another company.
Trading agent: May I ask if this is by chance the SUPER company? Are you using the SUPER Manager program?
Client: No, we use the ICS program.
Trading agent: Wonderful. I think it will be useful for us to meet, since our projects complement this program well.
A sales agent can name any company and program. When answering, the client will correct him, and then the sales agent will again use the same “We definitely need to meet.”
Using the Ledge method allows you to turn a simple call into a conversation where information received from the client is used.
It is this that becomes a kind of fulcrum on which the further course of the conversation is based. Facts from the interlocutor’s lips help the manager to make a start and schedule a meeting at the right moment.
Mistaken cold calls: example dialogue
Often sales agents, when answered, “You should talk to someone else,” mistakenly respond with the question, “Who can I talk to about this issue?” There is no need to rush, it is better to ask: “What do you do?” In this way, you can make sure whether the person is really not the one you need. Here is an example of such a dialogue.
Client: Sorry, but this question is not within my competence. It can only be decided by the company's management.
Trading agent: Excuse me, please, but what is within your competence?
Client: I'm just organizing training for managers.
Trading agent: Very interesting. What training programs do you use?
Client: We carry out several types of training projects.
Trading agent: It seems to me that we need to meet with you, so that we can influence the implementation of your programs.
If the person's answer suggests that he might be helpful, the manager boldly says, “We need to meet with you.” The person on the other end of the line may say, “I’m just filling in for the head janitor in the office.”
If a manager offers services for installing plastic windows or alarm systems, then it is clear that he needs a completely different person. In this case, it’s worth asking: “Please tell me who I can talk to about this issue?” Information about the right person will be found out.
Cold Calling Examples: The Ledge in Action
Example 1
Client: Sorry, I am absolutely not interested in your proposal.
Trading agent: Many people said the same thing until they were convinced that our services perfectly complemented what they did.
Client: We had an experience with your company and it was not positive.
Trading agent: May I ask who is servicing your company's computers now?
Client: Company "IGREK" We have been working with them for more than two years.
Trading agent: Then we should definitely meet.
Client: I don't think so. Send the price list to my email address, if necessary, I will look at it.
Trading agent: Maybe it's better for us to meet after all? What about Thursday at four?
Client: I've told. I am not interested in your information.
Trading agent: Okay, good luck.
In this case, the manager tried everything.
Example 2
Client: Our company does not have the funds to provide such services.
Trading agent: Of course I understand. But may I ask, is your company working with anyone now?
Client: Yes. We work with the ZET company.
Trading agent: Then you probably use the ABC product?
Client: No, we use their product "GDEZH".
Trading agent: Really? Then we should definitely meet, since our offer is wider, which includes the product “GDEZH”. How about next Monday at two?
Client: I like.
Example 3
Client: Tell us more about your product.
With this question, the manager must give a clear, comprehensive, but concise answer.
Trading agent: We have been working in the field of computer technology for 15 years. During this time, our company has developed new programs that are successfully used by hundreds of companies. Pardon my curiosity, but what does your company do?
Client: We work in the field of accounting services based on the AB program.
Trading agent: How's that? Then we definitely need to meet, and I will tell you how to increase the effectiveness of the AB program.
Example 4
Client: Hello, I don’t have time to listen to you now. Send me materials about your company, if possible, I will familiarize myself with them.
Trading agent: You see, I'm calling to make an appointment. Would Monday at twelve suit you?
Client: Alas, I have a very busy schedule throughout the month.
Trading agent: Okay, is this same day in exactly a month busy for you?
Client: Just a minute, I'll take a look. No.
Trading point: So, maybe we will meet on the 24th in a month?
Client: Fine. I'll write it down in my diary.
In each specific case, when making cold calls on the phone, the sales agent creates a “Ledge” that he can cling to, and the fulcrum found helps turn the conversation in the right direction. Thus, the sales agent is able to increase sales efficiency by increasing business meetings.
Today we will look at one of the common technologies for working with clients and increasing the client base - the so-called. cold calls. I will tell you what cold calling is, what they are for, how to carry them out correctly, and then I will analyze the techniques and cold calling techniques For example. I think this information will be useful both directly to sales managers and their managers, who are faced with the issue of expanding their client base and increasing sales volume.
What are cold calls?
Cold calling is one of the methods of establishing contact with potential clients, which does not involve making a sale, but serves only for initial acquaintance and planning of some subsequent actions (more substantive telephone conversations, meetings, sending commercial proposals, etc.).
That is, the main goal of cold calling is to form a base of potential clients for further offers and sales.
The term itself is borrowed from English and in the original sounds like Cold calling. Such calls got their name “cold” because they are usually perceived by subscribers coldly, without enthusiasm and sometimes even aggressively. Cold calls are made solely on the initiative of the caller, and subscribers on the other end often do not support this initiative for various reasons, for example, even due to employment or workload with other, more important problems.
Interestingly, in some countries the practice of cold calling has serious legal restrictions or is even prohibited altogether!
However, all future prospects for cooperation with this client depend on how successful the call is: whether there will be any at all. Therefore, cold calls are a very important link in building the entire marketing chain of a company.
How to make cold calls?
Making cold calls is, in fact, very difficult, and only a few are capable of doing it truly competently, and most importantly, effectively. What is the difficulty? First of all, the fact is that, as I already said, the party receiving the call is almost always not happy about it. And this, even purely psychologically, always has a negative effect on the caller: unsuccessful cold calls reduce his motivation and desire, which makes subsequent ones even more unsuccessful. Even experienced people often cannot cope with such psychological pressure, let alone beginners.
So when thinking about how to make cold calls, there are a few important things to remember:
- Failures are inevitable. There is simply no person in nature who would be successful in absolutely all cold calls over a long period. You need to be clearly aware of this and be prepared for it. You need to be able to hear and adequately perceive a firm “no,” and in order to learn this, you can practice on someone “your own,” for example, a colleague.
- Well delivered speech. The success of a cold call simply depends to a huge extent on how confidently, clearly, competently the caller speaks, how he places emphasis in words, what pace he keeps, etc. Not everyone can initially boast of a well-delivered speech, however, this can and should be developed in oneself - it will not hurt in any business. You can practice using a voice recorder - make sure that the recorded sound of your voice suits you completely.
- Talk about solving problems, benefits, emotions, and not about the product. In general, this rule applies to any sales, and when thinking about how to make cold calls, you also need to adhere to this principle. When trying to interest a client, in no case should you focus his attention on your company and its products. You need to talk about what benefits the client will receive from further cooperation with your company, what problems this will solve, and, ideally, about positive emotions and joy from using your product.
- Follow the intended goal. The cold calls you make must have a specific goal in mind. As I already wrote, this is usually not a sale, but an appointment for a subsequent, more substantive conversation with a potential client, for example, a meeting. Therefore, before making cold calls, you need to immediately set a goal and outline a call plan that would lead to this goal. It’s absolutely not worth talking about “just about anything” in this case.
Cold calling techniques and methods.
Now let's look at popular techniques and cold calling techniques with examples. Before making cold calls, you must understand that no one is waiting for your call, and the person you are calling is most likely busy with other things that are more important to him than your call. It's quite normal. There will almost certainly be an initial reluctance to engage in dialogue, mistrust, or even aggression. Therefore, you just need to hone your cold calling techniques and techniques to perfection.
Collection of information. Before you make a cold call, you should already have enough information about the person you are calling. It can be collected in a variety of ways: from social networks, from mutual friends, from his colleagues, from the news, etc.
Making a call plan. Anyone who has ever encountered cold calling themselves knows that they all follow a certain already established pattern. And this is not easy, because it really is more effective. Make your own cold calling plan/template; you can use existing examples from the Internet as a basis. Literally mark down point by point what you will say and in what order.
Performance. Naturally, a cold call should begin with an introduction. It is best to state your name, position and the company you represent. Also here you can briefly describe the company’s field of activity, especially if it is little known, and this must be done in the most attractive form, however, excluding deception in any form.
For example, there is no need to say “we are a reliable Forex broker.” Instead, it is better to say “we are a leading company specializing in investments in global markets.”
Collection of additional information, control questions. Next, you should try to find out the information about the potential client that is necessary for further conversation, which you could not find in open sources, in order to build a further dialogue based on this.
For example: Tell me, have you ever invested money in global financial companies?
We don’t sell right away, but only interest the client. You have a cold calling goal that is not a sale, so work towards that goal. For example, you need to make an appointment or send. Try to interest your interlocutor as much as possible so that he gives his consent to the action you need.
For example: I can give you statistics showing how much our investors made over the previous year, and you can see for yourself how profitable it is.
Work with objections. As I already said, when cold calling, objections are inevitable, and sometimes even in a very harsh form. Working with objections is a separate topic, which I will discuss in one of the following articles. But you must be fluent in handling objections - only then will your cold calls be effective. Therefore, be sure to study this point.
For example: – Thank you, I’m not interested.
– Perhaps you will change your mind when you see the real results of cooperation with our company of our regular customers. Tell me how can I send you this information?
Respect for the client's choice. Whatever final decision your interlocutor makes, you must treat him with respect and demonstrate this, even if it is a refusal. Do not put pressure on your interlocutor under any circumstances - in this case, the path to him will be closed to you forever.
For example: – Thank you, but I have already invested money in another company X.
– Undoubtedly, X is also a very worthy company, I wish you to receive high investment income there. If you don't mind, I will periodically update you when we have offers that might interest you.
You are an expert and professional. Any cold calling technique requires that you have an expert level of knowledge in the area related to the topic of your conversation. Because if the interlocutor asks you questions (and this is quite likely), you should, without hesitation, give a professional and competent answer. But even if you cannot answer right away - in no case do you need to invent something (perhaps the question is actually a test of your competence) - it is better to say that you will clarify this information and call back.
Regularity. One of the most important rules for the success of cold calls is that they must be made regularly, thereby gaining experience and honing your skills literally to the point of automaticity. The more cold calls you make, the more ready-made answers to tricky questions and objections you will have prepared, because in general they will answer you in approximately the same way.
Smile. And finally, the last important rule of any cold calling technique is to smile during a conversation - this way your voice will sound more friendly and relaxed, which, of course, will be positively assessed by your interlocutor, and will give you a better chance of achieving your goal.
Now you have an idea of what cold calling is, what it is for, and what cold calling techniques and methods look like. Practice, gain experience, improve your skills, and you will certainly achieve the desired success.
I wish you great results from your work! See you again at !
Don't be robotic when communicating with your potential clients. You know everything about the product, but what do you know about those you are calling? A cold call is a call that your potential client is not expecting and without prior preparation the chances of establishing contact with him are very low. Therefore, you should forget about a simple “calling the list”, because everyone with whom you communicate is a real person with their own problems and concerns. Try to collect as much information about it as possible before contacting the company. Talk to someone in the customer service department and find out what they offer their customers. The more you know about the company, the better: if the other day company X you are calling closed a profitable deal and wrote about it in the press, you can start the conversation with congratulations. Although the knowledge itself about what the company does will not be superfluous.
Rule 2. Get to the decision maker
The purpose of the call is not to sell, but to set up a meeting. Many sellers forget about this. How seriously do you take telephone “spam” that takes you away from important tasks in the middle of the workday in order to “push” something? It's never very pleasant. The main thing in a telephone conversation is your voice and attitude. Even a smile can be felt over the phone. But don't overdo it.
If you realize that you are talking to a person who is not competent in making decisions about a meeting, ask to connect you to the one who is responsible for this - the decision maker (DM). Remember that you are not selling, but asking if the company is interested in the product or service you offer.
It is important that the phrase be said: “If you generally like the proposal, we can continue the discussion, if not, then no, okay?” As a rule, this clear position will find a positive response on the other end of the line. The main thing in this matter is how you control yourself and how you control your voice. When used correctly, this cold calling technique is very effective.
Rule 3. Respect yourself and your competitors
As a rule, the company you are calling not only has established relationships with suppliers of goods or services from among your competitors, but also periodically receives calls of this kind from dozens of organizations. You shouldn’t question the choice, try to denigrate your competitor, or turn the conversation into “but we have it better, we have it cheaper.” Never speak badly about your competitors! Praise them for their “beautiful eyes” and yourself for your professionalism: “Are you served by company X? Yes, they have a beautiful logo, but what about the quality of service? Are you satisfied with it?
Nothing devalues a product more than the desire to sell it immediately. As a rule, the desire to give yourself more significance and phrases like “I will make you an offer that you cannot refuse” are alarming and cause the opposite effect of what was expected. It's just annoying.
People love to talk about themselves and share their problems. Be prepared to listen to them. Ask the question: “Are you completely satisfied with the quality of the services (products) that X provides you, or is there still a need to improve something?” By establishing contact and arousing interest, you can understand whether everything is really so perfect.
Rule 4. No doesn’t always mean “no”
In the case of potential clients, the reason for “no” may be a simple lack of time or workload with other, higher priority tasks at the moment. This is fine. For example, when they answer you on that line: “I don’t have time for this,” this is an objection, and not a refusal at all. And you can use this as an opportunity to make an appointment and instead of “okay, I won’t bother you,” offer to meet to talk in more detail. Do not forget to specify the time and place of the meeting. Make an appointment in person: “I understand, it’s inconvenient over the phone. At a wrong time. Let's do this: I'll come to you to tell you everything. Will Wednesday at 11 o'clock suit you?
The line between importunity and persistence is very thin. When they tell you a categorical “no”, this is already a refusal. Do not cause a flurry of negative emotions on yourself, because all the negativity that pours on you will leave an unpleasant aftertaste and discourage you from working.
This is stress from which you will not be able to be effective and will have to recover. In such a situation, it is better to end the conversation and not cause damage to your psyche. Call again after some time if you are sure that there is potential interest in your products or services. The situation in the company may change and, most likely, after a series of refusals they will tell you: “Okay, let me listen to what you have there.” As the Chinese say, a drop wears away a stone not with its force, but with the frequency of its fall, so that over time the cold call ceases to be cold, which increases your chances of success.
Rule 5. Don't sell
Once again: the purpose of the call is not to sell. The purpose of the call is to set up a meeting. Make the person on the other end of the line want to meet you in person. Try to be different from everyone else who, just like you, calls and wants to sell something. To do this, you just need to be competent, evoke a pleasant impression on your interlocutor, and dilute the conversation with humor (but in moderation). During the conversation, it’s better to forget about money altogether. Think not about how much you will earn when you sell something to someone, but about your goal - why you want to earn money.
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