Cold calling is something that, if done right, can transform the revenue of your business. A lot of this has to do with the fact that you are able to make contact with many people in a short space of time. In addition, you get to talk to these businesses and establish a human connection. This counts for a lot when you are trying to secure new revenue.

All of the ideas I am presenting here are true and they work in the field.

Benefits make a warm call warmer

One thing that is really important when you’re cold calling is to have a piece of paper nearby that outlines two or three key benefits to your product or service. I am not advocating using a script here by any means, but you should always have two or three key benefits that you can draw on if the call becomes something that turns quickly warm.

If the prospect seems to be interested, you need to start laying the benefits out in front of them. This works a lot better than having a full script that many people read robotically. Even if you practised your script for hours on end, it will always seem like a script. Having just a few points to draw on when you are talking to a prospect that is interested pays off.

Decision makers make cold calls worthwhile

I know that this sounds like it’s really obvious, but it is absolutely vital that you only ever present to the decision maker. This is really easy with a small business prospect, because you will almost always get into touch with the owner before anyone else. In larger businesses, you may have to spend some time trying to find your way to the right person to talk to. It takes considerable persistence with larger businesses.

But persist you must. There is only one person that can actually buy from you and that is the person who makes decisions about how the business is run. While this may be at director level with the larger business, you will still find it difficult to do anything at all unless you’re speaking to somebody who has a budget.

You will be rejected with cold calling. Get over it

Be ready to take rejection. Research has shown that at least 30% of the calls you make will result in people not buying anything from you, no matter what you do. This is not because they don’t like you, they just are not in the mood to buy or they don’t have any need for your product or service. So never, ever take this personally.

Another 30% of people you call will be happy to talk to you and have a nice discussion but they may not necessarily even consider buying your product or service. Again, it takes some skill to work out who these people are, and you usually find out by the second call, after you have sent an email or letter etc.

The last 40% of your sales calls consists of people who are actually going to buy from you. This does not mean they do it immediately, but they will do it if you persist and use all your skills in telemarketing.

Cold calls are just the beginning. If you develop some relationships with skill over time, you will hit that 40% and you will benefit from that 40%.