We all like to think that our company is unique. In reality, there are hundreds of companies just like your own vying for the same business. Perhaps your product or service offering is different in some way. But ultimately what sets each of us apart is our sales approach. Cold calling, like outside sales, requires an approach that will make you stand out from your competition, get you appointments, and lead to closed sales. Here’s how to use cold calling to differentiate yourself.
System. A systematic approach to cold calling will help drive the success of your team. More importantly, a well thought out and executed sales process will make the salesperson and your organization come across as more professional to the prospect.
Attitude. Don’t think of it as cold calling, think of it as discovery. You are on a fact-finding mission to find out what problems the prospect is having that you may be able to solve. Make the call about your prospect, not about you. Project enthusiasm and energy through your tone and actions.
Messaging. Cold calling is all about messaging. If you don’t sound different from all the other calls the prospect gets, you won’t be successful and the call will end in a hang-up. When you stand out, the prospect will listen. Once they are listening, the conversation turns to uncovering their pain.
Relationship Building. Engaging in conversation with a prospect on the phone, and learning about the prospect’s needs, goes a long way toward generating leads and closing the sale. Being a good listener and building a relationship is key in setting yourself apart from competitors.
Perseverance. You may not get through to the prospect the 1st time, or the 5th time, or many more times thereafter. Even when you get through, they may not need your product or service at that moment. What will impress your prospect is being there when they do need what you have to offer.
Time. Cold calling is not a one-and-done undertaking. Some industries require more nurturing than others. For example, in insurance there are thousands of brokers competing for the same business so it will be necessary to invest more time to be successful. Regardless of the industry, lead generation takes time to nurture, build a relationship, and understand the prospects issues and needs. Your prospect will appreciate the time and effort you have devoted to talking with them.
Without investing in these aspects of lead generation, you will seem like any other company out there, and your cold calling effort will fail.
There are leads, qualified leads and highly qualified leads. Most people don’t differentiate between qualified leads and highly qualified leads but it makes a big difference in sales outcome. When your lead generation efforts involve sharing a lot of information about yourself and your offering, either by phone or online, and little or no information about the prospect is shared, then it’s considered a qualified lead. Companies often put a lot of value on this level of leads but the conversion rate can be less than desired.
The reason that this type of lead is not highly qualified is because the prospect hasn’t had the opportunity to share anything about themselves. A highly qualified lead is generated when the prospect has the opportunity to have a conversation with you, you have the opportunity to ask probing questions, and you learn about their business and issues. This conversation allows you and the prospect to determine whether there is a good fit between you.
Creating qualified leads is one thing, but creating and identifying highly-qualified leads is a procedure that involves several steps working together to move the prospect through the qualifying process. Generating highly qualified leads begins with making a good impression and engaging in a conversation. It involves well thought out, planned and practiced scripting. The goal is to get your prospects talking about themselves and finding out if you are a good fit for one another.
There are several techniques that are used to facilitate the conversation with your prospect. It involves finding common ground to get the conversation started. It includes sharing information about you and what you have to offer. But most importantly it means listening to what the prospect has to say.
Qualified leads will have a lower conversion rate and more effort will be required to convert each lead to a sale. With highly qualified leads a better conversion rate is guaranteed. That’s because highly qualified leads are “sales ready”. Highly qualified leads streamline the sales process and make your sales team more efficient. They are sure to keep your pipeline full and your sales on target.
If you are looking for growth, (and who isn’t), it’s a good idea to pay more attention to Presales. Presales is key in obtaining, winning and keeping customers. You may not feel this way now but you’ll change your mind when you have a better understanding of what the Presales Process is and what it delivers.
The Presales Process is comprised of three steps:
Research – In the research portion of the Presales Process a list of prospective “ideal customers” – those most likely to buy the company’s products – is developed. Once those prospects are identified, you’ll collect and study relevant information such as product descriptions, prices, and competitor information. This allows you to begin to understand the prospect’s needs, and their potential as a client.
Preparing for the call – The 2nd step involves creating a call strategy and script. Including prequalifying questions in your script helps weed out those that are not a good fit for what you have to offer. Each script is customized for each prospect.
Making the call and setting the appointment – During the actual call you are not only introducing yourself and the company to the prospect. Much of the call involves actively listening to uncover the needs and wants of the potential customers, as well as determining if they are a fit for your products or services.
The Pre-Sales Process not only identifies leads. It is an important step in building rapport and establishing the relationship with the potential client. It uncovers important information about the prospect’s business, such as goals and challenges. It is the groundwork from which the sales proposal will be made and the sale will be won. The Pre-Sales Process makes your sales team more efficient and armed and ready to close the sale.
Putting effort into your Pre-Sales Process is worthwhile. The Harvard Business Review sums it up as follows: “Souping up the presales engine can yield a five-point improvement in conversion rates, a 6–13% improvement in revenue, and a 10–20% improvement in the speed of moving prospects through the sales process.”
The upshot is that a well-run, dedicated Presales Process will improve your bottom line. If you’d like your organization to take better advantage of the Presales Process, One Of A Kind Solutions can help.
We all like to think that our company is unique. In reality, there are hundreds of companies just like your own vying for the same business. Perhaps your product or service offering is different in some way. But ultimately what sets each of us apart is our sales approach. Cold calling, like outside sales, requires an approach that will make you stand out from your competition, get you appointments, and lead to closed sales. Here’s how to use cold calling to differentiate yourself.
There are leads, qualified leads and highly qualified leads. Most people don’t differentiate between qualified leads and highly qualified leads but it makes a big difference in sales outcome. When your lead generation efforts involve sharing a lot of information about yourself and your offering, either by phone or online, and little or no information about the prospect is shared, then it’s considered a qualified lead. Companies often put a lot of value on this level of leads but the conversion rate can be less than desired.
If you are looking for growth, (and who isn’t), it’s a good idea to pay more attention to Presales. Presales is key in obtaining, winning and keeping customers. You may not feel this way now but you’ll change your mind when you have a better understanding of what the Presales Process is and what it delivers.
