How Can Social Media Add Value To Cold Calling
With all the social media platforms out there, many companies — and sales managers — believe that cold calling has become obsolete. The fact is — nothing could be further from the truth.
When it comes to marketing, one of the most incredible present-day advantages has to be the culture of connectivity.
Everybody is online.
Gone are the days when you had to travel to old Mr Smith’s offices, clutching a business card in your sweaty hand, desperately hoping that his 90-year old secretary would let you through the door.
Now, with some simple preparation — and learning to work smart — you have dozens of ways to get through the door and engage with Mr Smith.
Social media enables you to find an incredible amount of information about your prospect, so make it work for you.
How?
Invite potential clients to visit your Facebook page or LinkedIn profile. Work on establishing an online presence, posting, commenting on or sharing relevant information that may be of interest to these prospects, while creating the impression that you are knowledgeable and trustworthy. All of these provide clients with greater peace of mind, knowing that they are dealing with a real company with confidence and interest in their own brand and social interaction.
What I’m talking about here is called Attraction Marketing — very appropriately, I think.
Remember: people buy from people.
Not only that, but they overwhelmingly buy from people they know and trust. That means that you need to get face to face, turn on the charm, put on some good manners, and get your prospect to that first date.
You’re sowing the seeds; you’re establishing trust long before you get face to face. On a much deeper psychological level, you’re doing something called ‘pre-framing’, which is the skill of asserting your personality without the other person even being aware of it.
So, what is cold calling?
If the words ‘Sales’, ‘Marketing’, or ‘Advertising’ appear anywhere in your office or department, then you probably don’t need any introduction to cold calling. The odds are — it introduced itself to you. And for some people, particularly sales newbies, that introduction can feel like a visit to the dentist.
But is that really what cold calling is all about? I don’t believe so, not for one minute.
You see, knowledge is power — and the right kind of knowledge can take a huge amount of stress out of approaching a new prospect. In fact, with the right training and mind set, you can actually look forward to approaching your prospect.
And if you do it correctly, not only will he become your client, but he’ll wind up liking and trusting you. Oh, and giving you money. Too good to be true? Well, it isn’t.
Before you can play a game of chess, you need to learn the rules. Cold calling — defined as
‘unsolicited contact with a prospective client’
— is no different. Once you understand the rules (the simple principles of creatively engaging and interacting), your ability to do so — and to do so astoundingly well — increases in bucket loads.
Did you know that it’s usually just a few people from sales that are responsible for the biggest chunk of the turnover? The reason — they have taken the time and effort to learn specific skills which guarantee them a competitive edge. One of these key skills — possibly the most important one of all — is the ability to consistently seek out new business by cold calling with confidence and authority.
So why doesn’t everyone, well… just do it? The answer can be summed up with a very well-known four letter word beginning with ‘F’.
FEAR — which simply stands for Forever Expecting Awful Results.
We all fear rejection. And the vast majority of salespeople out there approach a new prospect with a pre-expectation that they will be rejected. Why? Because it only takes a few rejections to make you believe that ‘NO’ is somehow a default setting aimed at you.
Why Has Cold Calling Received Such a Bad Rap?
There are several reasons cold calling carries a negative stigma. Most of these are down to the salesperson not laying the foundation and trying to play chess blindfolded:
- Not knowing who to speak to
If you ‘cold call’ a company and don’t know who to speak to, you’re going to look profoundly unprofessional. Imagine being in the shoes of a switchboard operator or department head.
Operator: “Certainly! Who would you like to speak to?”
You: “Um… I don’t really know.”
Seriously? I wouldn’t want to do business with you either. Do the research, folks! - Lack of knowledge of the target
I’m not talking about whether they like Sushi, but rather about their business function, the company they work for (or own), and their core business offering. Your basic knowledge should include:
*Understanding the business goals of your target.
*Knowing how big the company is; what the company objectives are, and what products and services they offer. Get to know their culture.
*Critically important — find out who your competitors are. Who is providing them with the service or product you’re offering? Why should they rather buy from you? —Here’s a biggie: - Not conversing
Cold calling is not about talking AT someone. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to have someone phone you, and then blurt out a scripted ‘sales pitch’ like a terrified rabbit with Attention Deficit Disorder? You need to calm down. Establish rapport (which only takes a few seconds if you do it right). Ask questions and provide feedback. Understand that it’s about arranging that first date — your prospect has to like you before you can invite them to a movie. If you ignore this, and just shotgun your prospect with a sales pitch, you’ll be setting yourself up for the other ‘F-word’ — FAILURE.
So, How Do You Create a Winning Cold Calling Strategy?
A proper cold calling strategy involves more than one step. It requires investing some time and effort — prospect diligently, decide on qualified leads and use social media to find out more about your prospects — understand their business and needs.
Then — and only then — call to set up a meeting, or to discuss the potential of a meeting.
Social media hasn’t replaced cold calling, but is an incredibly powerful tool that enhances a successful cold calling strategy.
If you are ready to tackle cold calling head on, check out The Cold Call Bible; where you will be taught how to source qualified clients, set up meetings with key decision makers, and increase your sales exponentially.
This article by Daniel Francès originally appeared on the Oktopost blog
