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The 5 Minute Friend: How to Warm Up Cold Calls

by | |Lead Generation

How do I warm up cold calls? The art of cold calling is a skill that requires dedication and consistent practice. While it’s easy to pick up the phone and start a conversation, it’s much more difficult to genuinely connect with your prospect and convince them that your product offers unique benefits.

The most successful cold calls aren’t actually that cold. Warming up a cold call transforms a sales interaction from formal to friendly. Remember, sales conversations are ultimately about connecting with your prospects and listening to their needs so you can provide them with a sustainable solution. Here are our top tips on how to warm up your cold calls.

How to Warm Up Cold Calls

Do Some Research

Don’t enter the cold call totally cold! It’s important to demonstrate to your prospect that you took time to research their company before entering into a conversation. Successful cold calling relies on setting a friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging tone from the beginning.

Use company websites as a starting place for research. Hopefully, it will only take you a few minutes to gain a sense of a prospect’s history, mission, and leadership. We also recommend using LinkedIn to connect with prospects before initiating a phone call. Social media is a fantastic way to learn more about your prospect in a casual and low-pressure environment.

Be Confident

Confidence is a crucial ingredient for sales success. After all, your job is to demonstrate the undeniable benefits your business has to offer, and it’s best to engage prospects with a confident attitude from the start. Confidence may not come naturally to all sales reps, especially those less experienced reps who are just starting out.

Here are a few tips on how to cultivate confidence in your cold calls:

  • Practice your call before you dial! Ask coworkers or friends to help you nail your delivery, respond to tough questions, and deliver a convincing pitch.
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  • Use a template to help guide the conversation. Reading a script word-for-word may be too stilted, but a call outline helps ease nerves and provides a roadmap for the conversation.
  • Practice mindful breathing before you dial to help you relax.

Listen to Your Prospect

Friends are there to support one another. Offer your support to your prospect and spend time actually listening to their needs and concerns. Keep your interjections brief and avoid waxing on about product specs and features.

By engaging with your prospect and listening to their concerns, you’ll learn more about how to meet their needs. Ultimately, you’ll be able to approach the conversation with a more well-rounded picture of how to help your prospect thrive.

Focus on the Benefits

Don’t just talk about securing your prospect a low price or start pushing a deal. Instead, outline the real benefits that your product has to offer.

This approach is called value-based selling, and it centers on the belief that customers are more interested in investing in something that will bring them value than they are in paying a low price. By familiarizing yourself with a prospect’s needs and pain-points, you can tailor your pitch to align with their goals.

Make a Follow Up Plan

Don’t leave your prospect hanging at the end of the call! A warmed-up call ends with a plan to talk again. Following-up is one of the most important parts of a successful sales interaction.

  • Before you hang up the phone, make a follow up plan for another time to talk.
  • Send a follow up email summarizing a few of the major talking points.
  • Send a thank you note to let your prospect know that you value their time.

After your call ends, we recommend jotting down a few notes about the call that you can refer to in your next interaction. This demonstrates that you’re conscientious and are listening to your prospect’s needs.

Get Support from an Outsourced Sales Development Company

Instead of leaving your sales force to their own devices, utilize a sales development company to help with training and cold call support. At Acquirent, we offer businesses of all sizes support with lead generation, sales team management, recruitment and more. Our team of professional reps will work closely with your company to develop a sales strategy that meets your goals. Seize the day and contact Acquirent for your initial consultation now!