At a time when customers are smarter, well-informed, and have so many options to go for, persuading sales through cold calling has gotten even more challenging. Arguably, cold calling is still one of the best outbound strategies for sales and marketing. The only question is, do you have what it takes to engage and convince prospective new customers over the phone?
Persuasiveness is a must-have skill for any outbound sales team. Turning an entirely uninformed and uninterested lead into a paying customer takes a lot of persuasion and psychological smarts. In this article, we’ve got hacks for you to elevate your persuasion skills to next-level cold calling success.
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Does cold calling still work?
Cold calling, as the term implies, is a phone selling strategy that involves reaching out to a list of people to first introduce and promote a business or product. It has been one of the oldest sales strategies still practiced today. This is why many have been questioning its effectiveness in this digitally advanced world. With recorded analytics of customers’ purchase behavior readily available for businesses, why would salespeople still resort to cold calling?
Some might be calling it ‘dead’, but on the contrary, cold calling is still very much alive. It proves to still be effective for businesses despite big changes in the way people purchase. With the aid of technology, cold calling success is more attainable for salespeople today.
Tips for persuasive cold calling
Being persuasive over the phone is definitely more challenging than meeting your prospects personally. Customers have the option to drop the call or hang up which gives them control over your communication. However, the smartest salespeople know how to turn things around with the help of these tips.
Perform your script
Cold calling scripts are important for cold calling success, but if you deliver them like a robot, you might as well send them a passive email instead. Delivering your cold call script should not sound like you’re reading out of a manuscript. It should be an interactive performance where you, as a salesperson, should deliver it according to how your customer on the other line responds.
Your script should also include many actionable probabilities. What if your customer says no? You should also have a prepared script for that. Another way to get their attention is by asking them open-ended questions with ready-made responses.
Find the right timing
You may not know who you’ll be talking to or in what situation they are currently in, but respecting your customers’ time will get you places. Being persistent is one, but the right timing in closing a deal happens when your customer is ready to listen. Ask if it’s a good time to call, and if not, you can simply tell them you’ll call again at a better time, or ask them for a favorable schedule.
Also, keep track of the time of day when most calls are answered. Schedule your time in accordance with it to improve your productivity. According to a study, more prospects answer cold calls during Wednesdays and Thursdays, with 4-5 pm as the best time window.
Prepare for rejection
You will be rejected. That’s why you have to find ways to still be in control of the conversation. The thing with preparing for rejection is that you’ll be able to come up with knee-jerk reactions every time you feel your contact is turning you down.
Check your script. Add some points to consider based on your previous conversations and develop better ways to answer them. This way, you are studying how a customer would respond negatively and at the same time, learning how to bounce back from it.
Be flexible
Being persuasive is the art of applying behavioral flexibility. It’s being able to modify your spiel based on the response of the person you’re communicating with. It’s knowing when to push them deeper into a conversation, when to segue an offer, or when to stop.
Ask questions and listen to what your customer said or the way they responded. Did they sound interested or annoyed? Pick up from that observation and change your approach. You can find a lot of opportunities to bring up just by listening to their responses closely.
Build relationships
It’s hard to persuade a person whose trust you haven’t earned yet. Open a conversation by sounding friendly yet still respectful. Prepare an introduction worthy of their time.
Don’t expect them to listen to you like an old friend. Relationships are built over time, and you need more effort to do that. After the call, you can send a follow-up email, a text message, maybe a seasonal greeting or an offer that will make them think you’ve closely paid close attention to them during your call.
Team up with technology
Haven’t we said cold calling is made easier today? Advanced contact center solutions have come up with reliable features that are efficient for outbound call success. From automation tools that instantly call customers for you, to AI-led technologies that detect bad numbers or even skip voicemails, cold calling success is much more achievable today.
Find advanced solutions that can help you level up your outbound. Some of the important features to look for are auto dialing, workflow automation, and follow-up sequencing. You can also use technology to better understand customer behavior, and keep them in your records for future prospecting.
Aloware for cold calling success
With all these in mind, you can opt for a platform that specializes in cold calling and outbound success. Boost your outbound sales with Aloware’s turn-key contact center solution. You can even back up your cold calling efforts with SMS and MMS with its text-enabled phone lines.
Complete with advanced contact center features, Aloware runs fully in the cloud, so you can bring in sales from anywhere using any device. Make your conversations flow naturally as you go. Speed up the calling process with auto dials and voicemail drops, so you can spend more of your time in meaningful conversations. We still have so much in store for you! How about scheduling a quick call to know more?
