15 Expert Cold Calling Techniques To Close Deals (With Templates)
Do you know 57% of C-level buyers want salespeople to reach out to them over call? That’s one reason why the internet is overflowing with tips and techniques for cold calling.
However, without the right approach, you can’t expect great results. That’s why there are only some techniques that work in your favor. Our client Bob followed them and has closed 3 times more deals in couple of months. Here they are for you as well with 5 cold calling script templates!
But before looking at the cold calling techniques that really work, let’s learn a little about cold calling.
Table of Contents
- What is Cold Calling?
- Common Myths and Misconceptions of Cold Calling
- Effective Cold Calling Techniques
- 1. Do your research before reaching out
- 2. Use a sales call script
- 3. Don’t use the cold calls script like a robot
- 4. You can sell more by making more calls
- 5. Quit after four attempts
- 6. Follow the script
- 7. Use the right voice techniques
- 8. Call at a suitable time
- 9. Learn how to overcome objections
- 10. Influence the prospect’s behaviour with social proof
- 11. Ask more open-ended questions
- 12. Leave a voicemail
- 13. Replace ‘I’ with ‘We’
- 14. Spend time on scheduling the next steps on call
- 15. Close the call to book a meeting with this question
- Cold Calling Script Templates to Sky Rocket Sales
- FAQs
What Is Cold Calling?
Cold calling is a sales activity that salespeople indulge in to reach out to potential customers who have not shown interest in the products or services you offer. The cold calling techniques are also to get the attention of prospects over the phone without any prior contact.
Cold calling forms a part of the early stages of the sales cycle and is the most important one for any business.
Over time, cold calling has seen progress from just being a task where a sales rep reads out the sales pitch to a communication technique that boosts sales.
Cold calling is a challenging activity as you reach out to a person who isn’t aware of you or what you have to offer. It is more of an art that involves approaching people professionally and meaningfully and placing a worthy proposition before them.
Common Myths and Misconceptions of Cold Calling
Cold calling is an effective technique of acquiring leads and does fetch good results, but there are many myths associated with it. Let’s look at what they are a debunk them.
1. Cold calling is illegal
There is also a popular misconception that cold calling isn’t legal. While different countries have specific rules and regulations that salespeople have to follow, cold calling is legal.
2. Cold calling is dead
Some people even say that cold calling is dead. However, that is not true because many businesses depend on cold calling to drive sales. That holds good for Fortune 500 companies as well as startups.
Therefore, cold calling is a legal and effective way of bringing in customers and boosting sales.
While cold calling is not dead, you can’t stick to the practices followed back in the 90s. Many changes have taken place in the last two decades, and to make cold calling work in 2021, you have to adapt to them.
3. Cold calling is intrusive
This is true. Nobody wants to get bugged with a call from a stranger in the middle of important work. However, it all depends on how you make the call. It won’t sound intrusive if you call to gather information about the prospect’s needs and how your product can fulfill them.
The thought that you are intrusive when you make cold calls stems from what we learned as a child and that it is not right to interrupt a person who is busy. I repeat that it all depends on how you handle the call.
Start by letting them know that it is a cold call and only proceed after getting a nod. Be natural and avoid dictating prospects what to do. Ask them questions and give your suggestions. Avoid being too rigid with the call script and being the center of attention. You have to be as customer-centric as you can.
You can qualify the lead and decide as a salesperson whether or not the prospect is a good fit. However, choose to end a call on a positive note by probably giving them a few tips they could use.
4. You can sell more by making more calls
It may look true, but the quality of your cold calls and how persistently you follow up also matter. There is an increase in success rate with an increase in the number of attempts you make. You can’t expect to close the deal right after your first call. There have to be follow-up calls ( at times up to 5) to see any outcomes.
It is not the quantity but the quality that matters more. You may lose the chance of closing the deal if you don’t follow up and put in the effort to know your products well.
You can get good results only if you are a great salesperson – A winning salesperson is usually the one who is super-confident and can have a conversation with just about anyone. It is a massive myth in the sales world. The real qualities a salesperson needs are being courteous, being professional, and having an interest in the prospect. It is high time to bust the myths associated with the definition of a great salesperson.
5. Quit after four attempts
Study says that 10% of sales get closed after four follow-ups, but 80% are successful after following up 5-12 times.
It clearly indicates that if you stop following up after your 4th attempt, you lose the chance of closing the deal. The fact is that as buyers have all the details they need available to them quickly, they do their research and ask you to get back to them after a while. It may require you to follow up several times, but the chances are that they would purchase your solution when you contact them after they complete their research.
6. Follow the script
This is not necessary. You can’t just read the script over the phone as it would be too irritating for the other person. It has to be an active conversation without reading out the script word for word. Using it as a guide would be much better. Record the calls and listen to them to understand what part of the cold calling scripts fetches better results and where you need to improve. Also, all the sales reps should know their product or service inside out to sound confident over the phone. You have to prepare yourself for any question that comes across your prospect’s mind. Not being able to answer can show you in poor light.
Effective Cold Calling Techniques
Here are some cold calling techniques that really work! They will help boost your B2B sales,
1. Do your research before reaching out
This technique is amongst the most important ones for cold email outreach. You can’t undermine the importance of doing your research before calling prospects. Prospects would appreciate the fact that you managed to get enough information about them before the call. Researching can help you start a better conversation with the prospect and show that you are interested in them. It will help you build stronger bonds.
Try to get started by checking their company website, social media, and professional networking sites like LinkedIn. Firstly, look for the latest news about the prospect’s company on their website, find out the company’s backstory, and see whether you know any of the board members. Looking at the careers page will give you an idea of the different open positions and the required skill set.
Apart from the above-mentioned company-related research, you also need to know about the prospect to be impressive.
Also, learn about their education, professional background, role in the company, recent achievements, hobbies, interests, and most importantly, find out whether you have any mutual connections.
2. Use a sales call script
Cold calling can be a challenging task even for experienced salespeople. It can get you nervous and anxious, leading to stumbling or speaking too fast. That is not good when you have to make sales, and therefore, having a script would help.
Using a script is one of the best cold calling techniques as it offers many benefits. With a polished script, you can bring clarity to your thoughts and refine your approach.
It can also be easier to improve the sales team’s selling skills because if one of the reps deviates from the script and finds a better way out, it gets shared with the entire team.
Also, sales cold calling scripts can support reps on their low-performance days and save them from delivering poor results.
You can begin with a basic script for your campaign. Feel free to make changes in it as you progress, because, over time, you can find out what prospects like and what they don’t.
3. Don’t use the cold calls script like a robot
While using a sales pitch can be helpful, you shouldn’t sound like a robot reading out the lines word by word. Try using the script like how an actor would and improvise on it. Your human emotions should be there in the conversation. Begin with memorizing the introduction well and be ready with open-ended questions to get the conversation flowing. Prepare yourself for the answers to common questions. Be thorough with the script but keep the emotions alive.
4. Use a strong opening sentence
Over the phone, you have only ten seconds to prove your worth to the prospect. After a quick introduction, you can shift your focus on what you know about the prospect through your research. As your opening sentence matters, you can begin with complimenting the prospects on their latest achievement.
Here are a few examples,
1. Congratulations on your promotion!
2. I saw your article on the XYZ website.
3. Your work on the ABC project inspires me.
5. Don’t give a chance to hang up
The ultimate goal of every sales call is to keep the prospect on the line. As the other person doesn’t know you, they would not be too keen to speak with you. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make sure that the other person doesn’t get a chance to hang up. So, it is better to avoid asking, “Is now a bad time?”. The prospect would say yes just to shut you down. Try to capture the prospect’s interest with personalized statements instead so that they want to continue speaking to you. This is one of the best cold calling techniques.
6. Accept rejection
Getting rejected is nothing to be ashamed of. It is part and parcel of sales. The truth is that there is no one in sales who has not faced rejection.
People can be rude to you at times, and it may be discouraging, but you can’t let the fear of rejection slow you down. Just remember that you shouldn’t take it personally.
If someone declines your offer, do politely ask them the reason for it so that you know where you went wrong. It may not always be because of you; at times, the reason for turning you down can be the product’s price or the fact that they didn’t need it. Understand the pattern and make tweaks in your cold calling strategies but don’t let rejection block your path.
Be a true salesperson and embrace rejection. This is one of the best cold calling strategies around.
7. Use the right voice techniques
One of the best cold calling sales techniques is the proper use of your voice. Apart from your words, the success of your cold call depends on the tone of your voice. The prospect would judge you by your tone of voice and decide whether to trust you or not. Therefore, you should keep a few things in mind,
a. Keep your volume level right to sound confident
The prospect usually notices your volume first. If your volume is too low, it will show your lack of confidence, and the other person will pass you off as nervous or afraid. It would be a total bummer for your sales call. On the other hand, shouting over the phone is not acceptable either. It will make you look like an aggressive person. Your voice should not be jarring to hear.
Between being too timid and too loud is a spot that you should settle for. Just make sure that you are a little louder than average so that the prospect can hear what you have to say. The prospect will feel that you are a confident person who knows what he is doing.
b. Keep your pace optimal
Speaking at a slow pace can make the prospect think that you are unsure about what you are saying and may not show interest. However, talking at a breakneck speed can do you no good either. Just let your pace be lukewarm i.e., in between both the extremes. Keep it a little above average so that you seem intelligent and confident.
c. Use confidence-building body language
While making cold calls, sit up straight, look above the ground, and smile. Though the prospect can’t see you, they can feel your vibes from your voice. It will give you a boost and make you sound full of energy and confidence.
Note: To master the right tone, try to listen to call recordings and hear your voice. It will tell you where you have to improve.
8. Call at a suitable time
One of the most essential cold calling techniques is to check the timing of your call. You have to ensure that you don’t disturb the prospect at the wrong time. For instance, calling a prospect on the second half of Friday is not a good idea. At this time, everyone waits to finish off work and get into their weekend mode. They would not want to attend any cold sales calls.
On a similar note, Monday morning is another wrong time to call people. It is the beginning of the week, and people are dragging themselves to the office and feeling sad about the weekend getting over.
The best days to call are Wednesdays and Thursdays, either early morning between 6:45 and 9 am or later in the day between 4 and 5 pm.
9. Learn how to overcome objections
Another, one of the most important cold calling techniques is to overcome objections. In cold calling, the prospect on the other end will try to get off the phone, but your job is to keep the conversation going. For that, knowing how to overcome objections is essential.
Here are a few of the common ones you would face,
1. The prospect asks you to send them an email – This is quite common, and to overcome it, say, “I will email you for sure but to know what to include in it, can I ask you….” Doing so will keep the conversation moving ahead.
2. The prospect says, ‘There is no time to talk now’ – You will hear this often but as a reply, tell them – “That’s not a problem, when can I reach you for a 2-minute conversation?” You won’t sound too desperate here and let them know that you require only 2 minutes of their time. Doing so will make the prospect continue the call.
3. The prospect says, “I can’t decide right now. Call me next week” – This is usually the scenario in large companies where there is the need for the approval of many people to purchase a product or service. But you can’t leave the prospect without knowing what to do in the meanwhile.
Try to ask where the meeting will take place and whether you can be a part of it. Explain the prospect about the rest of the steps to take the deal forward.
10. Influence the prospect’s behaviour with social proof
The truth is that the behavior of other humans influences us. It holds good in selling too. Tell your prospect the story of another client of yours facing similar challenges and how your product or service helped them. Presenting social proof on your call with the prospect will make them more likely to close the deal.
11. Ask more open-ended questions
Use this cold calling technique to increase the chances of getting a response from the prospect, asking questions beginning with how, what, who, when is one of the best cold calling techniques that work.
For example, you can ask, “How would you feel about trying a new platform for cold outreach?” instead of asking, “Would you like to try out a new cold outreach platform?”
You have to get the prospect talking to learn as much as possible, such as their needs and expectations. Asking questions such as the one above will increase the chances of a discussion over the call.
12. Leave a voicemail
When you can’t reach the prospect, consider leaving a voicemail. Make sure you keep it 20 to 30 seconds long. Instead of thinking about the reply, focus on building trust.
Begin the voice mail by saying who you are and give your connecting statement. In the end, try to arouse the prospect’s curiosity so that they want to hear more from you.
Try to use social proof and stats to make it sound more compelling.
13. Replace ‘I’ with ‘We’
Remember to replace your ‘I’ with ‘We’ to make your cold call a success. There is no room for ‘I’ in a team. It is like bringing in the spirit of teamwork that gives out positivity.
Research says that the We-to-I ratio in successful calls is 35 percent higher than unsuccessful sales calls.
On similar lines, say ‘Our ‘ instead of ‘My’ or ‘Mine’. The Our-to-My ratio in successful calls is 55 percent higher than that of unsuccessful sales calls.
Therefore, it means that the use of collaborative language fetches you better results.
14. Spend time on scheduling the next steps on call
One of the most essential cold calling techniques is to schedule the next steps in the call. All the successful cold calls devote more time to discussing what the next step would be. In some, more than half of the conversation is about moving to the next stage of the sales cycle.
Those reps who have a long sales pitch run out of time and cannot talk about what the next steps should be. Another reason for failing to talk about the next steps is not keeping the prospect on the line.
The solution for this is to keep the sales pitch shorter so that you can capture the prospect’s interest and schedule the next steps without having to rush through it.
15. Close the call to book a meeting with this question
If your call is going well and you have made the prospect ready for a meeting, you have almost made it. You are just one step away from scheduling it, but how should you ask that to the prospect? The closing question is simple,
“Do you have your calendar with you?”. Doing so will expedite the process of scheduling the meeting. Try using it to get the best results.
So, we have seen plenty of cold calling techniques that you would find useful. Hope now you know how to make cold calls!
Cold Calling Script Templates to Sky-Rocket Sales
After learning the best cold calling tips, here are a few cold calling script templates you can use,
Template #1
Hi, {{Prospect_Name}}, this is {{your_name}} from {{company}}. How is your {{day}} so far?
I know that you get many calls every day so I won’t take much of your time.
Our company helps businesses to {{mention what you can help them achieve eg: save time}}. This is possible by {{solution}} so that it {{benefits}}
{{Name_prospect}} , do you want to see how it works?
[After the prospect says yes]
Great! {{Name_prospect}}, Can I please know who else is a part of the decision-making process for a product like ours? And how do you go about it when there is a purchase discussion? Can I see them too?
How will you make the decision when you find our product or service to be suitable?
[After their answer]
Great, {{Name_prospect}}. It sounds good. Is it possible to have a video call on {{day}} and {{time}}?
This is a sample template of a cold call that you can use to introduce yourself and mention what your company does. You can also ask about the decision-makers of the prospect’s company.
Template #2
((Name_prospect}}, is this a good time to speak to you?
[After they say yes]
Great, thanks. I only want two minutes of your time to tell you the purpose of my call. If you have any questions after that I would be glad to answer them. If not, I won’t waste your time. Okay?
[After they say yes]
Ok great! I called you because I went through your website and came to know that you are recruiting developers for your company. It can be a tough task to find them and have them on board. We have software that helps in performing the preliminary screening and have a success rate of 90%. That helps in helping you hire people who will be assets to the company.
Are you using any system to hire employees your company needs?
[After they answer – Yes, we do.]
That’s great! We can help you by doing the job much better than your existing system.
OR
[After they answer – No, we don’t.]
That is something we get to hear quite often and I guess we have to talk about it in detail. Does a call for next week work well for you?
[If they say – Yes]
Great, what would be a good time to connect?
This is yet another cold call outreach template you can use.
Template #3:
This is {{your_name}} from {{name_company}}
Congrats on your promotion. How do you find the new role?
[Wait for the prospect to reply]
That’s great!
I work with CEOs in {{industry name}} and they are usually looking for {{goals}}. Do you too want to achieve the same?
[Wait for the prospect to reply]
Can you tell me more about it?
[Listen to the pain points of the prospect and proceed]
This template is best to congratulate the prospect on their promotion and break the ice.
Template #4:
Hi {{Name_prospect}}, this is {{your_name}} from {{name_company}}. Though I didn’t get the opportunity to meet you, {{mutual_connection}} eg: front office staff Hillary, suggested I contact you. She said that you are the right person to get in touch with for technology decisions.
Is this a good time to speak to you?
I will speak to the point. Most of our existing customers are quite similar to your company and they are able to scale up with the help of the tools of our software company. We {{name_company}} specialize in developing tools that help small to medium size businesses earn more profit.
It would be great if we can have a 15 minutes call next week to discuss more on this. We can learn more about your organization’s work process and understand how our software can help you save money and earn more profit.
Does next Tuesday work for you?
As you can see in this template there is a mention of a mutual connection to make the prospect get more interested in talking to you.
Template #5:
Hi {{name_prospect}}.
I am {{your_name}} with {{name_company}}.
I will take just a few minutes of your time.
While scrolling through your website, I got to know that you are hiring sales reps. Most of your competitors are using {{name_solution}} to get help in reaching out to qualified prospects and get more meetings booked.
Our tool has been able to cut the time taken in onboarding new sales reps in half.
I felt it would be great to start with a call to understand your concerns.
Do you want to get connected on Wednesday or Thursday at 3 pm for a demo?
This template is suitable when you want to schedule a demo.
Get Ready To Win At Cold Calling!
Before you get on to your next sales call, consider the cold calling sales tips you read above. They will help you get the desired results. It is not mandatory to follow all of them as that would not be a practical approach. You can use the best outreach tools for help as well. Just try the different techniques to see what works for you and what doesn’t. That is the only way to keep improving your cold calling techniques and add more prospects to the sales funnel.
Just like Bob, you can also see a drastic change in your sales numbers once you get a hang of the cold calling tips!
Happy cold calling!
FAQs
Cold calling is a sales activity that salespeople indulge in to reach out to potential customers who have not shown interest in the products or services you offer.
There is a popular misconception that cold calling isn’t legal. While different countries have specific rules and regulations that salespeople have to follow, cold calling is legal.
Some people even say that cold calling is dead. However, that is not true because many businesses depend on cold calling to drive sales. That holds good for Fortune 500 companies as well as startups.
