When you make a cold call, you have seconds to capture the person’s attention on the other end. Your delivery must be thought out carefully and executed well.
Today we’re going to talk about how to make an impact with your cold call intro.
First, we’ll get technical and talk about the structure of your intro. After that, we’ll discuss soft skills, including the significance of your phone presence.
Define Your Introduction
The introduction is the first stage of your cold call. It includes greeting the person you’ve called and ensuring that they’re a decision-maker before you pitch. It also sets the pace for engaging conversation, which can be achieved by researching and tailoring your approach before you start the call.
This means:
An ineffective introduction can throw off the entire call. If you misstep at this crucial stage, you may not be given a second chance.
Here’s how to ensure that you start your calls on the right foot.
Preparation Is Key
Know How Your Offer Fits Into Your Prospect’s World
One thing you never want to do is open without a solid proposition. Gather information about your potential client and understand how your products or services will benefit them. Be ready to address common objections that can come up at the beginning of your call.
Come Up With Leading Questions
Be ready to ask questions that prompt your prospect to share information about their business. You’ll gain insights that add to those that you’ve gathered from their website, LinkedIn, and other research. This intel can help you build on your strategy for selling to them and similar companies you plan to call on.
Personalize The Opener
We’ve said it multiple ways already. The reason we’re harping on this point is that personalization is one of the most important elements of your introduction. Positioning your intro to appeal to each of your prospects individually will set you apart from the many calls they receive on a daily basis. Your prospect will understand that your call is not SPAM but a valid business call.
As a note here, there’s a lot of advice floating around these days about what kind of personalized information will grab your prospect’s attention. While everyone’s preferences are different, knowing their favorite sports team or what they had for lunch yesterday will mostly make you seem like you’re more interested in pandering rather than resolving their problems at work.
Collect and reference information relevant to their business. Avoid referencing personal information or risk sounding like a stalker.
Also, know the prospect’s name and/or title and address them correctly. Simple courtesies can humanize a situation and open doors.
How To Make A Solid Introduction
Your prospect has answered, and it’s go time.
Let your intro flow. Memorize your script and speak naturally. With practice, you’ll realize that an introduction is the easiest of all the steps in a cold call.
Why? All you have to say is who you are and what company you’re with.
For example, “Hi, this is Malcolm; I’m calling from Telesales Gurus.”
Be audible, clear, and friendly. Your prospect will not be able to see you, but they should be able to feel you through the phone. This ability to command your prospect’s attention with your voice is called phone presence and will play a large part in piquing interest both at the subconscious and conscious levels.
Once you establish who you are, it’s time to draw your prospect into the dialogue. It’s not time to sell, however.
State why you’re calling. For example, ” I’m calling you because…”
One idea is to call out the pain points of the prospect’s competitors to pique their interest.
For example, “We work with a few businesses in your industry, and they all seem to be facing the same major issue. I’m calling to see if it’s a concern for your business, too. Do you have a minute?”
Some sellers don’t ask for the prospect’s time; others do. Choose what’s most comfortable for you and what gets the best response from your audience.
If they are willing to talk, it’s time to qualify. Ask questions to learn their needs. Listen.
Listening will help you pick up on the gaps and adapt your conversation accordingly or disqualify them if it doesn’t make sense to continue the process.
Sometimes, the people you call want to know how you got their number. Tell them the truth. If they need your service, most of the time, they’ll appreciate you doing the research to contact them and will continue the conversation.
Getting Shut Down During Your Intro
For some people, cold calling comes naturally. For others, it’s a skill they acquire after hours of practice. What you should know is that all salespeople get rejected, whether they’re highly skilled or just starting their career in sales. What matters is how you react when a prospect says no, or cuts you off because ‘now is not a good time.’
As long as the prospect is still on the line, you can turn a rejection around.
When a prospect says they don’t have time, you can tell them why you’re calling and ask them if/when you should call them back.
If you can get a time set on the calendar, you have an appointment.
In conclusion, keep your intro short, sweet, and targeted. doing so will keep you closer to cold-calling success.