SPONSORED ARTICLE
Is cold calling dead?
A
bsolutely not according
to CEO and Founder of
the Sales, Marketing and
Leadership consultancy
Business Hands, Chris
Mayfield. Poor preparation is at the
top of the list as to why so many cold
calls are unsuccessful.
The truth is, nobody likes
receiving cold calls and the trick
to success is making the prospect
feel like they are valuable and have
been sought out by you rather than
just being plucked off a random list
bought from a marketing / mailshot
agency the day before. To do that, you
need to do your research.
Here’s 6 things to think about
which could make your cold calls
more successful
• Understand what problems your
product or service solves – make a
list of the problems and the business
benefits of solving them. When you’re
on the call you can ask open questions
around these areas.
• Understand what you realistically
need to achieve in the call. If the
product or service has a longer
sales cycle than just one call,
and the next stage is an online
demo or meeting - rather
than selling the product,
you need to be selling the
idea that the prospects
time will be well spent
if they agree to the
demo / meeting.
• Be realistic about
the kind of person you
need to target. Don’t
call into the C-Level of
a major international
corporate if you’re
trying to sell a £500
product. Similarly, there’s
little point in targeting
low level management for a
£100k+ deal. They might show
real interest and make lots of
promises, but it’s unlikely your
effort and time will get you where
you want to be.
• Research the prospect, the company
and the industry. The age of the
internet gives us plenty of useful
information and sites like LinkedIn
provide insights into employment
history, skills, current role profiles
and even current projects people
are working on. This is excellent
information to identify the exact
person to speak to and build trust
during a conversation by showing you
have done your research on them.
TB36.businesshands.ADVERTORIAL.indd 2
• Don’t be afraid to target senior
gatekeepers specifically. Rather
than trying to get around them, do
your research on them and call them
specifically. Acknowledge their unique
position in being able to advise you
on finding the best person to open
dialogue with, within their company.
• If all else fails, ask for help. If you
cannot identify the perfect person
to speak to, phone people in the
same department or in similar roles
within the company and explain your
predicament...
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