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Cold calling a car dealership. Cold calling – what is it? Pros and cons of cold calling

The essence of cold calling is that a company specialist attracts clients through phone call. The name “cold” defines the coldness of the client’s attitude towards this type of influence. Essentially, this means that a specialist makes a call to a new client who is unfamiliar with the company and its services. Naturally, such calls cause extreme hostility in the interlocutor. That is, an incredible number of barriers are created that do not allow you to immediately gain the attention and trust of a potential buyer or client. Agree that few people will like it if they receive a call from an unknown number and a completely unknown person starts offering to make some kind of purchase or use the company’s service.

The specialist who will make such calls will have to study in detail the technology for making them, and he will also need to fully control his emotions. As you understand, the negative mood of the interlocutor will certainly affect the emotional state of the manager. It is for this reason that such calls must certainly be prepared, and the manager who makes them must know special equipment conducting a conversation. Only in this case can you really achieve your goal.

Mastering telephone sales techniques is not as easy as it initially seems. There are quite a significant number of barriers to communication, since the conversation will be conducted between complete strangers. Therefore, the manager uses various well-developed tricks so that the interlocutor does not hang up and continues the conversation. A call can end effectively only if the manager is able to interest the interlocutor in something in the first stages. A manager making cold calls must feel the mood of the interlocutor and must competently structure the entire conversation in such a way that there is immediate interest in what will be said in the future. Such a specialist must train all the time, improving all his skills. It is recommended to rehearse at home in front of a mirror. Do not forget about the nuances of diction, because it is very important that the potential client understands you.

The cold calling technique is used in online marketing, as well as in B2B areas. This is a tool active sales, today it is actively used by companies of various formats. Statistics show that this sales method is extremely effective, but only a specialist with deep knowledge of the structure and methods of conducting conversations can obtain the necessary performance parameters.

What are cold calls?

We are talking about a tool that is used to generate active sales. The essence of the method is that an experienced specialist makes systematic calls to complete strangers, inviting them to use the services of a company or organization, offering to make a purchase. Such calls are necessary for:

In order for the company to have the opportunity to significantly increase the influx of new customers. To develop any business, it is not enough to have a standard base regular customers. An element of development is needed, which is precisely to expand the customer base. Searching for potential buyers and service users has a lot of difficulties. A limited sphere of influence is being formed, so cold calling is one of the few options for the most active recruitment of a new client base;
These call options are used when starting a new project. You can run expensive advertising companies to notify potential users of services or buyers of goods about the opening new organization. But at the initial stage of project implementation, such expenses may be unaffordable. A much more accessible, but no less effective way to build a client base is cold calling. The option is relevant due to its availability;
In order to create the most advantageous list clients. That is, from a standard list of potential clients, the manager, through calls, selects those who will actually use the company’s services or products. This technique is usually used by large companies that have an established customer base to update their data.

The cold calling technique is used in our country various companies. The method is of particular relevance in the work of advertising agencies, as well as in companies for wholesale and retail trade and from real estate agencies. However, the efficiency parameters of the methodology are so high that at the moment it is used almost everywhere in both small and medium-sized businesses, as well as in large, steadily growing businesses.

Conversation outline

In order for a cold call to be successful and to produce the necessary results, you need to draw up a conversation plan in advance and rehearse it. That is, you need to draw up a communication scheme, taking into account the fact that a person may have a lack of free time, which means that information must be provided clearly, accurately, concisely and concisely. We invite you to study the standard conversation scheme, which you can independently modernize to suit your requirements:

First of all, the process of introducing the company, as well as the person who represents it, is carried out. Be sure to use the company name, as this significantly increases the level of potential trust. Essentially, within the first minute you need to establish contact. Be sure to clarify how to address the person, this builds a kind of trust in you as a company specialist;
Next comes the presentation of the company. That is, in any case, you should say what kind of company you represent, what it does, what goods or services are offered to you;
The process of presenting services, goods or products takes place. It is very important that the presentation is concise, but at the same time interesting and complete. Do not forget that a person is unlikely to have a significant amount of free time. This means that no more than five minutes should be allocated for the entire conversation;
With the right introduction, the client will listen to you anyway. The marketing specialist must ask whether the person has time to listen to your proposal. If the person answers negatively, then you need to ask what time is best to call back, so that it would be more convenient for the client to listen to you. Then, at a clearly established time, you call back and make your presentation;
Keep in mind that clients often immediately refuse to communicate with you; delicately ask why they were not interested in your offer. Such actions must certainly be carried out in order to further work through aspects of objections and exclude from your conversation what may irritate a person;
If you are interested in your proposal, you can immediately accept the order or arrange a time to visit the office. Write down your potential client's individual details so you can contact them if necessary. Indicate that you have made an appointment for the person to see a manager, specialist, etc. Give significance to the client’s figure;
If your interlocutor has indicated that he is interested in the offer, but is currently unable to place an order or visit your office, you need to immediately clarify when you can call back to consider options for visiting the office or placing an order;
You should definitely say goodbye to the client competently, regardless of the outcome of the conversation. This should be done so that a negative impression is not provoked towards you and your company. After a while, you can contact the person again and make another offer.

There is a fairly significant number of trainings that are aimed at studying schemes and techniques for effective cold orders. Accordingly, if you want to become an experienced specialist in this field, you should definitely attend such trainings. Note that an experienced cold calling specialist will be in great demand in any company, while wage such a specialist will be quite significant.

Cold calling technique

Effective calls are based on an initial analysis of how average citizens feel about certain proposals. Remember that on the first call it is not necessary to make a sale. The main goal is to collect information for the subsequent preparation of a more advantageous offer. It’s best not to mention that you are the company’s sales manager. During the first conversation, interest is necessarily formed based on the information provided by your company and the relevance of the offer. The technology for effective cold calling is as follows:

The main credo of a specialist is politeness, attentiveness, but in no case ingratiation;
Try to leave specific numbers, as well as a specific proposal, for later. It is better to discuss the specifics during a personal meeting;
Consider all recommendations regarding call duration. Statistics show that you can retain the full attention of a client for 5 minutes, during which time you need to invest;
The main purpose of the call is effective interaction. That is, you don’t have to go above and beyond to make a sale. The main thing is to establish contact for further interaction, get to know each other, highlight your offer, and schedule a personal meeting. Only such calls can truly be considered the most effective;
During the conversation, you must speak confidently, briefly and concisely, at the same time you must provide the potential client with maximum information to interest him;
It is very important to feel the mood of the person you are talking to. For example, if a person has some problems at work, this will be felt in the intonation of his voice, and you must agree that in such a situation it will be extremely difficult to arouse at least some interest in the proposal. If you see that the client is not in the mood to talk with you, it is better to immediately agree that you can call back in the future;
Cold calling experts say that when talking with a client, you should smile, this creates your good attitude and mood. This positive charge, in turn, is transferred to the client. Accordingly, the effectiveness of your call increases;

You should call your interlocutor exclusively by name. To do this, after you have introduced yourself, be sure to ask your interlocutor to introduce himself, and this aspect should be done extremely unobtrusively. For example: it is worth asking how a person can be addressed;

The effectiveness of your event depends on how accurately you feel the client’s mood. By adapting to your interlocutor, you thereby challenge him positive emotions, and as you know, emotions are the basis of shopping.

It is important that the presentation takes place effectively. To do this, it is recommended to include certain discount programs, promotional offers, etc. That is, you need to indicate exactly what benefits the client will receive from such cooperation. That is, you need to do everything possible to clearly highlight your proposal against the background of all others. This is the only way a cold call will bring the desired effectiveness.

Dealing with all kinds of client objections

At the very beginning of a conversation, you can often hear peculiar objections. Moreover, such objections are often received after the presentation. You shouldn't be upset about this. All objections can be skillfully and competently eliminated. But to know how to deal with objections, you need to know what they are. This could be an objection indicating that the offer is not interesting, the person already has one, a refusal to further communicate indicating a lack of free time. Often they are asked to simply leave a proposal with an indication that it will be considered later. Many specialists in such a situation begin to object, essentially forcing the client to listen to the proposal; such actions are fundamentally wrong.

Your task is not to convince the client, but to exclude the possibility of their formation from the very beginning of the conversation. Try to be more interested in the client’s situation, try to immediately interest him in the current offer. For example, during a protest, try to be attentive to your interlocutor. This approach ensures that the client still wants to listen to your proposal thanks to your attentiveness. If an objection is nevertheless voiced, then you need to answer it easily and interestingly enough so that the potential client remains intrigued. If the objection is specific, and you see that you will not achieve the desired result, then it is better to stop the conversation immediately, but ask to indicate at what time it will be convenient for you to call back and talk in more detail about your proposal.

Common mistakes in cold calling

In no case should you demonstrate an aggressive desire to sell during a conversation with your interlocutor; do not mention that you are a sales specialist. These are the most common mistakes that lead to a potential client completely refusing to cooperate with you and your company. By eliminating such aspects, you will seriously improve the structure of your conversation with a future client or buyer.

If after greeting the client does not want to continue the conversation with you, you need to accept his decision. In this case, the most important thing is to maintain a pleasant impression of yourself. You shouldn't be rude, pointing out that you haven't even been listened to yet, just as you shouldn't use obvious lies to promote your company. Competent cold calls should be made with a clear demonstration of a positive attitude towards the person, at the same time keep in mind that you should not ingratiate yourself, beg and persuade, this has an extremely negative impact on the overall impression of you and the company you represent. When organizing cold calls, it is best to think through the structure of the conversation in advance, taking into account all kinds of refusals that a potential client will generate. Remember that all obstacles in communication can be eliminated by your positive attitude to the point. Accordingly, you should under no circumstances make spontaneous calls; each call must be worked out in detail.

Common mistakes in the process of making cold calls also include the fact that a specialist inattentively assesses the needs indicated by the person with whom he is communicating. That is, you need to not only work out the call structure and speech, but also mandatory It is better to approach the possible modernization of the conversation style and its structure. By acquiring one client, you can subsequently count on the fact that he can subsequently recommend you to his friends and acquaintances. This means that one well-executed call can become the basis for creating an entire database of buyers or service users. Today, the effectiveness of such calls is beyond doubt, but finding specialists who can actually make effective calls is rare. Accordingly, you will either have to study the technology on your own, or take an extremely detailed approach to the issue of choosing specialists. We invite you to additionally watch an interesting video on this issue.

April 10, 2018

In this article we will take a detailed look at cold calling technology and tell you about original scripts and the rules for conducting successful telephone calls, we will share the secrets of where it is better to start, we will explain what stages of interaction with a client exist, we will teach you how to determine efficiency and set goals correctly, and provide a training video.

All the secrets of “cold” sales: definition of the concept, main goals of a telephone call, principles of negotiation

They are called this because clients are quite cold when you try to establish contact with them. Remember how you yourself perceive calls from strangers? Usually they cause nothing but irritation to the person who answers the phone.

From here we get first tip: to have less “coldness” in the conversation, try call first! Of course, the degree of acquaintance with the people around us is different - someone is a close friend or even a relative, and with someone you just have a superficial acquaintance, you met once at something and simply exchanged business cards. But in any case, a conversation with such a person will be easier, with less chance of irritation, retaliatory rudeness and blocking of the number.

At the moment of such a call you should be. Otherwise, even if the deal is concluded, it will lead to the disappointment of your friend, and there may be a complete break in your personal good relationship! Our the main objective– these are satisfied clients!

Your managers will be able to work equally productively with both segments, learn to interact and stop being afraid of telephone conversations and learn how to turn their calls into closed deals.

A high-level telephone communications specialist knows techniques that reduce the failure rate during “cold” sales to a minimum. Company owners who are poorly versed in this area believe that the conversion rate from such phone calls is very low. There is some truth in this. If the staff is not trained, it can actually reach 1% or less. In other words, out of 100 calls, only 1 will hit the target.

And such performance will really contribute to the rapid moral burnout of your salespeople, their low earnings, high staff turnover and your high costs for the selection of new employees. By endlessly recruiting new salespeople, you will lose more money than on one investment in the development of one high-quality “Telephone Call Algorithm” and training of your existing employees.

There are many ways to increase conversion by multiples. First, develop and test a reliable algorithm that will subsequently guide your managers. On your own or with the help of experts in this matter.

Read on this site about the peculiarities of business in the “pressure of transactions”, perhaps there you will find some tips for yourself...

Sales stages of cold calling

Step-by-step instructions are compiled for each business separately. If you contact consultant Vladimir Khmelev, you will receive a detailed text that takes into account the specifics of your activity. An example script looks like this.

Greetings. Establishing contact with the “gatekeeper”/secretary.
Some kind of magic phrase. Important news. Intrigue. Paradox. "It's a misunderstanding." Urgency. Idea….
Switching to decision-maker/LDPR.
Establishing contact. The “hook” of a strategic issue.
Block of questions and generalizations. Ideally, with the prevention of objections.
Presentation/proposal.
Work with objections.
Closing this stage of the transaction. Ideally, a deal right away.

Cold calling - telephone sales technique: examples of dialogues and conversation patterns for a sales manager

Setting a goal

Think of each stage as links in a chain. Moving from one link to another, you will achieve a result - sell a product or service. But the goal of the first call does not have to be implementation.

Imagine that you are going to sell a batch of furs to a chain of luxury stores. outerwear, by phone contact the right person at the client's and start telling him what wonderful fur items you are ready to give him at a 10% discount. You describe the advantages of silver fox vests for 45 minutes, and the sale fails. Why?

The answer is simple: you didn't have the right goal for this particular conversation! What did you expect by listing the benefits for a long time? The client cannot buy fur coats over the phone: he needs to get acquainted with information on the terms of delivery, look and touch samples, meet with an executive in the client’s network, find out their current conditions with other suppliers, compare your prices and quality of products, and the cost of the same goods from competing companies. Yes, he won’t listen to you for that long! At most, he will offer to send your price list by email, but most likely, he will rudely interrupt the conversation.

The call will be effective and will not leave an unpleasant impression on both sides if you think in advance about what you want to achieve. Your goal may be to prepare a person to receive a commercial offer: make sure that he reads it accurately and does not send it to the spam folder. Tactics and strategies are chosen depending on what you want to achieve when completing the next stage.

Forget phrases like “We offer”, “ Profitable proposition", "I want to offer you", "Mutually beneficial cooperation." They identify you as a seller. And untrained! The potential buyer has a strong feeling that you are now going to “push” something, “sell” something, force it on you... Or even you are a scammer and simply want to deceive him.

He will try to interrupt any communication with you immediately and harshly. To hook a client, say something about their organization. Before doing this, we recommend that you study the website and groups on social networks. When you receive the necessary information, call and say: “As far as we know, you are engaged in cargo transportation, mainly automobiles, and are now expanding your staff. The vacancies on the site say that you do not have enough CE category drivers. This is true?".

You will interest the person on the other end of the line, he will want to continue communication and find out where the conversation will lead. Go further, make an impression. Report that professional competence your company is closely related to what the potential buyer's company does. Your main activity is recruiting, and you can short time find the right number of people with extensive work experience and good recommendations for work in road transport.

Or: one of my clients from Voronezh provides SEO promotion services for corporate websites. So they utter the following intriguing words as the first phrase:

“Who in your company is responsible for normal the operation of your site? We just noticed that if something is not corrected there now, then your organization will lose/receive less a significant part of clients/contracts/money/market share... Do you think it’s worth putting him (the decision maker) in the loop?”

A rare client will start to freak out and hang up in response to this phrase... The rest will be surprised and want to chat!

Identifying needs

Typically, sales managers only ask technical questions. How many double glazed windows do you need? What is the area of the loggia? What material are the walls made of? The information you receive will help you set a price and determine the scope of work, but will not make the buyer want to purchase your product from you. If you want the best effect in sales, you need to learn to confidently pronounce all other types of questions from the SPIN-sales technology!

Listening only to general and situational questions, a person may get scared (as during an interrogation) because he does not know how long it will take to answer the questions: and begin to push back the “questioning”, telling you to call him back later.

This can happen for several reasons:

you didn’t “hook” him with your “magic phrase” at the beginning of the conversation;
He didn’t like you, based on your voice;
you have not created even minimal trust in yourself;
you did not redirect his attention to your conversation, did not secure his consent to talk;
you did not indicate the planned duration of your conversation;
you talk a lot yourself;
you ask a lot of closed questions and unsubstantiated statements;
you did not show him the benefit both from the conversation itself and from your future interaction;
You haven’t chosen the best time for cold calls - he really doesn’t have time (for example, he’s driving right now).

Your possible reaction:

“I understand, but how much time do you have now? Maybe we'll have time to talk briefly? Saving time and money is always interesting, right? Or:
“I understand that you are a very busy person! Me too. Let's just have lunch together then, and at the same time discuss our cooperation, okay? Today or tomorrow? Name yours favorite place business lunch and time - I’ll come!”
“Now I’ll tell you a few words about ours so that you have an idea about the possibility of receiving gifts, I’ll ask a couple of clarifying questions, I’ll select several options that suit you, and you’ll see for yourself whether it’s interesting to you or not. This will take 2-3 minutes. Fine?" With the phrase “then look” you leave the decision to the buyer, showing that you are not going to “sell” anything. When a client is “allowed” to refuse a purchase, paradoxically, he agrees with it faster!

Boiler room (this shot is straight from the film).
The wolf of Wall Street.
In pursuit of happiness (In search of happiness).
Marigold Hotel: The best of the exotic.

Why cold calling still doesn't work?

Let's give an example from personal experience. We heard this story from a university teacher last fall. Let's call her Olga Vasilievna. A respectable aged lady said the following with indignation:

She received a call from a representative of a certain private clinic and said that their organization is holding a promotion, by participating in which you can get a full medical examination at a good discount. The manager interviewed the teacher in detail and inquired about all illnesses and complaints. The survey took approximately half an hour. The last question was: “How old are you?” Olga Vasilievna answered honestly: “Seventy-five.” To which she was told: “Oh, sorry, we don’t treat such people.” Can you imagine the woman's reaction? It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Many who decide to work as a sales manager are faced with the need to make cold calls. However, not everyone understands what this is and does not know the rules by which they should be implemented. Against the backdrop of the enormous importance of such activities, inability to make sales over the phone can lower the employee’s authority in the eyes of management.

The essence

It is not difficult to understand what cold calling is in sales. Their technique involves calling potential clients who are not yet familiar with the company. The goal is to interest a person and encourage them to contact the organization to purchase a product or service, as well as expand client base.

Some people think that cold calling techniques are quite simple. However, this is not at all true. To achieve success in this area of activity, you should study a huge number of nuances and pitfalls. That is why managers who master this technology are in demand among employers.

There are three characteristics that an employee must have in order for the effectiveness of cold calls to be quite high: a sufficient level of self-control, complete knowledge of information about the goods and services offered, knowledge of the tastes and preferences of potential clients.

Shortage of professionals

Specialists who understand how to make cold calls are in high demand. However, their number in the labor market is very small. The reason lies primarily in psychological factors.

Many people cannot overcome themselves and call a stranger. They are afraid that a potential client will simply reject them and refuse to talk, because no one likes it when a stranger calls them and tries to sell something. That is why cold calling can become a very serious test of strength for a specialist.

However, a manager should not be afraid to hear “no.” All objections can be predicted in advance, so with the right behavior you can try to prevent them. At the same time, it is important to conduct the conversation not with template phrases, but to develop your own answers in accordance with the situation. It is also necessary to learn to determine the intonation of the voice and respond to it adequately.

Rules

There are a number of rules that must be followed by managers making cold calls. Telephone sales techniques involve following the following principles:

You shouldn’t immediately try to sell a product or service during the first call. It is even useful to emphasize that the manager’s goal is not bargaining. It is much more important at this moment to collect information about a potential client and gain his favor.
It's important to ask the right questions. This will create an impression of both the specialist and the company he represents. Competent dialogue increases the chances of attracting the interest of a potential client. That is why you should prepare very carefully for the conversation. If a manager has information about the company and navigates the market situation, he will create an impression of himself as a competent specialist. The goal of the first call is to collect the maximum useful information about the potential client’s problems, so that during the next conversation you can offer him effective solution similar difficulties.
It is important to try to arrange a personal meeting. If the manager manages to do this, the chance of converting a potential client to permanent status will increase significantly.

First difficulties

Anyone who decides to use cold calling techniques will have to face a lot of difficulties. Most of them appear at the very beginning of a conversation.

The first problem is that in most large companies, all calls first go to the secretary. He very quickly recognizes standard telephone sales patterns. Many secretaries have learned to competently interrupt calls before the manager has time to convey any information.

The next difficulty is that clients usually do not want to communicate during a cold call. In this case, the manager must arouse some interest in the opponent. However, this is difficult to do because the potential client rarely wants to talk. Many cold calls last no more than 60 seconds. The manager should not delude himself if he was asked to send a commercial proposal and was even given an email address. This hardly means anything yet. The fact is that most of the offers from unfamiliar companies are deleted without reading them.

Reasons for not liking cold calling

The phenomenon of the cold calling technique is that it is unloved by both sides of the process. Managers are afraid to use such technologies and try to avoid them in every possible way. Clients listen to a lot of cold calls from specialists. Moreover, often those who sell are not even able to properly make an offer. However, those managers who are truly interested in what cold calls in sales are and how to make them correctly are able to overcome all the difficulties of this complex technique. To do this, one should study the technologies on which such negotiations are being conducted. It is important to gradually let go of the need to follow a script.

How to increase your chance of success

Cold calling technology can be very effective if certain rules are followed. It’s worth starting the conversation with a question that will help you quickly find out whether the company receiving the call can be classified as target audience. The reason should not be the desire to sell or impose a product or service. In this case, the conversation is unlikely to last long enough. It is much more effective for the manager to offer a free trial service or seminar. At the same time, he should not be afraid of refusals. They are inevitable. Only by going through them can you achieve success.

Call script

Any business event It will be much more effective if you prepare for it in advance. In this regard, there is wide scope for creativity for managers making cold calls. Telephone sales mean that the interlocutors cannot see each other. This means that you can lay out various cheat sheets, diagrams and tips around.

A pre-drafted conversation script will help you overcome fear and make your speech more confident. It must necessarily contain the following blocks:

The greeting should be in the form " Good morning! or “Good afternoon!”
Introduction: you need to state your name and the name of the company that the manager represents.
The purpose of the “acquaintance” block is to find out the name and position of the person who is dealing with the issue of interest.
Presentation: briefly outlines the scope of the organization's activities.
The proposal is to indicate the purpose of the call. This could be an invitation to a seminar, a story about discounts and promotions.
A question that helps test whether a company belongs to the target audience.
The final. The ideal option would be to make an appointment.

It should be understood that it is not always possible to fit a cold call into this scheme. This example is approximate, it may change depending on how the dialogue unfolds.

Stephen Shiffman

There are a huge number of authors who study cold calling techniques in their works. Shiffman Stephen is one of the most famous. His books contain not only descriptions of techniques, but also practical advice on their application. The author is a fan of telesales research. He carefully breaks down all the mechanics of calls and gives a huge number of recommendations. One of the principles that Stephen Shiffman advises to adhere to is that cold calling should not be annoying and repetitive. The books give specific advice on how to respond to customer objections.

Objection processing

An important step in the sales process, including over the phone, is handling objections. Managers who have not studied methods of working with them most often get lost during a conversation, begin to stutter, and behave insecurely. Here are a few examples that can help a merchant answer the most common objections of potential clients.

In the case when a manager hears a routine phrase asking him to send an offer to email, he must understand that this is just an excuse. It is best to state that the company’s assortment is huge and try to persuade the client to meet in person for the purpose of presentation. In response to the phrase “I’m not interested,” we can say that there is not a single person who is interested in what he does not know.

An interesting thing is the use of the boomerang method. It means that objections should be returned to the client. In the event that he declares that he does not have time to talk, you can answer the following: the manager seeks to save his time and for this very purpose offers a certain product or service. It is best to prepare possible objections and answers to them in advance, write them down on a piece of paper. It is important not only to learn them, but also to keep the list at hand just in case. If a new objection is identified during the call, it is worth writing it down. Subsequently, it will be possible to come up with the most successful answer.

Probability theory

Every manager must understand that there are no ideal sales techniques. Regardless of what methods a specialist uses, failures cannot be avoided. However, there is one principle that is important to know when using cold calling. Conventionally, it can be called the theory of probability. The first call is unlikely to lead to a deal. However, the more contacts a manager makes with clients, the higher the chance of concluding deals. This is why you should regularly make calls in large numbers.

Customer knowledge

Important terms successful sales over the phone is knowing the client. That is why the manager must first collect as much information about him as possible.

First of all, the Internet can help in collecting data. A huge amount of useful information is contained on the company’s website, as well as various official resources. At the first stage, you should find out the need for the product and services of this particular company. It will be useful to know the name of the leader. This will make an impression and increase the chance of achieving positive effect.

Keeping in touch

Once you have established contact with a potential client over the phone, it is important to follow up with him afterwards. We must not let them forget about the company’s proposals. There are several ways to regularly remind yourself by sending the following elements:

news brochures that should be of interest to the client and relate to his occupation;
invitations to events, seminars and exhibitions;
greeting cards and small gifts for the holidays.

All this helps maintain a positive impression of the company.

Without training and gaining experience through performing huge amount calls cannot achieve significant results. However, following a number of recommendations will help improve and speed up the result. Let us summarize them at the end of the article:

The conversation script should be drawn up in advance. It should be carefully thought through.
During the conversation you need to be calm and confident. The manager must be able to overcome anxiety. A trembling voice will not bring a positive effect.
Don't get involved in conflicts.
If the client states that he does not have time to talk, it is best for the manager to clarify when it is most convenient to call back and politely say goodbye.
If in response to an offer you receive a categorical refusal, you must apologize and say goodbye.
It is important to mention promotions and discounts and offer product samples.
You should listen carefully to the client without interrupting. Any objections can be raised only after he finishes speaking.

It is possible to achieve success in cold selling. But this is quite difficult and will require some effort from the manager.

Hello! In this article we will talk about “warm calling”.

Today you will learn:

What are “warm calls”?
Who should make warm calls;
How to create a warm call script.

What are warm calls

Telemarketing is one of the channels for distribution and promotion of products. By using of this instrument you can increase the company's sales, or remind your old self. Moreover, the achievement of one or another goal depends on the one chosen for telephone sales.

The type of telephone calls also depends on the target audience:

– conducting negotiations with a potential client who is not familiar with your products and company. His need has not yet been formed. The purpose of such calls is to find new clients.

Companies in the service sector often use cold telemarketing. They buy databases of customers with certain characteristics and make random calls offering their product.

Warm calls– a conversation with a potential consumer who already knows about your company and product. He was probably once a customer of yours or was interested in the product.

For example, let's say you sell mobile phones. A week ago you bought a smartphone. You can call the client and offer him headphones at special offer with a discount for the purchased model.

Hot calls– conversation with potential consumers who themselves show interest in your product. They have already made their choice, all that remains is to bring the matter to its logical conclusion - sale.

In this case, your potential consumer, for example, has already left a request to purchase a product, all you have to do is call him and agree on the terms of the transaction.

If in the first and third cases the goals are clear and understandable - to find new customers and sell goods, respectively, then with warm calls everything is not so simple.

Warm calls are designed to remind the company about itself. To a greater extent, they perform the function of promoting a product, but often lead to sales.

In more detail, the goals of warm calls can be expressed as follows:

Returning lost customers or those who have not purchased goods from you for a long time. The period of time allowed for the absence of purchases is the time of use of the product. For example, for mobile phone this period is a period of time from two to three years, and for a carton of milk two to three days.
Providing information to the client about new products and services. If a consumer bought a product from you or was simply interested, you can recommend something from your range and tell him about new products that are suitable for solving his problem. It is very important to personalize your message here. You must offer products that will satisfy the needs of a specific consumer.
Company promotion. In this case, we simply remind the client about us.
Determining needs. This goal is the most difficult to achieve: you must, as a psychologist, identify the consumer problem that your product can solve.

If you compare cold and warm calls, you can find several quite significant differences.

Let's name the advantages of “warm” calls over “cold” ones:

Aimed at building long-term trusting relationships with consumers;
More often lead to product sales;
Do not cause a negative reaction from potential consumers.

How do warm calls work?

As a rule, calls to a “warm” base do not cause as many difficulties as “cold” telemarketing. But still, they are not as simple as “hot calls”.

When you dial a customer's phone number without their desire (as happens with hot calls), you risk a negative reaction. Account managers need to understand this.

Before you make a call, you need to determine the client's need. This call should be useful for him. In addition, you should clearly indicate to yourself the frequency of calls. You should not bother the client, you should help solve his problem.

The frequency of reminders from the company about itself, as a rule, depends on the period of use of the product. The following types of goods are distinguished: consumer goods, durable goods (1-3 years), durable goods (more than 20 years).

It makes no sense to offer a client to buy a washing machine if he purchased it a week ago. The likelihood that he will be interested in your proposal is very small; most likely, you will cause irritation and indignation. In this case, you can remind the client about yourself with the help of related products.

Identifying needs is also a very important stage when making “warm” calls to customers. Primary analysis can be carried out even before talking with the client. Look at what purchases your interlocutor made and what interested him. This will allow you to set the conversation in the right direction.

In general, there is a general scenario for making warm calls. Such a scenario is called in professional language. It allows you to standardize successful conversations and improve the efficiency of telephone sales.

Stages of a warm call:

Greeting and introduction. Remember that you have already been in contact with this client, so there is no need to get acquainted;
We ask if it is convenient for your interlocutor to continue the conversation. If not, we will find out when it will be possible to call back;
We clarify the previous fact of cooperation;
We present the product;
We respond to objections. It is better to prepare answers to possible questions and objections in advance. Analyze the products you are going to offer to your consumer. Find the shortcomings and justify them with advantages. For example, a high price can be explained best quality or greater efficiency product;
We record the purchase (or refusal) and say goodbye.

To make “warm” calls, it is best to choose employees with experience. Since there is a high probability that he will have to improvise and deviate from the script.

Yours must have the following qualities:

Be sociable, be able to win over your interlocutor;
Be able to navigate in non-standard situations;
Be literate;
Prevent drifting away from the main topic of conversation.

Example of a warm calling script

Good afternoon, “Client Name”! My name is “your name”, I am a representative of the company “Custom Shirt”.
Can you talk now? (If the client answers “no,” then we ask the second question: “When can I call you back to continue the conversation?”)
You recently ordered a blue children's shirt from us.
Started today new promotion“Get your child ready for school with a 10% discount”, we would like to offer you discounted skirts and trousers for girls in addition to a shirt. We can send our catalog to your email so that you can familiarize yourself with the range.
Let's imagine that the client said that he is already familiar with the assortment. We say: “This is a new arrival for the new school season, for now we are offering it only to our clients, since the supply is limited.”
Goodbye! We look forward to seeing you again in our store.

The concept of a cold call applies to the first communication between a seller and a potential buyer, which is realized through telephone conversation. With such interaction, on the client’s part, in most cases, emotional “coldness” and low interest in cooperation arise, which the sales manager must overcome.

Goals of cold calling

Many managers put the main goal of a call to sell, which is wrong. The likelihood of finding a person willing to buy something from a stranger immediately after a telephone conversation is very small. That’s why sales experts recommend choosing more realistic goals that lead to further sales. This includes:

Set up a meeting with the buyer.
Informing potential clients about the appearance of a new company or services on the market. The result of such communication may be the sending of a commercial proposal.
Checking the database to assess relevance and sort clients by level possible profit and the likelihood of cooperation.

How customer bases are formed

Telesales techniques are not applied to randomly selected subscribers. In actual practice, a database of potential clients is prepared that meets certain criteria (field of activity, regional connection, need for services or goods). Such databases are formed independently, by tracking operating companies in a given region and area, or ready-made ones are purchased. Purchased databases may turn out to be irrelevant or inactive.

Working with call databases is divided into two stages:

Ringing- assessing the relevance of data, reconciling and updating information;
Calling- direct calls to offer a product or service.

Which companies can use cold calling?

Taking into account the features domestic market, cold calling is not effective for all types of products and services. In the B2B sector this method is suitable for:

Forwarding services;
Companies that trade in construction materials;
Wholesale suppliers of consumer goods to retail outlets;
Advertising agencies;
Sales retail space and commercial real estate;
Suppliers of raw materials for production;
Suppliers of stationery and consumables for large organizations.

In the B2C sector, cold calling is effective for the following areas:

Real estate agency;
Telecommunications service providers;
Financial services (lending, deposit).

How cold calling is done

In order for the conversation to be as effective as possible, it is necessary to plan the sequence of the dialogue, while trying to turn a “cold call” into a “warm” one.

How to Create a Cold Calling Plan

IN professional field The plan for the first telephone dialogue between a seller and a buyer is called a cold calling script. Since the conversation is carried out over the phone, you can pre-compile a list of questions and hypothetical answers (objections) of the client, for which appropriate arguments are selected. This scenario is often presented in a flowchart format, which is in the seller's view as a guide.

Each manager develops his own script based on the main points:

Introduction (greeting, introduction). In order not to lose a client already at this stage, you need to minimize mentions that you want to sell something. When introducing yourself, speak on behalf of the company, not the sales manager. Find a third-party reason to call that is not related to selling products or presenting services.
Establishing contact, creating a friendly atmosphere and identifying client needs. To make this stage more effective, it is necessary to find out minimal information about the interlocutor in advance. The first thing you need to ask is how to address the interlocutor (if this is not indicated in the database) and how much time he is willing to allocate for the conversation.
Provoking interest(presentation of a product or service).
Achieving a goal (making an appointment). To obtain consent to conduct a personal meeting, it is necessary to put the client in comfortable conditions by offering several options.

There are two types of sales scripts:

Hard- these are scenarios for selling simple and understandable services and goods that have a limited number of characteristics and, accordingly, answers (objections). It does not require the ability to improvise and is built according to a clear pattern, so it can be used by an unqualified employee or manager with little work experience. Often used to dial the base.
Flexible- used for sale complex products with wide functionality and a large list of evaluation criteria. Such scenarios require extensive managerial experience and the ability to quickly adapt to the situation.

Cold calling: scheme of conversation with decision maker

For a cold call to be effective, you need to analyze and evaluate the company you are calling and determine which of its employees will be your caller based on your existing contact.

This could be a secretary (assistant manager) or a person with the authority to make purchasing decisions (DM). If you are forming a database yourself, you should initially select the appropriate contacts (supply department, company manager, advertising manager, technical director, development manager, regional sales director).

You can spend time and effort on a secretary, but only if the main client is absent (at negotiations, a meeting) and you are sure that the secretary brought to your side will inform the manager about you, preparing him for the second call.

In most cases, the secretary simply does not want to give you the decision maker’s contact, and therefore it is necessary to provoke him to do so. When bypassing the secretary you cannot:

Demonstrate your intentions to sell, introduce yourself as a sales manager.
Be rude and aggressive towards your interlocutor, considering him just an obstacle. Very often it is the assistant manager who suggests choosing one company or another.
Use obvious lies to obtain decision maker contacts.

You can bypass the secretary by offering him an alternative reason for contacting the decision-maker:

Agreeing on the conditions for a test drive of equipment or services. Example: " Good afternoon. I represent the AAA company, your company was selected as one of the applicants to test new equipment. For final approval of participation, we need to ask a few questions to your technical director. How can we contact him?»
Direct invitation to a presentation, forum, seminar. Example: " Good afternoon. I represent the BBB company. We are planning to hold a seminar on issues of trade development in the regions. How can I contact your regional sales director to find out what issues he would like to discuss?»

Overcoming the difficulties of communicating with decision makers

The duration of communication with the decision maker should not exceed 5 minutes. As a rule, people holding responsible positions are very busy and, starting from the 3rd minute of conversation, their interest drops and irritation arises.

The script for a conversation with the decision maker, in addition to the main plan, should begin with confirmation of the fact of communication with the person you need. Example: “Tell me, are you responsible in the company for the supply of raw materials for the production of semi-finished products?” This provides two benefits:

Are you confident that you are communicating with the decision maker;
You got the first "Yes".

Arguments not in your favor can arise at any stage of communication. The most common objections and effective examples their processing:

“We already have suppliers”. With this answer, you must agree with the client, find out the name of the competitor, evaluate its merits and offer to discuss options for expanding existing capabilities in a personal meeting.
“Your offer is expensive”. This response occurs if the price has been announced, which is not recommended when making a cold call (except for promotional discounts). You can correct the mistake by offering to make an appointment to explain the wide range of services included in the quoted price.
"We are not interested in your offer". Cold calling scripts in such cases may contain responses in the following format: “ I understand that our offer is difficult to evaluate over the phone. Let me come to you and tell you in more detail. Is Thursday afternoon convenient for you?»
“Now is not the right time to talk.”. In this case, it is better to end the conversation with an offer to meet or contact by phone at a more convenient time.
"Send us a commercial proposal". This answer seems like a success for many managers, but sometimes it is just an excuse to end the conversation. Therefore, after some time, after sending, it is necessary to make a second call (sometimes from a different phone number). At the same time, it should begin with a reminder that you have already communicated and there is an offer to meet. Example: " Good afternoon, Pavel Ivanovich. We communicated with you regarding the supply of raw materials for the production of semi-finished products. You have found interesting positions in our commercial offer? We are ready to provide you special conditions for a test batch. When would be convenient for you to meet and discuss details?»

In most cases, it is enough to handle three objections, ending the last one with a request for a meeting.

Improving overall call efficiency

The effectiveness of cold calling sales techniques is affected by:

Number of calls. The maximum duration of a conversation is on average 5-10 minutes. Based on this, the daily norm should be set at 40-50 calls. In practice, there may be more, since many callers will not answer or stop communicating in the first stages.
Constant updating and replenishment of the database. For this purpose, information is used from directories, online company catalogs, social networks, and a manual search of websites of potential clients.
Continuous work with the script. Scenario analysis to identify critical stages (where a higher percentage of conversation dropouts or refusals occur).

In most companies, cold calling is carried out by the sales manager himself. This significantly reduces its operating efficiency. To solve this problem, you can seek help from less qualified personnel, which will ring the database for relevance and sort interested subscribers.

Perform the following tasks:

Call centers - large organizations, which will help not only to call clients, but also to prepare a script. The disadvantages of this method are high price services and the impossibility of personal control.
Freelancers- remote employees hired via the Internet. The advantage is the low cost of services. Disadvantages - high risk of deception.
Trainees and lower level managers. The advantage of this option is to provide control over the work and the ability to analyze the script to identify and eliminate errors. Disadvantages - staff training and psychological training are required.

Advantages and disadvantages of cold calling techniques

Despite the negative reviews about this technique, it still brings results.

Advantages:

Cold calling technique is the most accessible and effective method create a client base for the sales manager. Over time, you will be able to attract a sufficient number of regular customers and the need to use this method will significantly decrease.
When making a preliminary call, in contrast to working “in the fields,” visits for meetings are carried out only to clients with a high potential for cooperation. This saves a lot of time.
Using a script as a prompt simplifies communication and gives the manager confidence.
A telephone conversation speeds up the communication process and allows you to immediately assess the client’s reaction to the offer.

On the other hand, this is hard and psychologically difficult work, which only sellers who are passionate about their work and have an active position can cope with.

Disadvantages of cold calling:

A potential client becomes annoyed at a manager who is distracting him. This happens regardless of whether the product is needed by the buyer or not.
The interlocutor may quickly leave the conversation or refuse.
There is no visual component of communication and product presentation. It is impossible to analyze the client’s facial expressions and demonstrate visual images and characteristics.
A large number of “idle” calls.

It should be understood that cold telephone sales are not suitable for every manager. If they do not bring results, it is necessary to check the correct application of the technique, reconsider the time of making calls, learn to overcome the fear of rejection and cope with personal negative emotions.

Cold calling is a telephone sales technique that should be included in the complex of attracting clients for both young and large companies. The effectiveness of this method is difficult to evaluate in the short term, but in the long term, it will become the basis for a significant share of your success.

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