What does it take to excel at cold calling? The very thought of calling a person at random who has never spoken with you has neither any interest in you nor what you have to offer and downright has an inbuilt sense that you are intent on perpetuating a scam does not sit well with most of us.
Far from a natural skill, being thick-skinned must come either from self-realization that you are but a channel for the message of somebody else or despite what you are saying, in no way reflects on your integrity and sense of self-worth.
Tips and Tricks
There are several tricks and techniques that one can use to cold call. An article here on dezzain.com discusses several tools you can use to be effective. But there is not so much as to how to get around the inevitable butterflies you feel.
With every article, hopefully including this one, your first sentence has to contain a hook. There has to be something in your voice, the words you chose, and what you want to offer that at least keeps the person listening for the following sentence. You have to entice the audience with the promise of something. And it has to be offered so that it does not sound fictionally improbable. Offering a million-dollar bounty in the first few seconds is bound to raise suspicion.
What one has to One has the person with a few questions while establishing credibility with the person you are calling. The questions should enable you to figure out how to keep the prospect on the line and obtain enough information to fashion the following set of questions.
Being polite is important. And that can come across in your tone. As well as asking the usual throw-away line of how are you? But it is also essential to get across some information about who you are, your purpose, and that you promise not to take too much time.
Imagine, for example, you are selling printer supplies. After the initial opening, you certainly want to be sure you are reaching somebody who buys office supplies. An easy way to broach the subject would be to say you are conducting a market survey, perhaps trying to establish local demand or rank consumer knowledge.
Most people, by their nature, more than likely you included, are perfectly happy to share an opinion; and probably on things you never thought about. So the simple act of saying to somebody, “hey your idea is essential to me” is disarming. From there, you can steer the conversation accordingly.
Different Strokes for Different cold callers should have different scripts from which they can quickly switch depending upon the prospect’s reaction to the many other hands and offers some tips on video prospecting.
It is also essential to remember that just because you are soliciting work, it does not make you a wrong person. You are offering a service, paying for the call, and in a very real human way, helping the market know that whatever it is you are selling, it is available. Sure, there are going to be rude responses. You cannot predict where a person is in their day or life or how they were raised. But you do know you. And at the end of the day, it is you to yourself that you answer.
Put It In Writing
Writing to people unsolicited is a different challenge. Here, the entire page appears at once. In such a situation, the first paragraph must have a strong hook, and you cannot tailor your next statement based on the response. Instead, it would be best if you relied on having a good balance of text, graphics, and content.
If you consider, while slightly different, what web page designers build, you might observe that few pages are bursting with content – unless, for example, they are news. Instead, they try to pace themselves and follow established patterns.
The difference between web, cold calling, and writing is that when writing, you have a separate document that introduces you and what you are offering. And that is what purpose a cover letter serves.
With that letter, you are trying to hook the audience into considering the rest of the contents. When writing to a company, you can tailor your introduction. If you already you can tailor your introduction know about the audience, you might be going after a market segment. Again, though more generic, you can tailor your pitch accordingly.
Putting your best foot forward. But, at the same time, an old saying is a mantra that continues to apply. Remember when the person at the other end of the phone says hello or opens up a letter you have written?
