How to Generate More Leads Through Cold Calling & Outbound Telemarketing

In this highly competitive business world, increasing sales is of utmost importance. Salespersons have gone through different techniques to boost sales, such as door to door, face to face, product demo, and so on. One of the oldest, most trusted ways of generating leads that is still used today is outbound telemarketing.

The first step in getting sales is through prospecting or lead generation. Among the sales cycle, lead generation is highly modernized now. Even with the pandemic around, businesses are not hindered in boosting their lead generation because of one thing – the cold calling. 

What is cold calling? 

Basically, cold calling is a method to contact individuals who have not expressed interest in the offered products or services. It is a way to engage prospective leads one-on-one to facilitate buying decisions. Also referred to as outbound telemarketing, the aim of cold calls is to pique the interest of a key decision-maker within the target business. It is to initiate a future discovery session, to begin with building the business relationship.

Is cold calling different from outbound telemarketing?

Yes, it is different. Cold calling is one form of outbound telemarketing. And, outbound telemarketing does not always mean cold calling. Think about this, clothes can have various forms like a dress, shorts, pants, etc. In this, outbound telemarketing is the clothes, and the cold calling is the dress. There are many differences, but they all fall in one same objective – to increase sales conversion.

How to generate more leads using cold calling?

Cold calling requires dialing on the phone, and talking to the person at the end of that line. It takes few simple steps to achieve sales conversions.

1. Prepare a script

Just like in any outbound telemarketing, preparing is the key to successful cold calling. This is especially true in b2b telemarketing services where cold calling is critical because, in B2B, a few individuals need to be involved before they arrive at the purchasing decision.

How do you greet them? Do you get upfront and straight to the business?  

Cold calling scripts are critical in the art of cold calling. Keeping that person engaged and not cutting off the call is so crucial that you need to actually sound like an actual person without reading the script. Take time to prepare scripts with engaging questions and lines to keep the conversation going.

2. Start with a confident greeting

Confidence is key to ensure that you’ll pique of interest of the person. And, your tone and how you sound over the phone can make or break the call. Believe it or not, the person at the end of that line can identify if you are confident and know what you are talking about. If you sound nervous, the person may just cut off the line, or hang up.

Use professional greetings and leave the “hello” to friends. Speak in a confident tone. It is that simple.

3. Look for leads and choose the best prospect.

Remember that leads come first, and prospect comes second.

In outbound telemarketing, when a lead is qualified, they can become a sales prospect. It should not be the other way around. Sales prospecting is getting through the pool of leads and qualifying their profile which will likely convert into buying the product or services.

4.Call should have a direct approach

Avoid making small talk and leave those pleasantries with friends. Cold calling is all about business and should begin with a direct statement. Avoid asking questions because it can be tricky to deal with, especially if you are not yet a pro in cold calling. It may hurt the cold calling process.

In cold calling, make sure that you control the flow of conversation and not the other way around. If you ask a question earlier than it should be, the client may simply reply with a “no” and hang up the phone, so make sure you provide a basic introduction of who you are, where you are calling from and what the offer is first, then if they show some level of interest you can start asking questions. 

5. Research about the leads

Just like in preparing scripts, it is also essential to have ample information about the person you will talk to. Before pinking up the phone, make sure that you are well prepared. Be proactive to learn more about the person and find the pain points. Tapping the pain points can be a way to spark interest.

Suppose these persons match the profile of the target clients. In that case, cold calling is simply a confirmation for qualifying the person as a sales prospect. Moreover, you can increase the number of leads by doing your research and finding networks of the relevant person to your products and services.

6. Find a calling schedule that works

Avoid calling at odd hours either too early or too late, if you do you are missing an opportunity. To facilitate this, check out the time zone of that person and their state before calling. 

Also, it is crucial to set a schedule for cold calling. If you have no particular schedule, it is like throwing stones in various directions without any target. Keep track of when the person would be available and most likely to speak to you is the first step to ensure that telemarketing lead generation and cold calling creates an impact.

Generate leads through cold calling

In telemarketing outsourcing, cold calling is not that easy, not everyone can do it, and only few can do it well. It can be exhausting and frustrating, especially when the person just simply hangs up the phone. However, success in cold calling can be derived when proper identification of market targets is efficiently made. Like everything, with proper training, coaching, and experience, you can learn to become good at it. If you don’t have the time or find it difficult to hire and manage the right staff, you should consider outsourcing to a specialist marketing agency that focuses in this area.

Simplify Your Experience with Our FAQs