No matter how great they are, your sales reps dread cold calling. Fortunately, there are ways to support your sales team that will make the traditional cold call a thing of the past. Here are some strategies that will heat up those initial calls, making it much easier to sell.
Separate Initial Correspondence from Sales
If your sales team is making a cold call, they should not be making a sales call! This may seem counterintuitive at first. However, the philosophy behind this strategy is simple - your sales team cannot make a great pitch without knowing something about the customer. The first call should be all about asking questions and gathering information about the prospect.
Teach Pre-Call Etiquette
Why are your sales reps calling without taking advantage of the slew of online resources that can connect you to prospects? You have Twitter, LinkedIn, message boards and other options to heat up your cold calls before you ever talk to a prospect one on one. The company should be reaching out to the most qualified prospects over these platforms to advertise the company before any sales rep calls.
Script Out Common Objections
If your cold sales calls have been unsuccessful, then your sales reps definitely have some data to use here. Prospects will eventually trend into the same objections. You will also have certain sales agents who will naturally be able to overcome these objections. It is your job to organize these trends and the successful conversation past those objections into your scripts. This is the appropriate way to use scripts, not as a robotic alternative to a real interaction. There are certain times when it benefits everyone to work from the same framework, and dealing with common objections is one of those times.
Give No Easy Outs
Your sales team may be giving your prospects an easy way to end the call. Your reps should not be apologetic at all about calling. Any phrasing that resembles, "Is it a good time for you to talk now?" should be eliminated from the sales floor completely. Rather, tell your sales team to begin the call by immediately showing interest in the person who is on the other end of the phone. Ask questions that assume familiarity, which is the first strategy in getting someone to feel friendly towards you.
Check out our post on 5 keys to being a successful Sales manager. 
