Cold calling is a fast, cost-effective, and powerful way to boost the B2B sales process. A cold calling strategy is essential for B2B prospecting. Nowadays it is believed that cold calling is outdated. Many organizations claim that it has no place among modern B2B lead generation techniques like email, social selling, etc. But the fact is that cold calling can work as one of the powerful B2B sales arsenals if used in the right way.

Cold calling has been around since 1873, and the better a salesperson can plan, the more likely can be expected from cold calling.

Keep Scrolling for CloudVandana’s top tips on cold calling strategy.

1.Define The Cold Calling Objectives

Proper planning should be there before picking up the phone for calling. A salesperson needs to define what is to be achieved from the cold calls. It might be called to attend a scheduled webinar or a meeting, or even a request to watch a live demo for a product or the services, the salesperson is offering. The caller needs to take some time to define call-to-action(CTA) before each call. This is an important point to remember that CTA might be different depending on the prospect.

Cold calling is just a phase of the multi-stage sales process. Cold calling might forward the process only to the next step instead of the final step, but that is absolutely successful cold calling. A few different objectives need to be tested to see what is best for the product that is the salesperson is offering. When a salesperson will be able to define the start and endpoint of a conversation, then the process becomes easier.

2. Highly Targeted Prospect List

A salesperson needs to create a targeted prospect list before starting the cold calling process. This is a two-step process.

Step 1-Identify the ideal Customer Profile(ICP)

This is the single most important thing during the creation of the cold calling strategy. Speaking to the wrong people defines the falls to pieces.

The benefits of precise ICP are high-quality leads, better outbound, smashed targets, greater efficiency, and consequently, more revenue-this all result in a more motivated, confident sales team.

Step 2- Scale it up

A salesperson can make the cold calling process way more effective by using a B2B prospecting tool.

3. Use Sales Triggers

Sales triggers (buying triggers, marketing triggers, or conversation triggers) can be defined as any event that could create an opening for contact with a prospect.

Time is everything for cold calling. Following are the examples of sales triggers that can improve the chances of conversion on a cold call.

New C-suite executives.
New Funding
Sector Announcements
New Legislation
Company Hiring
Conferences and Events
Company Relocation, expansion or merge.
Changing job role or title.

Each of these time-dependent data makes the difference between an interesting prospect and a hard no.

4. Research Your Prospect

A Salesperson needs to research a bit about the prospect list before calling them up. Through the research, the caller can provide a personalized experience to the prospect and can convert them into customers.

Following are few tips to ‘warm up the cold call:

Check your CRM –This is the 1st and foremost part of a call. The Salesperson needs to check the system if the prospect has been contacted by any of the representatives or not. If it is a follow-up, the caller should reference the previous conversation. It will create a very bad impression if the same conversation gets delivered twice.
Prospect’s LinkedIn Profile- Nowadays people share lots of stuff on their social media handles. From their post, shared content, or comments, a salesperson can streamline if they fit into the ICP or not.
Recent Events in prospect’s career- If they’ve had a recent promotion or won an award, a salesperson can congratulate them to maintain a good relationship.

5. Script Writing

A cold calling script can help a salesperson to be on track. If the callers get all the key selling points in front of them, then the cold call will be more effective. Those tried and tested points will help to create a positive impression on the prospect’s mind. Though this is not the ultimate. A total word-to-word conversation might be boring sometimes. Besides, a mechanical script can restrict the creative wings of any individual. Following are a few tips to implement a beneficial sales script:

1. Reason for calling the prospect should be there.

2. The script should be short yet informative.

3. Focus point should be how the caller can help the prospect, not just the information that he/she can do.

4. Open-ended questions can be asked.

5. The tone should be conversational.

6. Finally the cold calling should not be ended without an answer. Like if the prospect is interested in a demo or a presentation or not. If yes the caller can schedule a further call with the prospect.

6.Practice

When the salesperson is using a script, the secret should not be revealed to the prospect. The caller should not sound like a robot.

Before starting the call, a caller should practice the script very well. Following are few additional skills a caller can add to the toolkit.

Tonality- The voice of the caller should be excited about the product that he is offering. The much he will be excited, the prospect will get much interest.
Pauses and Hyperbole – Giving a pause to emphasize certain points will help to draw attention to the key selling product.
Mirroring – A salesperson should listen properly to how a prospect talks and mirror it. That will help the salesperson to build rapport with the prospect.
Repetition – Te caller can repeat the comments that the prospect makes. That acts as a guide for the prospect.

7. Call At The Right Time

There are times when people can take cold calls. If the salesperson calls at a convenient time, there is a high chance to get a positive response.

If the salesperson faces any PA or gatekeeper before speaking to the prospect, there are few tricks to get through the prospect.

If the caller speaks calmly and in a relaxed way, the person will sound experienced. Another important thing is PA or any other person is not the decision-maker so the caller should not waste his time with them. The caller needs to give such an impression to the PA that he/she knows the prospect from before. Last but not the least, a caller should not call the best lead at the beginning of the cold call list. The salesperson should call that lead after gathering some confidence and being better equipped with the right answer.

8.Handling Objections

There might be many objections during these processes. A salesperson needs to handle the obstructions in a brilliant way.

9. Analyse and Adapt

A caller needs to analyze the report and adopt the best process to boost the cold calling process and collect as much B2B data as possible. A salesperson can use A/B testing on cold calls to get the best results.

10. Ability To Face Rejection

The cold calling process is not easy. Many refections might come in the way to reach out to the right prospect and close the deal. But the Salesperson has to be positive and motivated. Never give up mentality should be formed before starting the cold calling procedure. Negative feedback also teaches something very important. So after a rejection, take a deep breath and move on to the next call with a positive attitude.