Whether you love it or hate it, prospect calling is part of the sales job. There’s a difference between prospect calling and cold calling, the latter which implies a lack of familiarity or consent from the person you’re trying to reach. Cold calling typically turns out to be an unproductive endeavor. While there are many ways to communicate with potential customers, there’s something connective about getting on the phone and hearing someone’s voice.
Amanda Bulat, senior content marketing manager for LinkedIn Sales & Marketing Solutions, says that if you find yourself dialing out for unsolicited outreach, you might try some alternative suggestions to be more productive.
In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we examine Bulat’s techniques to up your game when it comes to calling prospects.
1. Do some prospect calling research. Bulat says cold calling has become passé because it involves contacting someone you don’t know anything about and trying to sell them something they may or may not need. It’s not that it never works, but even if you get lucky, you’re skipping a critical step. Use the prospect intel tools at your disposal to do some quick research to warm up the conversation. You want to know enough about your prospect to be able to show your offer has value, Bulat says.
2. Make strategic connections. According to research by Vorsight, contacting someone when you have a second-degree connection increases conversion rates from 32 percent to 50 percent. Thanks to modern selling tools, it’s quick and easy to find out who you know in common with your prospect. Selling is an inherently social act. Don’t be afraid to ask for an introduction and to return the favor by doing the same for your teammates and colleagues.
3. Become a community member. Bulat isn’t just talking about LinkedIn—this applies everywhere. Join groups and engage in a dialogue. Find like-minded people and become a valued contributor to the conversation. Offer advice and ask pertinent questions to develop your online presence. This principle can be applied to other online spaces where your prospects bring their pressing business concerns into the public space.
4. Think like a marketer. Spend the time you would normally be pushing through a long list of cold calls to work on a reusable presentation or piece of content to send to your prospects. Marketers may have the creative, but you’re on the front line of understanding the needs of your clients and potential clients. Bulat says there are many free tools that enable sales professionals to easily create presentations to send to a specific client or be repurposed and improved on in the future.
Even if you’re deeply committed to cold calling, consider the merits of warming up the conversation before you even pick up the phone. When you can create a comfortable, organic conversation, you set yourself up for a successful interaction. With modern selling tools at your disposal, this task is easier than ever before.
Source: Amanda Bulat is senior content marketing manager for LinkedIn Sales & Marketing Solutions.
