Cold Calling Tactics

I thought I would share some cold calling tactics I just finished writing:

Cold Calling Tactics for Inside Sales Hunters

1) Pre-Call:

I research their website and Google the contact by name. I do a “5 minute hurry up” on finding all I can about them-this way I don’t get bogged down in the details. Spoke and Hoover’s are good here as well. I read reviews on the company from different news groups if available also.

I assume that I am in the role of the person I am calling. It could be:

Manager of e-business
Email Marketing Manager
Interactive Marketing Manager
Director of E-Commerce
Director of Strategic Marketing
Manager of Email Marketing
VP of Marketing
Manager of Program Marketing

Or any other executive you are targeting.

I think about how they are evaluated on a performance and metrics basis and how the product/service I am selling will help them while making them look good politically within their organization. In other words, what is their Gain? Once they realize the above they will be invested in seeing the purchase through as a champion for me.

2) Call:

My sole and only agenda is only to get an appointment and get them invested in starting the process with me. When they hang up the phone after making an appointment with me I want them to be thinking:

This is one appointment I can’t miss or reschedule!
Who else needs to see this or be on the call?

I introduce, not go in depth, about the services/product I am selling with a focus on how we can help with the following:

ROI
Increasing Sales
Lowering Costs
Specifically how what I am selling will make their life easier.

You should feel comfortable, passionate, and happy when you call, as this is portrayed in your phone voice. Each person’s talk track will be customized to them. My talk track may be something along these lines:

3) Live Call exec answers:

Hello is this Sally? Yes. Sally Jones? Yes! My name is Mike Klein and I’m calling from a company by the name of Company, Inc. And what we do is ***Elevator pitch here*** *pause* this pause is important because you will know if:

They have heard about your company
Have time to talk
Are in a good mood to talk
Are interested in talking at all

by their next response. If they respond with anything positive….even “ok”……go for the close and get the appointment. Say…..so what I would like to do is schedule an appointment so I could discuss our services/product with you further. Regardless of if they ask further questions, give a brief answer and always come back to scheduling the appointment.

4) Live Call exec admin or other employee answers:

Hi, I am not sure I am calling the right department/person and I was hoping you could help me out. * Pause* I am looking for the person in charge of your **Need fullfilled here***on the marketing side. *Pause* They may have questions on who you are, what you are selling etc. They will have questions; just make sure you answer them Once you have a name, ask for their direct dial# and email address.

5) Voicemail of correct contact:

Hi Sally, My name is Mike Klein and I’m calling from a company by the name of Company, Inc. My phone number is 111-222-3333. I was doing some research on your website today and thought our services would be a good fit for your company. ***Tell what your product does and how it will affect their business positively.*** Some of our customers like Walmart, Siemens and Bizrate are seeing increased value and increased revenues by as much as 10% in 6 months. What I would like to do is schedule an appointment to discuss our services/product with you further. I’ll send you an email follow up to this voicemail, If you could return my call I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks Sally and make it a great day!

6) Some additional thoughts:

It takes 3 emails and 3 calls or voicemails to make 1 contact.

Don’t waste time by researching the correct contact more than 15 minutes at the very most; this is because you can get the correct contact by calling into the company and asking for them.

Analysis is paralysis don't get bogged down with the deatails and Keep it simple.

Motion craetes emotion, stand up some times and stretch. Stand while you are talking to someone on the phone.

A sale is made on every call you make, you sell the other person giving you information, the correct contact, an email address, a phone number, an appointment. Any way you look at it, you are selling one of those or something else. It is a Sale each and every time.

If you aren’t on the phone calling, you won’t make much $$.

Act as if. Act as if you are the expert on what it is that you are selling and this is something they absolutely can’t live without! Your passion will come through in your phone personality

Good Selling!

Now where's my coffee?