Attracting and converting cold leads coming into your business into warm leads is an important process for any business. However, it is also considered one of the toughest tasks to accomplish. And hey, if you had the choice, you’d probably prefer to only have warm and qualified leads coming into your business than having to go through the process of such conversion.
We all know the feeling of making outbound calls to cold leads. You pick up your phone and decide to make a cold call to a prospect. You’re ready to pitch your best pitch, but they don’t seem responsive at all. Well, don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Here are some simple ways that can help you convert those leads into warm leads!
Here is how!
Cold call is a term that gets thrown around in certain circles to denote the process of reaching out to new customers, prospects or clients. In the sales and marketing world, this is a majority of outbound calls done by sales representatives.
Cold calling can be a highly effective and powerful tool in your sales arsenal if used correctly. However, it can also be a complete waste of time if you’re not doing it right.
So how do you make that happen? How do you get people excited about your offer? How do you convert cold call leads into warm leads?
1. Be enthusiastic, friendly, and state your purpose from the start.
There’s nothing worse than trying to get someone on the phone who’s reluctant to speak with you and then having the person on the other end of the line sound bored or unenthusiastic. The worst part is when the caller themselves sound like they don’t even want to be there! You need to sound excited about what you’re offering and genuinely interested in helping them solve their problem.
It is also important to clearly state who you are and why you are calling from the start so they know why they should listen to what you have to say.
2. Don’t rush the prospect or seem overly eager.
To get the best results from your cold calls, you need to have a script. One that leads to a natural conversation, not an interrogation or presentation.
During a cold call, it is extremely easy to get impatient or sound salesy. Hence, you should not be rushing into the conversation with a single goal of just selling your product or services to the prospect. This brings us to the next point!
3. Ask relevant questions to determine the customer’s needs, and note down how you or your services can help.
It’s important to build a relationship with potential customers before selling them anything. By taking the time to understand their needs and offering them suitable solutions, they are more likely to consider what you have to offer.
Avoid asking ‘yes or no’ questions. Instead, open-ended questions will keep the conversation going, especially when asking the prospect about their pain points and goals.
Additionally, do note down the prospect’s points and assess how your product or service could benefit them.
4. You should be able to share how you can help them right away, without spending a long time on small talk.
Well, whether they are cold leads, warm leads or previous clients, people are only interested in what’s in it for them. Sure, they may be interested in or love your product or service, but they are only really interested in:
• How will it benefit them?
• How much does it cost?
• Can you deliver?
• Will it help them solve their problem or improve their life or business?
5. Base your script on the prospect’s background.
While the conversation is going on, and as you are getting to know the prospect better, you should probably already have a rough idea of the background of the prospect you’re currently on the phone with.
You could tailor your script to the prospect’s situation and use their language when talking with them. Furthermore, a good way to improve your cold calling scripts is by having them reflect the prospect’s background. If they’re an engineer, then talk about engineering; if they’re an artist, bring up art. This allows the prospects to feel more comfortable when they’re talking to you.
6. Ask if they’d be interested in hearing from you again.
More often than not, if you ask in the right way, people will say yes to this question. You just have to make sure your ask is specific and open-ended enough that they can answer yes without feeling like they have to buy from you on the spot. Once they said yes, it is best to ask when is the best time to connect with them again (e.g: “Can I check in with you again in a week?”).
7. Review your notes and follow up with them again in the future.
Remember that the money comes from the follow-up and as well as the follow-through! The process of converting cold leads into warm for your business will take time and patience. That being said, a good first cold call to the prospect involves getting to know more about the prospect. Hence, the important thing is to make sure to review your notes in order to be more prepared for the next call you make with the same prospect. By being prepared and by knowing what to say in the next call will give you a better chance at closing the deal than before.
You’re one step closer!
At the end of the day, if you want to convert cold call leads into warm ones, you have to ask yourself these important questions: “who” and “why”. Instead of diving in and pitching your products or services to every single lead that you come across, try and determine whether or not this prospect is a good fit for your business. After all, determining whether or not a prospect is actually qualified will save you time and money in the long run. Trust us – it can be a challenge at first, but once you get the hang of it, it will definitely pay off.
