Once you have cold calling lists, you need to know how to use them effectively. Lead lists are not free and often not cheap. Once you have your list, the trick is to know how to use it effectively, so you’re not wasting your time or the money you paid for those leads.
And we would know. At RingByName business communication is our business. Cloud-based phone service and VoIP provider is what is says on our business cards. With our EZ Score software, we can help you create a more productive sales team.
From start to finish, we offer a cold calling strategy that is effective. Once you have your cold calling lists, start here and work on how to fully maximize the ROI on each minute you spend on the phone.
Organize Your CRM Software
Enter in all the information you have into your CRM software. You can use cold calling CRM software, or a word doc, whatever you have access to. The important thing is to correctly maintain all your cold calling information.
If you are messy, unorganized, or completely new to this, we recommend using CRM software. RingByName offers inexpensive CRM software for small businesses as well as the E-Z Score feature which allows you to pull up client info with just a phone number. We gather demographic data like name, email, household income, social media profiles, etc. With EZSCORE, you don’t have to worry about staying organized- we will do it for you.
Consider E-ZSCORE for your business.
Cold Calling Strategy
Make a Calling Schedule (and stick to it)
When is the best time to make cold calls? Every cold calling expert has a different answer. The best time to call is when your schedule allows it and customers are the most receptive. For most that means:
- If you are running a small or medium sized business, you might not be able to make calls every morning, or afternoon. Your best bet may be 4 – 5 PM Mon thru Thurs.
- If you are a salesman working at a real estate office, it may be 8 – 9 AM Mon thru Sun.
For the most part, you are always better off calling early in the morning before people settle into work or at the end of the day when they are winding down from a long to do list.
Make the Same Number of Calls
Find a number that works for you and allows you to maintain your sanity. Trying to make 300 calls a day is impossible. Trying to make 1 cold sales call a day is unproductive.
Small business owners and non-dedicated sales staff should aim for at least 5 an hour and at most 15. Once your cold calling time is up, stop calling. The aim is to make sales, but you shouldn’t burn yourself out.
Track the number of calls you’re making in your CRM software (cough, cough, e-z Score) or word doc.
Remove All Distractions
Because most of us don’t like cold calling, its just difficult. For that reason, its easy to get distracted and most people would welcome the distraction or excuse to stop.
But you cannot stop.
Remove all distractions for that hour. No email, no music in the background, no social media, no text messages… you get the point. Nothing but cold calling.
Develop a Cold Calling Script
There are lots of cold calling scripts for small businesses online. You can pick anyone of them or write one up yourself. We have found that there are 3 things that all cold calling scripts should have:
- Your name (first and last)
- How you found them
- Why you are calling
Remember that your cold calling script should be dynamic, always changing based on what works. An easy way to determine what works is to print out your script.
Make a mark near every part of the script that receives a reaction. Tally up the good reactions (keep those), tally up the bad reactions (lose those) and tally up the neutral reactions (change those to fit the good reactions).
Tracking
This is where your CRM software (ezScore)/word doc come in handy.
You should be tracking absolutely everything.
- How many calls you made
- What script was used for what call
- All the answers (yes and no)
- When you follow up
- Voicemail or not
- Notes next to client that highlight interesting queries or statements they made
- Appointments for follow ups
Cold calling techniques that really work are not universal. You need to keep track of what is working for you.
Cold Calling Tips and Tricks (Important to Remember)
Goals
- Do not expect to make sales on the first call, in fact, avoid selling on the first call. Instead, try to get a commitment to a bigger presentation. A simple yes or no.
- Calculate how much your time is worth hourly. You should be making sales every month that make it worthwhile.
- It takes time. You might not see your first results until the second month.
Staying Motivated
- Remember that every “no” is valuable. You just saved yourself a lot of time and learned something about your pitch or potential client/industry/niche.
- Practice self-motivating mantras. Learn to forget or laugh off bad calls.
- Keep cheesy lines around your desk to keep you going.
Communication
- Don’t leave voice mails unless you have already spoken with them and received a yes or small commitment.
- Don’t talk too fast but don’t waste their time talking too slow either.
- Practice your phone voice.
Cold calling is about as fun and as necessary as a trip to the dentist. Succeeding in cold calling will trickle into all other aspects of small business sales. If you can cold call well, you can pitch, you can network, you are prepared for anything.
Get this right and your knack for sales will follow naturally.
RingByName provides communication tools to small to mid-sized businesses.
