Free Cold Calling Lesson #1: How to Measure Success?

Cold calling… hmmm, where to start. Let’s try simplifying it with a real-life story. Imagine this scenario: it is Saturday night, you are out in the bar and suddenly you see someone who catches your attention straight away. You suddenly feel an unbearable urge to make the first move. 

You start creating tactics and strategies in your head – what to say, how to approach, what opening line to use, and win the other half. You go through the various outcomes of that fiery baptism in your head and at the end, it comes down to “to be or not to be is the question now?”.

Every salesperson who needs to take the first step towards a potential customer goes through an identical flow of thoughts, and that is where cold calling comes in handy.

But, who would be exposed to such stress every day, one might think?

Cold calling is a technique often used in outbound sales and it involves contacting individuals/companies who have not previously shown any interest in your service or product. Most often, this approach involves outreaching the prospects via email, phone, or even in person, which is then called door-to-door sales.

What you don’t measure you can’t even change – and imagine, the same rule applies to sales. If you want to change your results, it’s the right time for you to start paying attention to the following things.

Tanja Kvrgic. CEO & Co-founder

1. Activity – How Many Cold Calls Do You Make Weekly? 

The important rule that applies is that selling is a game of numbers, more calls, more chances to get YES! The more – the merrier.

2. Time – When Do You Use Cold Calling?

It doesn’t have to be a necessary rule, but Monday is the first working day of the week and often clients are in some of their jobs, everything that has accumulated over the weekend needs to be done, organized for the upcoming days. The last thing they need is someone they have never met to start offering them something. People are generally most productive on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

3. Quantity Is Important, But Quantity Without Quality Means Nothing

Naturally, the following question arises – how many decision-makers have you had the opportunity to talk to? It is always important to talk to the RIGHT person who makes the decision and has the power to buy what you are offering.

4. What Is A Goal Of Cold Calling?

The main goal of a cold call is not SALES but to schedule a demo/meeting/ trial of your product or service… or simply qualify your lead better (no strings attached). Keep in mind that you called the client for the first time and that you are very likely to interrupt them in the middle of their activity, and that you will not get their full attention immediately. That’s why it’s important to qualify them and get them to the second call/meeting where you will have more time to qualify them and say something about your offer.

5. It Is Not About You, It Is About Them

Let them talk, learn how to ask proper questions, and then just listen. Do you know what everyone’s favorite word is? Hearing their name. So be their guest, sit and listen, bond with a client, and secure yourself a next chance to talk.

If you still don’t understand why you don’t get satisfactory sales results, let’s try the following questions:

• Reach rate (percentage in which you reach your lead): if that number is less than 40% of the total number of called numbers – then it’s time to think about other ways to access the lead. Via e-mail, LinkedIn, and even social networks or in person, why not?
• Gatekeepers turn down rate – do you often get NO from assistants/secretaries and fail to reach the decision-maker? If this rate exceeds 50%, it’s time to find another way to reach the relevant person.
• Conversion rate (a percentage that reflects how many leads said yes to your proposal): if your conversion rate is lower than 40%, you should work on your sales pitch.

Now that you know what you need to pay attention to, MEASURE, and MONITOR your results, consistency is something you need to keep in mind non-stop. The secret is that the sooner you notice unsatisfactory results, the faster you can take corrective measures until you find the secret formula that brings the best results with the least effort.

Cold outreach can be emotionally challenging, you will often hear the hanging up before you can say anything but your name, but over time you will realize that it is nothing personal and you will become more resistant to that dose of discomfort.

The more times you go through the identical process, the sooner you will be ready for the next steps.

The same applies to nightlife… just saying.

To find out more about SkaleUP and our story visit our about us page or read our previous article.