I've always struggled with cold calling. Though I have done with with success, I've never been able to do it consistently.
First, I don't like being cold called - so I don't like doing it to others.
Cold emailing is different. It's quicker & easier to process (or dismiss) on the recipient side
Tips
You can't tell upfront, with someone you have never met or discussed with, "We can help you".
Instead, one should say "We help {persona like you}", or more specifically "You remind me of {someone specific in the same role} we helped."
Common practive had been to start calls with the likes of:
"Thanks for taking my call."
"Can I have 30 seconds?"
"Can I tell you why I'm calling?"
Instead, start as a normal person - an equal - and get to the point quickly:
"Hi X, I'm Nic with Y. We haven't met before, but I'm working with {persona like you} who {have the same problems as you} and came across your name. It looks like you're managing {specific use case or program for the company}?"
From there, keep asking questions.
Good open questions can be: "Based on your experience/succsss, what are your thoughts on {problem you can help solve}?"
13 Feb 2023
"Cold calling is dead"
"Cold calling is not dead"
The argument both ways has been going on seemingly forever on Linkedin.
I have done very little cold calling in my career, except in my first B2B Sales job 20+ years ago... when reps were not allowed to use email because it was new and seen as a 'distraction' by the company's leadership! (how times change)
Despite that, by all measures, I have had a successful career in Sales so far, including a lot of new business.
I just don't like cold calling 🤷🏻♂️
Not only because it's hard and can be soul crushing.
But mostly because I feel like a cold call is like barging unannounced into someone's office.
And I would not do that in real-life.
Sure, 1 time out of 20, you might get a meeting out of it.
As everything in life, it's a matter of balance.
Cold calling will never be dead. There will always be some who will use it - or have to use it - to generate leads.
There's an art & science to cold calling, and it's hard.
The question is not "is it dead or not?" but rather "does it fit with how you want to generate leads and do you get a good ROI on your time spent doing it?".
Openers
"Hey XXX, this is YYY calling from (Company). You're not expecting my call. Do you have a moment? I promise to be brief."
"Hi, this is XXX from YYY. I know I'm calling you out of the blue. Is it ok if I take a few seconds and tell you why I'm calling you specifically?"
"This is XXX with YYY. You're totally not expecting my call, but I was wondering if I could get a moment."
"Yep, this is a dreaded cold call, but you're the person in charge of X so I took a chance. Do you have a quick moment?"
Permission-based
"Charlotte Lloyd, renowned cold calling expert, generated $1.5M in revenue for her business using a permission-based question in her opener"
“Hi {{first name}}, I know you're not expecting my call. Mind if I take a few moments to tell you why I am calling? Promise I'll be brief."
“I’ve found that this permission-based opener works 99 times out of 100,” she says. “It shows the prospect, right out of the gate, that you recognize their time is a gift and will continue to respect it.”
-from https://www.apollo.io/academy/guides/pipeline-generation/cold-calling
Resources
The “Heard the name tossed around?” opener
The step-by-step breakdown is as follows:
- Lead With Context: Show you work with similar companies (by industry, investor)
- Introduce Yourself: Introduce yourself AFTER you establish you’re not a random.
- Heard The Name? Ask if they’ve heard your name tossed around.