3 Tips To Simplify Cold Calling For Greenhorns
Being new to inside sales tends to be a bit intimidating. I’ve found that many inside sales reps I’ve trained over the years can be hesitant to pick up the phone because they don’t feel fully prepared. We can put all the prep work in that we deem necessary, but from what I’ve seen there is no better way to learn than to just get knee deep in the muddy cold calling trenches.
When we do eventually get on the phones, calls can go in multitude of directions so it can be difficult to prep for all the scenarios we can run into. Obviously this can confuse the greenhorns who are trying to game plan for every situation. What I typically tell them is that almost every call you make is going to be unique. Things aren’t always going to fall perfectly in place no matter how much we prepare.
Though it may never be perfect when we cold call, there are a few things we can do to help the newer folks through the anxiety of not knowing exactly what to expect each time they get a prospect live on the phone.
Here are three things I recommend the newbies make a point to focus on to simplify things out of the gates:
1) They Need To Set The Agenda- Let’s assume you have a couple of IT folks on the line throwing tough technical question at you. This is the kind of scenario that can potentially throw a newer rep off and obviously can kill the flow of any sales conversation if they don’t have the answers. My recommendation is to be up front with prospects about your role immediately. When you begin the call let them know that you can review the service/technology at a high level with them, but it would be best to include a technical specialist if they are looking for more of a deep dive. This helps to make for more of a productive call by allowing you the opportunity to better qualify the prospect before getting your Sale Engineer involved.
2) Get the point- Any communication you have with a prospect has to be targeted and precise. If you have someone live on the phone, or you’re sending them an email or leaving a message- every second counts. The faster you get to their pain points will help to dictate the flow of the conversation. Every executive is busy, if you can’t speak to their pain within 30 seconds there is a good chance you’ve lost them.
3) Don’t be afraid to talk the talk- Fake it til you make it, right? That’s the whole point of sales isn’t’ it? If it means learning a few acronyms or reading up on prospects background before making the call - do it! You can’t be intimidated by carrying a conversation with a C-level executive. If you’re stammering over words or surprised by the fact that you’ve finally gotten your decision maker live, then you’ll most likely lose them pretty quickly. Although they may be at a much higher pay grade, you have to speak with them with confidence as if you were communicating with a peer in the office.
One of the biggest challenges I see for my new hires is taking command of their calls. If they don’t have all the answers to every question they freeze and don’t know where to take the call. As a result they end up getting steamrolled and lose what could potentially be a strong opportunity. Think about having your team incorporate the tips above to empower them to take back control of the dreaded prospecting call.