Get Started

With SalesHive

For other inquires, please email carly@saleshive.com
We've Set 91,543 B2B Sales Meetings.
close (x)

10 Cold Calling Tips

10 cold calling tips

Are you looking to get more out of your cold calling efforts? If so, then these ten cold calling tips might be exactly what you need!

1. Invest In Your List

There’s no point calling people who have absolutely no interest in your products or services. You may be the greatest salesperson in the world, and somehow convince the odd person to part with their money, but it’s not going to bring lasting success. 

The success of your cold calling all starts with your list, so take the time to make sure it’s focused. Information is key; the more you know about a prospect, the greater your chances of starting a meaningful conversation. 

The first of our cold calling tips is to focus your time on the people who are most likely to become your customers by investing in your list. 

2. Let Technology Make Your Life Easier 

Cold calling is, in part, a numbers game. You’re going to dial a lot of numbers just to reach a voicemail, and even when you do reach someone, your conversion rate isn’t going to be high. 

This means you’ve got to maximize your time. All those seconds you lose searching for the next contact, dialing the number, and leaving a voicemail are wasted seconds, and when you’re making hundreds of calls a day, they add up. 

Technology like sales dialers can instantly make you more efficient and allow you to get through more calls. 

3. Call at the Best Times

No matter what your intentions are, there’s always a right time and a wrong time to talk to someone. 

If you were a kid wanting candy from your parents, you’re probably not going to ask when you’ve just been naughty and are getting told off, and it’s similar when it comes to B2B cold calling

While it’s hard to judge the emotional state of your prospects at any given time, you can get a good idea of what they might be doing and whether they might take your time.  For instance, a good time to call is often between 4 and 5 pm. Why? People might be coming to the end of work and be thankful for a distraction. 

Use the data and your knowledge of your prospects to learn the best times to make your cold calls

4. Build Yourself a Cheat Sheet

The art of cold calling isn’t about making sales then and there - it’s about starting a conversation. 

To do this, you’ve got to appear natural, rather than reading through a script like a robot. This is why we like to call it a cheat sheet, rather than a full-blown script.

cold calling tips - cheat sheet
Female hands holding script over table closeup

One of the best cold calling tips is to create a cheat sheet is to keep you on track It can highlight different questions you can ask, show you how to deal with common objections, and generally keep you focused. This is a great tool, particularly if you get a little nervous when picking up the phone. 

5. Create a Two-Way Conversation 

The last thing anyone wants is to pick up the phone and be bombarded by a sales pitch. 

Often, it’s beneficial to switch your thinking away from making a sale and more towards building a relationship. To do this, you’ve got to create a two-way conversation using open-ended questions to engage the person on the other end of the phone. 

If you can ask the right questions, then you’ll learn about the prospect’s pain points, giving you an insight into how your product or service can solve that need. 

Use questions to help the prospect discover their pain points, and allow them to come to the conclusion your products are the answer on their own. This will mean you start more conversations leading to more effective cold calling

6. Learn from Frequent Objections 

Rejection is a natural part of sales. You’re going to make lots of calls where you get shut down, but each of these calls is an opportunity to learn. 

Some rejections there’s nothing you can do about, but there will be others where you have an opportunity to turn things around. A key cold calling tip is to understand the common objections you face and come up with plans to overcome them. 

Again, this is another reason to take your focus away from selling and shift it towards learning how you can foster the relationship. Learn about the objections people have, and find answers to the most common ones. 

7. Understand What You’re Asking For 

On the initial cold call, you’re probably not going to be asking for the sale. You do want to set expectations for how the relationship will proceed though, so you should try to agree on a course of action. 

This can be as simple as saying you will send a follow-up email. 

Your aim is to progress the prospect through your sales funnel, so what do you need to ask for to put this process in motion?

8. Update as You Go

It’s important that when you’re learning about your prospect you’re keeping track of everything. The information they give you is vital to helping you progress the person from lead to customer, so you need to look after it. 

To do this, you want your dialer to seamlessly integrate with your CRM. This is going to save you lots of time, making it easy to update notes and access all the information you need on your leads.

Cold calling tips - update

Sales is a process in which effective cold calling is just one step. You’ve got to use it to build your knowledge and help you progress the relationship. 

9. Always Follow Up

People lead busy lives. If they don’t pick up your calls or call you back when they said they would, it’s not necessarily because they don’t want to. Sometimes it’s simply because they forgot or they haven’t had time - if you don’t follow up, then you’ll never know. 

It’s estimated that the ideal number of calls needed to make a sale is six, and yet, 50% of leads never get a second cold call. 

Yes, you’ve got to respect people’s privacy, but if you’re offering them something useful, then you shouldn’t give up after the first try. 

10. Keep a Cold Call Journal 

Cold calling is a skill. Some people are more natural at it than others, but we can all learn and improve our performance. 

A great cold calling tip to help facilitate your learning is to keep a journal to write important notes in. This is where you can track the things you find work well, note common objections, and test out tactics. 

If you have call recording capabilities, then it can also be useful to go over your calls from time to time and see if you can find areas to improve on. 

Conclusion: Cold Calling Tips

Cold calling is still an excellent way to reach prospects and start a relationship with them. When it’s not effective is when you look to win the sale then and there at the first point of contact. 

Many of these cold calling tips are focused on giving you the best chance of reaching a prospect and having a beneficial conversation. This is the basis for making sales in the future and it’s what cold calling is all about. 

As you can see, there’s something of an art to cold calling, so sometimes, it’s a good idea to look at outsourcing this part of your marketing to experienced professionals. 

Want to hire cold callers? Learn more about our cold calling services. 

Video Blog
Table of Contents
Get In Touch With Our Team

Loading...

Learn more about our B2B Lead Generation Services.

B2B  Blog Posts

Mastering the Art of Cold Calling in 2024
Revitalizing Sales Strategies: Integrating Voicemails Unlocks New Opportunities
A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Sales Cold Calling: Tips to Boost Efficiency and Minimize Time Loss
A New Era of B2B Sales: Optimizing Success with Remote SDRs and Comprehensive Strategies
Decoding the 'Cold Calling vs Email' Dilemma: A Deep Dive into SalesHive's Proven B2B Sales Strategy
Unraveling the Intricacies of Cold Calling Voicemails: A Deep Dive into SalesHive's Proven Strategies for Success
Navigating the Digital Era with the Continued Relevance of Cold Calling in a Texting Age
The Resurgence and Persistence of Cold Calling: Defying the Test of Time
The Unfading Relevance and Strength of Cold Calling in Today's Digital Era
The Intrinsic Role of Technology in SalesHive's Successful Cold Calling Outsourcing
Strengthening Your Sales Development Representative's Techniques with a Cultural Reference: ‘Jedi Cold Calling’
Revolutionizing B2B Sales: The Superiority of AI Tools for Cold Calling and Cold Emailing
The Vital Role of a Campaign Sales Strategist in Elevating Cold Calling and Email Campaigns
Understanding Buyer Personas: Deciphering Email Enthusiasts and Cold Calling Connoisseurs
Enhancing B2B Outreach: Combining the Power of Cold Calling and Email for Maximum Effectiveness
Uniting the Forces of Email and Cold Calling in Outreach Campaigns
How to Create a B2B Marketing Strategy
The Best Strategies for an Effective Cold Call
17 Crucial Sales Questions to Ask Prospects
The Ultimate B2B Cold Call Checklist
The True Purpose of Lead Generation Cold Calling
Why You Should Outsource Cold Calling for Your Business
Cold Emailing vs Cold Calling
In-House vs Outsourced Cold Calling as a Service: Which One is Better?
Does B2B Cold Calling Work in 2022?
Things to Know About Cold Calling as a Service
The Essential Sales Call Guide to B2B Cold Calling
Cold Calling Statistics and Cold Calling Success Rates
Cold Calling Conversion Rate Calculator
Is Cold Calling Still Effective in 2021?
Don't Settle for Low Cold Call Success Rates
B2B: Is Cold Calling Illegal?
The Benefits of Cold Calling Software
Telemarketing and Cold Calling Services During Covid
B2B Lead Generation

We’ve Set 85,000+ B2B Sales Meetings.

Speak With Our Team To Learn How!

sales development outsourcing and lead generation
Real-Time Alerts

New Meeting Booked

Prospect Company
 
Prospect Title
 
Meeting Source
 

AI Email Customization

Use our eMod customization engine to make emails more engaging and highly customized. Use public information about the prospect and company to send hyper-customized emails.
magic-wandenvelopepicturephonewheelchairlinkchevron-down