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1 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Cold Calling – Still Relevant?by Tim Cortinovis
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
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© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
2 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Table of Contents 1. Why Cold Calling?
2. Five Steps To a Hallelujah!
3. What Do You Have to Offer? The Elevator Pitch
4. Finding Target Audiences, Generating Leads
5. Your Personal Attitude
6. Lead Acquisition Tools
7. Online Meetings: An Effective Lead Generation Boost
8. About Tim Cortinovis
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
3 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Why Cold Calling?This is a very unpopular topic for many people - even seasoned managers - who suddenly need to start cold calling.
But if you want to be more successful than your competitors in the marketplace, there’s no way around it. Because cold calling is still the only way to establish personal contact with a new customer. And people love personal contact. Where would you prefer to go? To the bakery shop around the corner, where people ask about your last vacation, or to an impersonal discount store?
That’s precisely the reason why businesses that conduct cold calling are more successful than companies that rely solely on marketing and the maintenance of existing customers.
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
4 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Five Steps To a Hallelujah!Proceed as follows:
1. Determine your profile2. Determine your target audience3. Address your target audience and generate interest4. Make an appointment5. Close the deal
Sound easy? It is.
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
5 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
What Do You Have to Offer? The Elevator Pitch
Please write down three sentences about your offer, and always try to see things from the customer’s perspective:
• What is your offer?• Why is it interesting?• Who is it aimed at?
Remember: This is not about describing your business idea, but to describe - as detailed as possible - which of your customer’s problems you can solve or how he would benefit from your offer. Don’t just list your arguments one after another, but present a tangible, compelling benefit.
Test your elevator pitch in different situations. Even an elevator ride could be a good idea. How often do you meet potential clients in the cafeteria, in the lobby or at the check-in counter?
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
6 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Finding Target Audiences, Generating Leads
The basic question is “Who actually needs my offer?” Read through the advertisements in the newspaper and ask yourself the following questions: Who’s looking for new employees? What companies are expanding their business or acquiring other companies? Who’s expanding? Read the daily newspaper and also trade journals with that aspect in mind. With some practise you’ll quickly identify some promising companies. The next step is to contact them directly, either regarding the actual project or, more specifically, your offer.
Search through the commercial register entries. Which companies have just recently started their business? Which companies have moved their company headquarters? Where are subsidiaries cropping up?
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
7 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Your Personal AttitudeYou’re not bothersome! You’re offering your customer something important and valuable that will help him or her. Indeed, this is often a big concern: to disturb or pester the customer and to be generally bothersome. You don’t want to make yourself unpopular. But no, it doesn’t have to be that way. Present yourself in such a way that your counterpart will be happy when you call or drop by. I’ve had a client for many years who, although she’s never bought anything, was always delighted whenever I called her. And in the end she actually did place a very large order. Begin by taking an interest in your counterpart. Consider him as a valued partner to be taken seriously.
After all, your potential client will sense what you think about him, just as you can also sense his attitude towards you. Your attitude will shape the conversation and your relationship to each other. The more appreciation and understanding you have for your customers, the better your conversations will be because your customers sense exactly that.
My tip: Keep a diary of your sales calls in which you write down everything you try and how successful it was.
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
8 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Lead Acquisition ToolsThe traditional tools for lead acquisition are:
• Telephone
• On-site visit
• Trade fair visit
• Information evening
A new possibility are online meetings, which save you time and travel costs.
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
9 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Online Meetings: An Effective Lead Generation Boost
Some good reasons to use online meetings to generate leads:
• Saves time for both sides, and you save travel costs as well• It is not as daunting as a personal visit• It is much easier to show the client something directly on the screen rather than just
discussing it over the phone.
How do you proceed?
You schedule an appointment for a presentation directly with your counterpart or his assistant. The reason can be a product launch, for example. This way, the on-site visit can be replaced by an effective online meeting.
Try it. It pays off!
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
10 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Finding the Right ToolYou already know how to use online meetings as an effective lead generation boost. When choosing an online meeting tool you should pay attention to the following criteria:
• Function for video conferencing in HD quality
• Voice audio over telephone and VoIP
• Simultaneous screen sharing, audio and video conferencing
• Ability to plan future meetings and video conferences
• Optional toll-free dial-in access for participants
If you want to try it out right now, just download a free trial version of the online meeting solution Citrix GoToMeeting. It meets all the above criteria and is incredibly easy to use.
You can download your free trial version here
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
11 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Making Participation Easy for Prospects
Make it easy for potential clients to participate in your online presentations and video conferences. By accepting the costs for the call, you’re already signalling that you value them. Express your appreciation by mentioning this in your meeting invitation.
Expand your reach. As I have mentioned already, with online meetings and video conferencing no travel is necessary, so you can conduct your lead generation efforts virtually anywhere - nationally and even internationally. If you invite international participants, make sure that your online meeting solution also provides telephone numbers for other countries, because not everyone has a headset to participate in your presentation via VoIP.
Citrix GoToMeeting provides telephone numbers for many countries, so that no participant needs to pay for international calls. Optionally, you can also provide toll-free calling for all participants.
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
12 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
Get started!Online meetings offer many possibilities for lead acquisition - use them to your full advantage. Be well prepared and observe the following seven tips:
1. Pay attention to your appearance, just like you would for an on-site visit.
2. Before you start the video conference, remove all distracting elements from the background.
3. Save your presentation in a special folder so you can find it immediately.
4. Before your conversation, research your prospect’s company.
5. Try to have a genuine conversation and develop a good relationship.
6. During the conversation, find out who makes decisions in the company.
7. At the end the session, arrange a follow-up meeting.
Now you have everything you need. You know what you have to offer, you know how to proceed, you know who is ready to buy, and you know how to win over people.
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
13 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
About Tim CortinovisTim Cortinovis is the expert on lead acquisition. He’s a sales trainer, author and professional speaker. He was born in 1972 near Hamburg and studied Spanish and German in Hamburg and Málaga, focusing on communication and sociolinguistics. Since completing his studies, he’s had more than ten years experience in various sales and marketing positions, including successful lead acquisition throughout Europe. His motto is, “The more customers, the more fun.” With wit, he demonstrates not only how you can easily win over more customers, but also have fun doing it.
Contact: www.cortinovistraining.de (German)
© CortinovisTraining, Tim Cortinovis
14 | Cold Calling – Still Relevant?
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