Though making an effort towards something is highly commendable, rewards only come to people who obtain results. Cold calling prospective buyers can be a trying experience, (it is actually the most challenging part of making a sale), yet it is not enough to just try.

If you are going to make the effort, then make it count. Make it worth the time and money invested into it. If done properly, cold calling just happens to be a very effective sales technique. This has in fact been successful in the IT industry – a sixty percent response rate to cold calls or unsolicited emails. To help sharpen your cold calling skills, here are four cold calling strategies that your company can utilize to make more sales.

Do Not Aim To Close The Deal When You Call

Please do not push for a sale on your cold call. The aim of the call should be to secure a later appointment with the potential customer so that you can make your sales pitch. This appointment does not have to be a face-to-face meeting. It could as well be another scheduled telephone call. When requesting the appointment, specify the time. If you afterwards choose to conduct the whole sales process over the telephone, which may be more convenient in this fast-paced and busy world, make sure that you are well versed in credit card fraud prevention for telephone payments.

Research, Plan and Rehearse

Research the market and locate the people worth calling. This includes people such as potentially big buyers, the people within an organization that is responsible for making buying decisions, and so on. Find out everything you can about the prospect you are going to talk to before you call them up.

Have a good and well-rehearsed opening line. First impressions matter – even on the phone – and the first ten seconds of your conversation could be what makes or breaks your deal. Find out what will trigger your prospect’s desire to buy or what will prevent them from buying. Understand their pain points. Get to know what is important to them.  After you do this you can prepare a script for your call which will act as a framework for your conversation.

Plan the questions you are going to ask. Ask eye-opening questions that are related to your product and that will reveal to them their need for it. Rehearsing what you are going to say will help to build your confidence.

Let the conversation be centred on them. Focus on their needs. Use the call to gather information. The more information you can dig out, the easier it will be for you to assess the purchasing potential of your prospect and then go on to make a sale. Listen and interpret. Take notes and keep good records of the call. This will help you to maintain a good relationship with the prospect.

Be Brief

Be clear and concise about your reason for calling. Have a very strong reason for requesting an appointment with them. A cold call is essentially an intrusion on your prospect’s time. Show that you value their time by getting straight to the point and not allowing the conversation to wander. Your prepared script will help you stay on track.

Send A Promotional Item Ahead Of Your Call

This is a strategy that Pat Cavanaugh employs and it has worked marvellously for his company. Such items make room for you and warm up your prospect to your cold call. It also makes the conversation easier to carry because they are already informed about your product.

Conclusion

Most people, in general, do not like to be cold called. Do you? By using the above strategies, you can pave the way for success in your sales through cold calling.