Many sales gurus want to proclaim that cold calling for lead generation is dead. Yet companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Dell and countless other successful companies still use cold calling as a major strategy for new leads. With all of these companies still making millions of dials a year, there is a vital role in the B2B Lead Generation sales process for cold calling.
All good salespeople know that building relationships is the key to doing well in sales. Unlike other marketing strategies, cold calling puts you into direct contact with consumers. Even though times have changed, relationships are still built with two people having an actual conversation. Every business and customer that you are trying to connect with still has a phone, one that you can call.
B2B Lead Generation Tips
The following are some B2B Lead Generation tips for making great cold calls:
- A phone call is a conversation. Being personable, likeable and enjoying the connect is so important. Potential clients will naturally engage in conversation with sales professionals, provided they sense genuine excitement and kindness. B2B Lead Generation is always best when it starts with a conversation with two people that are actually happy to be talking.
- Cold calling doesn’t mean that you are cold selling. The goal of the first cold call is to get your prospects attention and engagement and you only have a few seconds to get it. Make sure that the first moments of your conversation are memorable for being upbeat and polite.
- Conversations are never great when they are rushed. Slow down and take your time when you are connecting with a prospect. Well meaning salespeople often make the mistake of getting right to the pitch, throwing out value add statements and explaining the ROI of their product of service right away. But what opens up the lines of communication is an actual conversation where your prospect talks, not just listens to your pitch.
- Remember that first call is very unlikely to close business, so breathe a big sigh of relief. Studies have shown that a typical sales cycle requires 5 customer touch points. We all get so many e mails, tweets, LinkedIn messages, but how many voice mails do we get? Multiple calls require vulnerability and sometimes making that effort to call, more than once, shows the prospect that they are important to you and ultimately leads to sales.
- As a sales rep, you won’t get far if you haven’t researched the right prospects. Spend as much time as you can up front, working as hard as you can to gather as much information about the company and the staff as you possible. According to the Gartner Group, a typical business with under 500 employees has an average of seven people who are responsible for most buying decisions. Connecting with the right people is critical to your success.
- One of the best B2B Lead Generation Tips is to ensure that you are asking more questions then you are pitching. Understanding the needs, wants, desires of your potential customer will make all the difference as you get closer to your pitch. When you can craft something that is customized to their situation, your rate of sales increases.
At SalesEvolve, we focus on getting to know your business, your products and sales reps. Once we know you, then we can be effective in building you an optimized lead generation program that works in your industry, using your most successful prospecting techniques. Let us help you transition to the next chapter of your success story. Your team will feel liberated and sales will become fun again as we pass warm leads that they can close.