Cold calls - what is it and how to use this tool correctly?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Marketing is ubiquitous. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we are both consumers and sellers. Along with advertising, there are active ways to promote goods and services, such as cold calls. What is it and how to use this tool in marketing?

Phones have become everyday. As a rule, the numbers of important decision makers in a particular company are publicly available.

It is enough to look through the catalogs of companies or make a list of potential contractors yourself. Cold calling is the first way to contact a client. What it is? Telephone consultants dial the number of a potential client. The script of the conversation should be carefully worked out and thought out. After all, only 1-2 percent of potential buyers of your service or product express interest immediately. Cold calls help identify different categories of customers. What are these groups and how do consultants categorize potential buyers?

If one or two percent respond immediately and are ready to purchase a service or product, then the remaining 98percent of customers can be divided into negative, doubtful and inclined to purchase. Making the first call to a potential buyer is not easy. The seller - a telephone line worker, a consultant - is usually very tense. Meanwhile, the first impression and phrases determine how successful cold calls will be.

What is this, if not advertising, and even quite aggressive? However, a well-crafted conversation will help determine how much the customer is potentially interested in the service. As we have said, few people are ready to immediately pay for your offer. However, if the list of clients is not randomly compiled, but thoughtfully, among the interlocutors you call, there are probably already those who have thought about purchasing your product or service.

It is advisable in these cases to present not just an offer, but its differences from competitors. For example, your company is engaged in the production of websites. Perhaps the client has already tried to solve this problem on his own and faced a number of difficulties. Therefore, he is ready to talk about how you can help him, but he is not going to immediately order your particular service. If the client already has a website, you can offer its improvement or promotion. Therefore, the technology of cold calls will help to weed out those who are completely uninterested or unwilling to communicate in this form and select those who are ready to continue the conversation.

The next step will be the so-called warm ringing. Potential customers should be given time to thinkformulate questions and wishes. Cold calls, the templates of which should be thought out for each specific promotion, product, are the first acquaintance and a brief self-presentation. If the consultant is unable to contact the decision maker in the company, it is best to schedule another time (for example, through a secretary). From the moment you leave a message or submit an offer, building a relationship with a potential client begins. He already knows who will call him and has a rough idea of what will be discussed.

One of the most common mistakes is calling intrusively for short periods of time.

Why? Because customers very quickly understand that the seller, having not received a response, proceeds automatically. And none of us wants to be perceived simply as an object, as a machine. Sellers should be aware that even the first call must be agreed with a specific client. You need to find out who you can contact with an offer, what day and what time is best to call.

The next contact attempt must be carefully planned. In other words, the salesperson needs to know when it's appropriate to call, when the customer can take the time to talk. A better solution might be to remind yourself once every two weeks for at least two months. Can be supplemented with calls and e-mail messages.

It is imperative to learn how to present yourself correctly and clearly. Telephone consultants often "swallow"patter this introductory part of the conversation, as a result, the client does not immediately understand who he is talking to and why. It is also advisable to explain where you got his phone number from in order to immediately avoid a negative reaction. The activity of the sales assistant is aimed at creating a situation in which the potential buyer will be comfortable. The goal is to build a long-term relationship, not just a quick sell.