Making Cold Calls in Sales

Name: Making Cold Calls in Sales
Author: Kersten Kelly Brunner

Explore how to make cold calls

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Course: On-Demand

(soft music) Welcome to making cold calls in sales. In these lessons, you'll learn the various benefits of conducting pre-call research, and how to compose your cold call script. You'll identify different starting techniques, so you can have multiple options once you begin calling, and you'll explore different ways to select your recipients. We'll also go over helpful tips for making calls. It's important for salespeople to gain knowledge about prospects prior to initiating a cold call. This is done through pre-call research, or the process of gathering and establishing relevant facts prior to a sales call. The time spent doing research is valuable because it helps you understand your customer. Since cold calling is a blind method of selling products, it can be more challenging to find common interest between you and the prospect, and to demonstrate the benefits of your products. If you take time before the call to review their social media accounts, company preferences, previous purchase patterns, or preferred products, you'll be better equipped to make connections. If you're selling embroidery on sports apparel, and you see that your client liked several products from a specific brand on social media, you could casually mention that you source your base goods from that brand. The brand name may resonate with your client, and entice them to learn more. Doing research also enables you to anticipate objections. If you're prepared for potential pushback from the prospect, you can have a logical rebuttal prepared and this can continue to establish your expertise. Some salespeople create lists of possible objections to reference during calls. If you're not prepared to refute disapproval, you may lose the customer's interest and your credibility. One of the most valuable uses of research is to help you discover where there's demand for your product. When you sell to people who need your product, your success rates will likely increase. If you sell commercial steel manufacturing equipment, and you learn that there's a new factory being built within your vicinity that converts iron into steel, there's a chance that the company may need your services, they could be a key target for you to pursue. If you're trying to learn about individual's product needs, you can also conduct research on the internet. People can demonstrate their interest through social media interactions, or creating their own posts about related items. Pre-call research also allows you to speak your customer's language by understanding their corporate lingo, acronyms and jargon. By incorporating their verbiage into your conversation, you can build rapport and show your customers that you understand their business. This rapport can make the conversation feel less transactional and more like a partnership. It can also inspire confidence that you can integrate effectively into their business.

Beginner Provider : Kersten Kelly Brunner 7 Lessons · 21m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

Successful cold calling often takes preparation, practice, and follow-up to achieve measurable benefits. By outlining your cold call script, incorporating research into your pitch, and understanding how to effectively schedule your calls, you can position yourself to close deals. There are many facets that contribute to a successful cold call, beginning with the planning phase long before the call is made. And your preparation can help you answer valuable questions. How would you prioritize a list of 100 potential customers that would benefit from your product or service? Would you spend your time on contacts with higher spending potential, or would you prioritize quick sales?

In this course, Making Cold Calls in Sales, you’ll learn the benefits of conducting research, and you’ll understand how to develop your cold call script. In these lessons, you’ll explore how to determine the optimal candidates and effectively schedule your calls. You’ll also review different starting techniques to initiate conversations during calls.

What You'll Learn

Compose a cold call script to guide your conversations
Conduct pre-call research and incorporate it into your pitch
Choose the optimal call recipients from your list of potential customers
Schedule your calls effectively to position yourself to close deals
Apply different starting techniques to initiate conversations during calls

Key Takeaways

Successful cold calling often takes preparation, practice, and follow-up to achieve measurable benefits.
A successful cold call begins in the planning phase, long before the call is made.
Outlining a cold call script, incorporating research into your pitch, and scheduling calls effectively can position you to close deals.
Preparation helps you answer valuable questions, such as how to prioritize a list of potential customers by spending potential or by quick sales.
There are different starting techniques you can use to initiate conversations during calls.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You'll learn the benefits of conducting research, how to develop your cold call script, how to determine the optimal candidates and effectively schedule your calls, and different starting techniques to initiate conversations during calls.

What topics do the lessons cover?

The lessons cover Conducting Pre-Call Research, Composing a Cold Call Script, Other Starting Techniques, Choosing the Call Recipient, Scheduling Calls, and Making the Call, followed by a Test Your Knowledge section.

What skills does this course help develop?

This course supports skills in cold calling, outbound sales skills, phone interviews, sales development, the sales process, and sales training.

Does the course address how to prioritize potential customers?

Yes. It explores methods for choosing recipients, including how you might prioritize potential customers based on higher spending potential or on quick sales.