There’s no disputing the fact that cold calling as a lead generation technique is difficult.
Whether the goal is scheduling an appointment or demo for your sales rep, gathering market intelligence, or simply sharing new information about a product or service, people are often reluctant to engage in conversations with strangers—if they bother to get on the phone at all. That’s why even the most skilled, experienced cold callers face some form of rejection far more often than they achieve success.
Still, there are certain best practices that can dramatically increase the odds of a productive call. No two VSA Business Development Representatives take the exact same approach on the phone, but after more than 22 years of making cold calls on our clients’ behalf, we’ve learned plenty about what works and what doesn’t.
One of the best ways to learn is by listening to the calls themselves. For this article, we reviewed four successful calls from four different VSA BDRs working on four different client programs—three completely cold calls that resulted in scheduled appointments and a slightly warmer call that resulted in a prospect confirming their interest—and examined the reasons they worked so well.
Here are five elements of the calls that stood out:
1. The friendly yet professional greeting
There’s a fine line between being personable on a cold call and acting overly chummy—these are business calls, after all. You don’t want to sound salesy, but you also don’t want to misrepresent the reason for your call.
Each of the four callers successfully struck this balance from the moment the prospects got on the line. Without using the exact same greeting, each of them was pleasant and courteous while being up front about the company they were representing. You could almost hear the smile in their voices.
Phrases such as “I know I’m catching you out of the blue,” “Can I take just a moment to tell you why I’m calling,” and “I’ll be quick,” showed the prospects that the BDRs were respectful of their time. It’s no coincidence that in each case, the prospect was willing to listen to what the caller had to say—even if they were a bit leery of talking to a stranger.
2. The laugh
One of the most important aspects of a cold call is to not sound like you’re reading from a script (even when you are). That means not sounding monotone or robotic and instead exhibiting genuine human behavior, such as laughter.
In two of the four calls we listened to for this article, the BDRs laughed within the flow of the conversation. In one case, the BDR gave a slight chuckle as she acknowledged interrupting the prospect’s day, then another quick laugh as she promised to be quick. On another call, the BDR laughed when she realized she was actually speaking with the decision-maker she was trying to reach—“Oh, (laugh), that’s you!”
In both cases, the subtle, unforced laughter may have helped the prospects relax and lower their guard. At the very least, it assured them they were having a conversation with an actual human, not listening to a robo-caller or pre-recorded message.
3. Understanding and empathy
It’s crucial to let the prospect know they’re being heard and to acknowledge any concerns they might have. Remember, they didn’t have to pick up the phone at all (and they certainly aren’t obligated to stay on the line), so it’s always helpful to show that you’re truly listening to what they have to say and not simply talking at them.
VSA’s BDRs demonstrated this skill in a variety of ways during the four calls we reviewed. In one case, the BDR asked the prospect a question about her needs, then repeated back the answer to show that she fully understood her concern. In another case, the prospect said she was new to the job and a bit overwhelmed, and the BDR veered from the script to express empathy for her predicament. In a third case, the BDR patiently answered several questions from the prospect, providing just enough information to pique his interest in an appointment.
4. Persistence (without being pushy)
You’re going to hear “no” during a cold call far more often than you’ll hear “yes,” but that isn’t necessarily a reason to give up. On two of the four calls, the prospect initially said no to booking an appointment, and the BDR ended up scheduling the meeting anyway.
In the first case, the prospect said he wasn’t available during the times that the BDR offered and seemed ready to end the call. But the BDR pivoted to offering an alternative time, and after a quick check of his calendar, the prospect agreed to the appointment.
In the second case, the prospect requested an email in lieu of scheduling an appointment. Often, this is a blow-off, but sometimes the prospect is genuinely interested and just needs a little extra prodding. “What if I send you the information, but we schedule something in the meantime to discuss it?” the BDR asked. The prospect agreed.
Objection-handling is key to any successful cold call. In these cases, the objections were straightforward and easily countered, but regardless, it’s important to be able to pivot quickly and not immediately take no for an answer.
5. The wrap-up
Just as a “no” to an appointment isn’t always the end of the line, a “yes” to an appointment is no guarantee that the prosect will show up. However, certain steps after scheduling the meeting can significantly reduce the number of no-shows. Here are a few of the things the BDRs did on these four calls:
- Confirmed the prospects’ phone number and email address, including spelling back the email for them
- Asked if the prospects had anything specific they wanted to discuss during the appointment
- Asked qualifying questions to assure the prospects that they were the right people for the appointments
- Repeated back the details of the meeting (time, date, name of rep, etc.)
- Reminded the prospects to be on the lookout for the meeting link
- Thanked the prospects for their time and wished them a good day. (You never know—leaving a good last impression might be the difference in whether the prospect shows for the meeting or not).
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These were just four of the thousands of successful cold calls VSA has made for our clients over the past 22 years. Cold calling isn’t easy, but following these best practices and others can go a long way toward increasing conversions and filling your pipeline.
If you’d like to learn more, give us a call. We’d love to put our knowledge and experience to work for your business.