How do you make a connection in a world where face-to-face networking is nearly impossible? Cold calling has always been a tactic to get clients and prospects but in a business climate where making personal connection has been made even more difficult, cold calling, cold-emailing and prospect marketing has once again become a necessity.

The world of sales is getting more and more challenging and a business needs to establish several ways of reaching potential customers. While cold calling my be the least comfortable of the tactics you employ it is critical for any sales organization. Often regulated to the rookies, cold calling requires a special discipline and process. Even the most seasoned sales professional may hit the wall when faced with the cold hard truth.

Now more than ever refining and perfecting an effective cold calling marketing strategy is important. Don’t rely on just a phone call, emails and retargeting can also become part of your outbound sales process. Layer in different approaches to help you land your prospects.

Cold calling has a bad reputation but when done effectively you can find the practice is a great way to pardon the pun ‘break the ice’ between you and prospect. To make your chilly outreach warmer follow these steps;

  • Be confident and focused
  • Set time aside to dedicate to outreach without interruption
  • Avoid Mondays and Fridays
  • Respect the gatekeepers and always be polite and professional
  • Target one level higher in the organization
  • Leave short, memorable, and whenever possible personalized messages
  • Assume you will not get a call back so make an impression
  • Target set number of contacts daily
  • Have a follow up plan ready
  • Be consistent with your process

Sending cold emails is also challenging but following a few best practices you can use an email follow-up to the call to solidify you position. Emails should;

  • Have an eye-catching subject line
  • Write brief copy; consider the three-sentence rule
  • Focus on grabbing attention, sparking interest, tapping into a desire and be clear on the action you want. This AIDA method is a great way to organize your pitch.
  • Personalize the emails and customize the content for each of your prospects.
  • Focus on addressing real pain points and keep your message authentic and relevant.
  • Keep an eye on metrics: Some benchmarks to consider are Open Rates 15-30% and Response Rate 10-30%, Unsubscribe under 2%. If your emails aren’t meeting these hurdles, it’s time to adjust.

Here are some sources to reference.

Jeffery Gitomer the Guru of modern salesmanship says to be “Creative, fast and have fun”. https://www.gitomer.com/the-cold-call-has-an-important-place-in-sales/

But since consumers and buy patterns are different your cold calling efforts must adjust to meet the prospect where they are. Do your research and have a plan vs. just relying on a canned  script. Don’t be disillusioned by NO. It is through rejection that you will learn how to hon your pitch. Stand up when you are making calls, posture effects the sound of your voice and the energy you convey. Being in the right mind space and physical environment greatly affects your success rate.

Finally track the results. Chart and analyze what openings are working and what objections are presented most often. Using these as a guide you can refine your approach into more targeted and effective messages. You are going to have to be more prepared when making cold calls in this current business climate.

So bundle up, load up your sales-sleigh and start delivering your business’ message to all the prospects on your list.