Tips and Tricks for Cold Calling in B2B Marketing and Sales

Nobody really likes cold calling for B2B marketing and lead generation because nobody likes rejection and performing rote, repetitive tasks. While rejection is standard in the marketing business, it's more like a routine when you're performing cold calls. That's the reputation that cold calling holds, at least.

But is it really that bad? We think not.

Cold calling is an art that's hard to master, but that's exactly why it's so rewarding to become proficient at it. In a world where hardly anyone enjoys cold calling, making it fun and learning to do it well can make you the top earner at your company. A company that develops effective cold calling techniques as a whole will reap great benefits from doing so well. As for all the supposed pitfalls of cold calling, remember that everything is a matter of perspective.

Cold Calling Tips and Tricks

When you have the right mindset and skillset, cold calls become a powerful asset to your B2B marketing strategies. Follow these cold calling tips and tricks to find more success in your own efforts, as well as to learn how to handle failure. 

Prepare For Rejection

You never know when you'll call someone brutally rude, strange, or paranoid during a cold call. While the odds of a truly bizarre experience are low in the B2B world, there are still plenty of horror stories to find of curt, sharp shut-downs. Even the best salespeople have these moments, but do you know how they handle them? They find a coworker and laugh about it. 

Like a date gone horribly wrong, embarrassing and uncomfortable moments become funny when you realize the experience is universal. And after said-date, do you give up on dating? No! You laugh it off with your friends, turn it into a funny memory, and get right back at it. This is an excellent method to handle professional as well as interpersonal rejection.

Concision and Brevity

Every moment your call goes on without convincing the prospect, your odds of securing that lead dwindle further and further. It's essential that you make a strong value proposition and show the prospect how you can help them as soon as possible. First, you should establish your connection to the prospect and display that you understand the challenges of their business. Then, provide a concrete estimate on exactly what you can do for them.

You're here to tantalize the call recipient and get them asking questions. In-depth knowledge can come later. When going over your scripts, the hook should not take more than a paragraph. In some cases, two or three sentences are perfectly enough to capture the interest of a prospect. 

Take a Scientific Outlook

When a scientist wants to run an experiment and discover some truth, there's one thing that they always do. They control for variables and keep each experiment as similar as possible so that they can link causes and effects. You should strive to be a cold call scientist. First of all, that means using scripts and following them — not necessarily word by word, but at least in spirit. This allows you to keep track of the way prospects respond to you in a systematic way and make informed changes as you polish your approach. 

The first step to applying data to your work is, of course, keeping track of it. Keep a journal with short notes on your calls and try to identify the point where you start losing people. This methodology is helpful for pinpointing weak points in your script, and from there you can continuously refine your approach. Maintaining a dynamic perspective where you're willing to discard what doesn't work in your experience and embrace what does is a big step toward lead generation success.

Be Human

When a person needs to assist their eyesight, they wear glasses, but glasses don't confer sight to the blind. In the same vein, scripts go a long way in guiding your calls and giving you something to fall back on. However, the perfect script won't confer success upon you. Instead, it's vital that you know when to deviate, when to inflect a bit of humor and personality, and how to nail the delivery of your script.

Script-driven calls have a reputation for being dry, boring, and robotic, but this is because most people don't know how to read a script. Plays, television, and film are script-driven, but they're certainly not dull and lifeless. Take a cue from the performing arts and appreciate that when you call a prospect, you're giving a performance as well. Rehearsing your lines with a colleague or even in the mirror can go a long way toward learning how to deliver them in a way that feels real and sincere. You'll also find your work easier, more enjoyable, and achieve greater success if you get in the mindset of thinking in terms of how you can help your prospects.

Employ Cooperative Learning

You can work twice as hard, or you can have twice as many people working on how to devise a cold calling approach that works for your industry. If you take your ideas to coworkers or promote them to your employees as the manager, then you'll automatically benefit from having several times as much data and human experience to work with. 

Interesting ideas and breakthroughs can come from anywhere, whether you're sharing your experiences with an expert salesperson or a new colleague. 

Call for Outside Assistance

Here at Pro Sales Connection, we're experts on lead generation, B2B marketing strategies, and more. If you're looking for inspiration and ideas to take your marketing to the next level, check out our blog for ideas and advice. You can also give us a call and rely on us as a virtual extension of your business to develop new programs and methods tailored to your unique needs.