It’s tempting to think that, given the significant number of digital portals that can today be used for marketing, cold calling must be an outdated sales strategy. This would be a mistake; it can still prove surprisingly effective if approached in the right way. However, as the “right way” of cold calling might not be immediately obvious to many of us, here are some tips before you get on the phone.

Keep your true goal in sight

One reason for cold calling’s bad reputation might be the misconception, commonly held by beginners, that the aim of a cold call is making a sale. Strictly speaking, it isn’t; instead, the purpose is to set out your stall, so to speak, by making clear why the person you are contacting should buy what you are offering. Any resulting sale will likely happen later – potentially much later.

This should be a source of comfort for you; it means that, without the pressure of making an immediate sale, you don’t have to feel the need to resort to pushy, “salesy” language that could ultimately deter the other person from buying from you.

Thoroughly research the firm or individual you intend to call

One way of diminishing the need for “salesy” talk is, before you even make the call, learning as many details as you can about the company or person you will be calling. That done, once you do start chatting over the phone, you won’t need to read from the kind of cookie-cooker script that you would probably repeat to any other potential customer that you know little about.

Instead, you could speak specifically about the other person’s business or requirements. This could have the huge advantage of convincing your call’s recipient that you genuinely understand their problems. Otherwise, you could come across as arrogantly believing that every single person will want your offering. In an Entrepreneur article, menswear firm Blank Label co-founder Danny Wong says that this can occur “when salespeople repeat the same things to every potential customer”.

Develop a thick skin and a persistent streak

Inevitably, your cold calling efforts will bring you into contact with time-strapped executives and impatient secretaries who seemingly want you to just go away. However, Wong advises building “elephant-thick” skin because “the main problem of unsuccessful cold callers is that they give up far too easily and quickly.” Another reason why cold calling is often deemed fundamentally ineffective?

It certainly appears telling that, according to The Balance, 80% of new sales are achieved following the fifth contact – and, yet, most salespeople abandon cold calling after only their second call. Therefore, while you might not currently – or ever – find cold calling particularly enjoyable, you can still, by employing persistence, hone your skills at it. Vitally, you can also boost your chances of coming across people who are eager to do business with someone just like you. At Frosch Learning, we offer in-house training which can help you even further improve your cold calling.