How to Conduct a Cold Call Campaign
How to Conduct a Cold Call Campaign
How to conduct a cold call campaign. OK, most people hate cold calling, why? Let’s face it, it’s difficult to psych yourself up, mainly because you don’t know how, or you’ve had a bad experience in the past.
Here’s the thing, as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” (I looked that one up).
Just like any problem, it’s made much smaller by breaking it down into its component parts and devising a plan! Make sure you set yourself targets to call X ‘suspect’ in Y days. A little often is better than a lot seldom. So, here’s the steps on the journey of a thousand miles; How to conduct a cold call campaign.
Understand your Ideal Prospect Profile
See here Ideal Prospect Definition
What are the common characteristics of your most profitable customer? Think about it, if you fix a problem or a ‘pain point’ for a certain type of business or customer, chances are there’s more out there, but they don’t know you exist. A word to the wise here, not only do they have to have the problem, but they also need to know they have a problem. Knowing who has the problem is a much easier proposition than trying to find out who knows, they know, they have the problem. Educating someone on a phone call is a challenge within itself. So, avoid companies who don’t know they have the problem you fix. This is easier said than done.
For more details on what a comprehensive Ideal Prospect looks like see here Ideal Prospect Profile PDF
Build a Prospect List
See here Business Data Lists
A list should contain Company Name, Address, Telephone Number, Website, Employee Count (if possible, as part of your Ideal Prospect Profile), Business Type, Contact Name, Business Title and load it up into a CRM. A CRM is important for follow up actions, the history of the relationship and to understand the status of each opportunity.
Write a Telephone Script
Write down exactly what you’re going to say on the phone, this is an art in itself!
- Start off by giving your name and the name of your company
- Mention the name of your company and ask if they’ve heard of you (brand reinforcement)
- State that if they’ve never heard of you, they may know the name of some of your customers and state the name of three top well known customers
- Then clearly state the problem you fix in the clearest terms possible. Something that your Grandmother and your Grandchild can understand in one half sentence. Clarity and brevity are the order of the day here
- Ask them if they five minutes, that’s all it will take
- Ask a qualifying question or two at most. There’s no point talking to someone who doesn’t have the problem you fix
- Questions are good, they build rapport and qualify opportunities
- Finally have a CTA. The next step in the sales process, a meeting, a sample or possibly a trial.
Write an email template
Write out a clear, concise email template, for use as a follow up or where someone is unavailable and you’ve permission from a colleague to email them. Ensure the email renders well on a desktop and mobile email client.
The template should have the following format:
- Introduction – Who you are and your company
- Value Proposition – What problem you fix, the benefits, and mention some customers. Best of all if you can put a value on this fix
Follow Up
Ensure than you follow up each qualified opportunity with the next step in your sales cycle or ‘suspects’ that were unavailable.
So that’s a summary of, how to conduct a cold call campaign
