As an entrepreneur, you know how hard it can be to attract new customers to your business. While promotions like a sale or an advertising campaign may work, there is one tried and true method that produces a positive return on investment for many organizations: cold calling.
Cold Calling Tips for Small Businesses
Regardless of whether you sell goods or services to other businesses or consumers, you need to start cold calling with a high-quality, highly targeted list of leads. If you sell to other businesses, you’ll need a list of small business sales leads. If you sell directly to consumers, you’ll need a list of residential phone numbers. Luckily, you can purchase both list types in bulk from TelephoneLists.Biz at an affordable price. To learn more about our leads lists, contact us today.
In addition to using high-quality, targeted lists, here are some other tips to help you improve your cold calling ROI:
Call at the Right Time
The days and times you call the prospects on your leads list can influence the success you ultimately have. Study your target market to determine when it’s most likely that your prospects will be available to take a call. If you’re trying to reach a decision-maker at a business, studies show that Thursday is the best day to call, followed by Wednesday. If you’re calling consumers, you may want to wait until the evening when the hectic part of their day is probably over.
Don’t Give Up
While it may be tempting to give up after you call a given prospect twice without a commitment, don’t. The majority of new sales are closed after a cold caller contacts a prospect at least five times.
Practice
You can greatly increase the chances that cold calling will produce a positive ROI by practicing. The more you practice cold calling, the more effective you’ll be when your prospects take your calls.
Cold Calling Best Practices for Small Businesses
Just like some tips can help you generate a positive ROI from cold calling, so can adhering to some best practices. The first best practice you should stick to is to use a script. Using a script will help you stay focused and prevent you from forgetting to relay some critical information that might sway a prospect’s decision to make a purchase.
You should also avoid multi-tasking during a cold calling session. Before you start making calls, eliminate everything that may distract you from your office. Also, make sure everyone knows to avoid interrupting you as you make cold calls unless an emergency arises. If your prospects don’t have your full attention during a conversation, they’ll sense it, and they may hang up before you can even make your pitch.
Small Business Cold Calling Scripts
If you sell to other businesses, you probably understand how important it is to use a script. While that may be the case, you might need help coming up with a script on your own.
If you sell products, here is a script you may want to use to secure an appointment with a prospect:
“Hello, [Prospect Name]. My name is [Your Name] and I’m calling from [Business Name]. My business just introduced a product that can help organizations like yours to process their inventory intake faster and more efficiently.
More specifically, our innovative product can reduce the labor required to process inventory by more than 30 percent while working seamlessly with your current inventory management system. Will you be free this Thursday so I can further explain the benefits of our product?” [Pause]
“Yes, 3 p.m. works well on my end. Thank you for your time. I’ll see you at your location at 3 p.m. this Thursday.”
If you sell services, you may want to use the following script instead:
“Hi, [Prospect Name]. I’m [Your Name] and I work for [Business Name]. I’m contacting you because my business offers services that can help you increase revenue by as much as 40 percent in just six months. If you’d like to know more about our customizable services, I’m available to share more details with you in person later this week. Is 1 p.m. on Friday a convenient time for me to meet with you at your office?” [Pause]
“Okay, I’m available at 4:30 p.m. that afternoon as well. I look forward to seeing you in your office at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Thank you.”
Cold Calling Scripts for Individual Consumers
Do you sell products or services to individual consumers? If so, you’ll use scripts that are similar to, yet different from those provided above. Here is a script you can use if you sell products directly to consumers:
“Hi, [Prospect Name]. I’m [Your Name] from [Business Name] I hope I caught you at a good time because I have some great news that can make your life easier. We just introduced a new product that makes cleaning any surface a cinch, without the risk of scratching delicate surfaces. Wouldn’t you love to be able to remove grease or clean grout with just one swipe?” [Pause]
“That’s what I thought. May I send you a sample of our product now and give you a call back at 5 p.m. next Tuesday to see what you think about it? [Pause] Great. I’m sending your sample via UPS now. I can’t wait to hear your feedback next Tuesday at 5 p.m. Thanks for your time.”
Here is a script you can use if you sell services to individual consumers:
“Hi, [Prospect Name]. My name is [Your Name] from [Business Name]. I’m calling because my business just rolled out a new service that can save you time every day by handling your daily errands. Our localized service is only available in your area, and we’d love for you to try it out for free. May I call you at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday to explain how our service works and schedule a time for a complimentary trial? [Pause]
“Wonderful. I’ll talk to you again at 7:30 p.m. this Wednesday. Thank you for your time.”
Contact Telephone Lists for Small Business Leads
Now that you have some sample sales scripts you can use for residential and small business sales leads, it’s time to start cold calling! Remember to check back in and let us know how you do. We look forward to seeing what you have to say in the comments section below.
