Cold calls are what?

Who works in sales, he certainly knows about cold calls.

And at the mention of this concept many people shiver through the body, as not all salesmen like to ring potential customers with the proposal of possible cooperation.

The name of the calls was not spurious, it is directly related to the fact that the interlocutor will not be notified of the upcoming telephone conversation, so with a high probability his answer will be "cold" and nothing promising.

As a result, the sales manager can at best face a polite rejection or slight irritation, and at worst a rude response.

For this reason, many employees of the marketing department are afraid of making each cold call, which, naturally, negatively affects the results of their work.

Therefore, today we will take a closer look at the information that is shaking the question, , what is cold calls, and try to figure out how to make them effective and not so frightening.

Cold Calls: Explanation

Cold calls are one of the marketing tools when a sales employee calls to companies that have not previously had any contacts in order to attract them to the ranks of their potential customers.

Pay attention to the last phrase - attracting customers.

Not instant sales or conclusion of transactions, as many believe, but the supply of their goods and services, but with a small remark - the ability to interest the opponent in future cooperation.

And in this appointment of cold calls you can be sure if you compare them with similar types of telephone sales, namely with warm and hot.

• warm calls are made to those companies that are already familiar with the seller;
• hot calls have the goal of already bringing past agreements to the result in the form of a deal.

The next thing we'll go over in the analysis of what cold calls are, will be understanding when they are relevant:

• if you sell / offer goods / services that will definitely be needed by certain customers( for example, a tailoring factory will needin suppliers of fabrics, accessories, sewing equipment, as well as in services for its maintenance and repair);
• if you sell / offer goods / services that companies of different orientation will need on a periodic basis only if necessary( for example, it can be repair of office equipment and other equipment);
• if you sell / offer goods / services that are not mandatory, but may be of interest to various companies( for example, printing services, advertising campaigns, delivery of meals, sale of licensed software);
• if you sell / offer goods / services that clients constantly need, but always look for more profitable offers, and for this reason they may be interested in a new offer( freight, courier services).

What do cold calls mean in practice?

The dry definition of a concept is, of course, good, but let's now talk about what cold calls mean in practice.

To make a successful cold call effective, it is necessary to work according to the following scheme:

1. Definition of the purpose of the conversation: to offer cooperation, to talk about your company or about a new product / service.
2. Finding the person who makes the decision( decision maker).
3. If the last item failed, call the receptionist.
4. Bypass the Secretary.
5. Exit to the decision maker.
6. Meet the decision maker, identify the needs of the company, present the product / service, if necessary, work with objections.
7. End the call.

More details on how to bypass the secretary, which can be a serious obstacle to reaching the DM.

Since there is always a lot of calls in the waiting room, they can decide for themselves that the company does not need anything and just finish the conversation.

We'll also talk in detail about how the telephone conversation itself is going on.

How to get around the secretary to go to the DM?

Not always on the company's website you can find contacts of the director or the supply department, which is engaged in procurement, so you will have to call in the reception.

And the secretary will not always be friendly and will not give out "working from the left" to the director or the purchasing department.

Therefore, we offer you several scenarios of how you can get around the secretary and get the coveted number of the DM:

Scenario name	Scenario
You are a big boss, not a sales employee	- Calls Ivanov, connect to the director. .. The phrase should sound confident andclearly, and even better with a touch of arrogance or urgency. Most often, the secretary will not even ask you what kind of question you are calling, and will quickly connect you.
You are a very big boss of	- you are concerned about the receptionist of Ivanov. Connect me to the director. There is no need for a brazen tone. You need to impress the assistant of your leader.
Negotiate with the secretary	- Good afternoon. I would like to consult with you about who is best contacted from the purchasing department. Friendly tone will not leave anyone indifferent. In addition, the phrase "to consult" really affects people.
Letting the secretary know that he is a very important person in the company	- Good afternoon. You are probably the only person who is aware of this issue, and only you can help me. With such a phrase, you will raise the status of secretary, and he will be flattered by your attention, so he will gladly connect you with the DM.
To pretend that you have already cooperated	- Good afternoon. Connect with the purchasing department, you need to discuss some points. In this voice intonation should be exactly the same as it is when you call customers with whom you have long been cooperating.
Ask a question, the answer to which will be known only by those who are engaged in purchasing	- Good afternoon. What kinds of fabrics does your company work with? Not every secretary is aware of such issues, so he will offer to connect you with the purchasing department.
Call another department of	- Hello. Connect me to the department, I'm on the job. Or: - Hello, I'm interested in your products, who can I talk to in more detail? Also such information can be found on the company's website, most often contacts of the personnel department or sales there. Having their number on hand, you can call there and pretend that you are not there: - Good afternoon. Is it the purchasing department? - No, this is the personnel / sales department. - Can you connect with the procurement? Most likely you will be connected, because workers really can think that you have something mixed up.

Tell the secretary about the commercial proposal is not necessary, making decisions for the whole company is not exactly part of his duties.

Note: if the secretary gives you the DMP contacts, then immediately find out his name on the spot.

5 stages of conversation during a phone call

Next in the discussion of what cold calls mean, there will be a description of the telephone conversation scheme.

It is he who is the main goal of the sales manager, and the result will depend on the opportunity to cooperate with the potential client.

Remember that you do not need to sell the goods, you need to collect information about the buyer, analyze it and agree with him about the meeting for further discussion of the details of the cooperation.

To visually demonstrate the stages of the conversation, we suggest you look at the diagram below:

So, now we will take a closer look at each stage:

1. Introduction

   Start the conversation with a greeting.

   It's best to use "Good Morning", "Good Morning", "Good Evening", than the banal "Hello".Then introduce yourself and tell which company you are calling from.

   Note: it's better not to say that you are a sales employee, so as not to frighten off the interlocutor.

   After this, be sure to ask about whether the LPR can now speak( remember, we already bypassed the secretary).

   If not, please specify a more convenient time.

   You can offer yourself several options so that your opponent can not respond, which he can not do at all.

2. Establishing a contact

   Make a little focus on your interlocutor.

   After all, cold calls deserve their name only because of the mood of a possible buyer, and not because of the dryness and lack of emotionality of the sales manager.

   You can say that this expert was recommended to you, or something in the spirit of "Only you can help me."

3. Attraction of the customer

   Tell us about your company and the products offered, as well as their advantages and benefits that the buyer will be able to receive.

   At the same time, you should conduct a dialogue, not a monologue, and therefore, in order not to chatter without interruption, ask your interlocutor questions on the type of:

   • on what materials they work,
   • what they want to see what characteristics of the product or service,
   • planthey expand activities.

   During the conversation, be sure to record the information received, you will need it to compile an analysis of the made cold calls.

4. Arrangement for meeting

   Already during the conversation it will be clear whether the employee of the purchasing department is determined to continue communication or not.

   In this case, you can assign a full-time appointment to discuss all the details.

   To do this yourself, offer a few dates, so that the interlocutor certainly did not refuse.

5. Acknowledgment

   Whatever you come up with, bring the conversation to its logical conclusion.

   If an appointment is scheduled, confirm the date and time again, if not, thank for attention and say goodbye.

During a conversation during a cold call, there may be a so-called objection, which may involve a banal lack of interest in your products or services, as well as inappropriate conditions or the like.

What to do in this case, we'll talk in the section on preparing for the implementation of cold calls.

Cold calls are easy, if you prepare for them

Do you still do not believe us that cold calls are easy?

This is actually the case, but only with careful preparation.

If you act blindly, then you will quickly lose the desire to work with this method, and you will long be afraid to call strangers.

Therefore, we suggest that you prepare in advance:

1. Collecting customer information

   Many companies work with CRM-systems.

   They greatly facilitate the life of sales staff, especially in that they can maintain a database of current and potential customers, as well as record all types of calls, and compile their statistics.

   

   

   Information about the client should include:

   • Name of the PM;
   • what the company does, how long has it been in the market;
   • possible links.

2. Make a phone call script

   A script is a script.

   Of course, it is impossible to predict how the whole conversation will go, but you must have the preparations for the greeting, as well as the story of the company and the product.

3. Drawing up a scenario of work with objections

   Objections and refusals - that's what frightens in the cold calls of beginners.

   If you respond to every rejection "Thank you, bye", then your indicators will be zero.

   

   Remember that no one bites you, it's just a phone conversation, so relax and call. We are feeling emotionally

   Before the forthcoming cold call, try to turn off your thoughts about a possible refusal.

   Even if you gather at least some information about the company, this is already a good result, which can be used for further analysis.

Cold Calling Techniques

Now we offer you to understand what a cold call is, which can bring a positive result.

And for this it is necessary to follow such recommendations:

• The duration of the entire telephone call should not exceed 5 minutes.

  The golden mean will be a 3-minute call.

  Therefore, you should not spray on unnecessary phrases, but it's also not wise to speak quickly either.

  Find the golden mean between the rate of speech and the amount of information you provide.

• We remember that we do not sell anything.

  It is important for us to interest the client and agree on a meeting.

• The fact that through the phone you can not see the interlocutor, does not mean that you need to sit with an acidic face.

  By the intonation you can understand the mood, so smile.

  This will make the sound of the voice softer and benevolent.

• If it is possible, find out the name of the DM.

  This can be done at the stage of circumvention of the secretary, or make a preliminary call.

  The fact that you will address the interlocutor by name, to some extent, can put it to you.

• When composing a cold call script, do not use wildcard phrases.

  They immediately cut a rumor, and those who deal with purchases, listen to them ten times a day.

• Focus on the buyer company.

  Smaller "I" and "We", more "You", "Your company".

• More specifics in your offer.

  "Can not we meet. .?", But "How do you look at meeting on Thursday or Friday?".

  The first question is easy to get a refusal, and over the second - the interlocutor will think, and perhaps he himself will offer a more suitable day and time.

What you need to pay attention to when creating a script for successful phone sales, you will learn from the video:

4 errors of cold calls that fail to sell

And the last thing I would like to talk about in the analysis of cold calls is theirtypical mistakes, because these failed moments have long been a part of this topic.

Cold calls are a real failure if you:

• do not prepare for a conversation

  A cold call is always a specific conversation, which is also subject to regulations.

  All replicas must be clear, confident and thoughtful.

• will keep a monotonous monologue

  There may be a "two in one" error, or maybe separately.

  In any case, listen to a monotonous speech, as if recorded on the recorder, no one will want.

  Also the situation is with a long monologue.

  In addition to what you need to tell about yourself, you need to listen to the client and collect information about him.

• will not use words that show courtesy

  Elementary "thank you", "please" and "all the best" demonstrate good-order rules.

• will sell

  on the go. That's what causes irritation most of all, so many immediately say "no."

  During a cold call you need to interest the interlocutor, arrange it to yourself and invite to a meeting, which he will agree to.

In the end, let's say one thing, it's important not only to know, what cold calls are, it's important to use them in practice.

If after the first failure you drop your hands, you will never be able to understand how to work with this tool, which can still bring profit to your company.

Therefore, do not be afraid to call and communicate with people.

After making 100 calls, 101 is sure to end with success, because you can understand the psychology of customers, and already know in advance what will be told to you and what to answer.

Only in this case you can get customers.