Cold Calling is Not Dead
It’s Wednesday morning and you’re looking at your book of business. There are some clients who have yet to respond to your initial email outreach from the last few weeks. There are other clients who you've met once or twice over the year but their current elusiveness is making progress difficult. What do you do? Let’s dive in.
You call them.
Don’t overcomplicate it. You don’t send them another LinkedIn DM or a Hail Mary email. You call your unresponsive client(s) on the phone.
If your client is a previous purchaser or is already buying your product/solution this isn’t “cold calling.” You’re doing research, personalizing your outreach, positioning yourself as a value provider, and asking for client time to have a more in-depth conversation.
Here’s an example breakdown of your call:
Hi, this is ____ calling from ____, is this ____? [Yes?] I’m in the process of building a personalized competitor report for you and wanted to firmly anchor this media plan around your business objectives. While I’m not sure it’ll make sense for us to work together, why don’t we schedule a call so I can learn more about your unique challenges and goals? How does next Thursday at 2 or 3 PM look for you to have a 15-20 minute chat?
Your outreach doesn’t need to be perfect, but you’ll dramatically improve your chance of success by being:
Brief. This isn’t your sales call. This is the call to set up the discovery/sales call.
Straightforward. Buyers see through any gimmicks. Show how you’ll bring value to your customer’s business. I’ll reiterate: Don’t even bother calling until you’ve got a clear plan outlining how you’ll add value.
Confident. You should be able to easily and succinctly articulate the value you can bring to the table. Asking too many questions kills the flow of the prospecting call. Avoid starting sentences with “I’d love to…” (it’s not about you) or “I think you’d benefit from…” (are you not sure?)
Low stakes. Give your client an out. Avoid language that makes them feel cornered— or worse— that you’re desperate.
Action-oriented. Ask for a specific date and time for the discovery / sales call. Don’t make them do any extra work by asking them “what time works best for you?”
It doesn’t matter if the size of your book of business is $50,000 or $50M. You will have unresponsive customers/stakeholders. And assuming you believe that what you’re selling adds value to your clients, the brief interruption is justified.
Reflect on that one client or stakeholder you’ve been trying to get in touch with. When was the last time you called them directly? Never? Today's the day. Pick up the phone. You got this.
42% of sellers say prospecting is the most difficult part of sales. And of course it is! It’s the part of sales most directly connected to rejection and bruised egos. But your ego should only be bruised if there’s truth to what your client is saying: that you’re not adding value.