Let's get straight to the point. Cold Calling is dead! Cold Calling is an old-style sales method which we still defend, just because we don't know what to change. The Baylor University found that the average salesperson generates roughly one appointment or referral from every 209 cold calls. According to Statista the average sales conversion rate across all industries is as little as 2.46% - 3.26%. A lot of effort and far too little return. Any company with such low success rate would close their gates once and for all and no one would be surprised.
I am aware that this provocative opening may outrage many, but that’s a good thing. It gives me the opportunity to ask how do you measure your cold calling or sales performance - by KPIs and goals? Maybe by sales volume, call hours, call attempts or call to demo ratio?
80% of all sales people are described as incompetent by their customers or prospects
This is where your problem lies. You measure your performance according to your own parameters. It is as if a defendant would choose his sentence in court. That cannot work. What really matters, or better said, who really matters in judging your performance is the customer. Sales or cold calling performance can only be measured with the eyes of the customer and how they “feel” your performance. A nationwide US survey by MyCF made this fact crystal clear by showing that 80% of all sales people who interact with customers are described as incompetent by their customers or prospects. A crushing judgment. Cold calling is outdated for many reasons. Here are the four biggest ones:
Sellers are not supported enough -
Forbes found out that only 15% of the training budget is invested in sales training while 85% is spent on executive and management coaching. No wonder that 61% of Execs admit their sales reps are not properly trained in sales techniques and that sales is behind company’s expectation. .
Sellers focus on low hanging fruits -
Only 19% of customers trust salespeople. 69% want the seller to first listen to their needs before they sell while 61% say, that sellers are too pushy and want them to give more relevant information in the first place. Customers want consultants, not old-style sales pros.
Sellers give up too easily -
92% of sales pros give up after the 4th call and more than 60% even after the second call attempt. It should be well known that more than 50% of all sales happen only after the 5th contact and the higher the investment for the customer is the more call attempts are needed.
Sellers don’t know their customers -
InsideView found that 90% of CEOs as well as 73% of VPs never return cold calls or cold emails. Only 15% of prospects want to talk about purchase authority on the first calls while less than a quarter want to talk about their budget or timeline. Addressing decision makers directly makes no sense, you should rather look for "allies" who support you in the process.
Cold calling is like putting an ad for a new app in the local newspaper. It simply makes no sense and it is not contemporary anymore. Today's customers demand much more than just being called and asked to buy or schedule a demo. First and foremost, customers don't want the same "copy and paste" process over and over again that doesn't differ from one company to another. Customers want to feel that they are the "chosen ones". An assurance that the seller has researched them before the first contact, listens to them, understands their needs and acts like a trusted advisor who helps them make the right decisions.
You can get anything you want if you help enough other people get what they want
Successful sellers have replaced their cold calling with advisory calls. They do not just contact their prospects; they first of all connect with them and bond with them instead of working through a standardized process. They listen carefully to their customers, not only understand the surface problems, but recognize their main problem that needs to be solved. Successful sellers support the customer in the decision-making process and use social media and the weaknesses of direct competitors to confirm to customers that a cooperation is a win-win situation.
Here are 10 unbeatable tips that will help you successfully change your method:
Don't look for decision-makers, let someone recommend you. 84% of B2B buyers start their buying search with a referral. Sales pros search for "allies" within the company, friends or relatives who can recommend and introduce them to the right decision-makers.
Make yourself more interesting as a person and be more present and creatively active in social networks. 54% of salespeople can track their success to their social media engagement. Sales pros post a lot of useful information and interesting facts and avoid standard “boring” company marketing materials.
Be a good listener. If you ask your customer or prospect in the beginning of a phone call how they are doing, listen to them and acknowledge them. Don't immediately jump into your pitch. Sales pros start by making small talk, building bridges and asking for a small favor (Benjamin Franklin Effect) before they get started.
Avoid educational phrases. Sentences such as “let me show you how…“ lowers success rates by up to 13%. Sales pros prefer to talk about the emotional elements that the customer or prospect will experience.
Go easy on your company name. If you use it 4+ times in one call, you’ll hurt close rates by up to 14%. Sales pros talk almost exclusively about the customer and the success they will have in the future (obviously because they will use the product).
Be proud of your product. “Discounts” lowers success rates by 17% while indicated "Price Flexibility" even drops success rate by up to 23%. Sales pros don't talk about the price at all and put their entire focus only on the needs and emotions of the customer. Those who are emotionally attached do not ask for pricing, not even for ballpark figures.
Be creative. On average, people delete 48% of their emails in five minutes. Sales pros use creative and personalized emails with no product descriptions or promises. Did you know that 70% of prospects respond to an emotional and short video?
Don't always use the same sales pitch. Sales pros who switch between introverted and extroverted modes increase their success by 24% to 32%. Engage and act in the type of presentation your client likes most.
Stop to demonstrate „demos“ and let them try it out themselves, because 70% of customers want to be able to try out products in person. Be honest to yourself, do you always read the instructions of use before first use of something?
Challenge your prospects. 74% of B2B buyers do online research after a call and before they buy. Sales pros use their competitors' weaknesses but talk about their own advantages, which the customer or prospect can easily confirm in an online search.
You see, it can be so easy. Less I and more they because it is the customer or the prospect who decides whether your performance was good or bad. Not you! You must be an advisor to your prospective customers, not a salesperson. Reach out to connect, not to contact. Only now an un-announced call makes sense again and not an old-fashioned cold call, right?
There is one last thing:
The myth that you can sell anywhere in English. Did you know that 61% of buyers prefer a cooperation with local companies over international ones? The reason is very simple: Indeed, sales, IT and legal departments all speak English very well but it is a very different story when it comes to the individual departments that will later use your product. Therefore, companies that offer websites, documentation, training and support in the customer's native language are always one step ahead of the competition.
If you find my tips valuable but still don't know exactly how to change your cold calling/mailing, I’m inviting you to write me an email and you will get a training session free of charge - how to take your specific challenge and form together a path to success. My email is: chris@forty-two.digital