Cold calling: what is it, technique and techniques. Cold calls

Why ready-made scripts, if there is a team of experienced managers?

Firstly, because sooner or later, newcomers / interns may appear without experience and skills in dealing with objections. Secondly, the right script can help out the manager if he is confused, lost his mind and the client is about to break loose, but there is no time for reflection and improvisation.

What are the downsides?

The script can limit the manager and be the reason why sales fail when it is written incorrectly or there is a rigid set to follow only the written algorithm. Step left or right - execution. The script is an average universal solution, following which the probability of a positive outcome of the conversation is greater. But this is not a 100% guarantee. Having a script does not mean turning off the imagination and following only the learned algorithm.

Managers often make mistakes when calling customers

• Poor presentation and lack of a clearly articulated proposal.
• Transition to the price without voicing the benefits of the product for the needs of the client.
• Weak arguments in favor.
• The purpose of the conversation has not been reached. The manager answered the questions, and did not attempt to hook the client (offer to send a quotation, make an appointment).

If there is a ready-made template for calls, the probability of making a mistake is less.

Universal script for sales

The basic steps of any script are:

1. Establishing contact. Greeting + introduction.
2. Identification of needs or problems
3. Product presentation with a focus on how it can help.
4. Answers on questions. Work with objections.
5. Target action. Sending at the end of the conversation KP, appointment of a meeting, agreement on the next call.

For example:

Greetings: Hello.

Acquaintance: My name is Natalia, I'm the manager of the company "N", we are engaged in the repair of industrial equipment. How can I contact you? (Semyon Semyonovich).

Establishing contact: Semyon Semyonovich, is it convenient for you to talk to me for 3 minutes now?

Suggestive questions: Tell me, what equipment do you use in your work? How often do breakdowns happen? How long does it take to fix them?

Target: We offer… We give a guarantee… We fix it free of charge in case of a second breakdown… Our specialists will come and do it at a time convenient for you…

Answers to questions: With us you will get an additional advantage in the form of...

Ending a conversation: Thank you. Have a nice day.

If everything is done correctly at the stage of identifying the problem, then the presentation of the product will not raise objections.

For b2b clients, the script will be about the same, but a preparatory step will be added

Namely:

• Collection of preliminary information. Search for an official responsible for purchasing or making a decision + his email. If you can’t find it via the Internet, you can, for example, find out through a call to the secretary: “Tell me how the name of the head is spelled correctly ...”, “We want to send a personalized invitation to the industry exhibition for the name, tell me which address is better?”.
• Sending a commercial offer.
• Call + bypass secretary.

How is an incoming call different from an outgoing call?

When a client calls, the manager's task is to demonstrate excellent knowledge of the product and its scope. Questions can be very diverse and you need to be ready for them. If there is a ready-made script, it is easier to navigate.

An example of an incoming call to a real estate agency

A: Hello, AN "May". My name is Svetlana.

TO: Hello. I am interested in buying apartments on Lenina, I found your ad on Avito. Is it still relevant?

A: How can you be contacted?

TO: Leonid

A: Nice to meet you. Leonid, can you clarify the number of the ad?

TO: 2#189324#67

A: Thank you. Apartments on Lenina, 14, 70 sq.m. On the 9th floor. It's like that?

TO: Yes.

A: The ad is current. Do you have questions or want to take a look right away?

TO: Yes, tell me, are meters installed there? Is there a telephone and internet? Is it possible to install an electric stove?

A: Yes, it's all there. There is already a gas stove, but you can install an electric one.

TO: I would like to see.

A: Great. When will it be convenient for you to drive up today within two hours or tomorrow afternoon?

TO: Better today?

A: Okay, call me when you're there and I'll meet you.

TO: Fine.

A: Thanks, see you.

Example of a cold calling template

What is the difference between these calls? The client knows nothing about the company or the product. The task of the manager is to briefly form an idea about the company, identify the pain of a potential buyer, tell how to solve it with the help of the product.

Greetings: Good afternoon.

Acquaintance: The name of the employee + the name of the company with a brief explanation of what he does.

For example: Our company is engaged in the supply of furniture fittings. We have a wide range of products for any needs and reasonable prices.

+ we find out the name of the client.

Establishing contact: Make sure that this is the person who will make the decision on cooperation. And to clarify whether he now has a few minutes to talk or is it better to call back at another time (what?).

Leading questions: For example, "Do you use this product?" and further "Then, probably, you often have difficulties with ...". That is, those that will help to reveal the pain of the client.

Answers on questions: Arguments and more arguments. Why does the client need your product?

Ending a conversation: Thank you. Goodbye. (According to the results of the call, the transition of the contact to the next stage).

Learn more about handling objections

Most often these are statements like:

• We don't need it
• No money
• Expensive
• We have been working with one supplier for a long time
• We will call you back
• Send CP

In the response template, you can pre-write several convincing arguments “for”, which will facilitate the work of managers. For example:

- “I understand that now you are not up to me and you want to hang up the phone as soon as possible. Let's meet and in a relaxed atmosphere I will talk about our product, you can ask questions and decide if you need us or not.

- “I'm not suggesting that you refuse your suppliers, I'm offering you a choice, the opportunity to compare whose conditions are better. You yourself will decide with whom it is more profitable to cooperate. Let's meet and maybe our offer will interest you…”.

No money. “Yes, you are right, there are always not enough of them, but let's calculate how much you will save / earn for the company if you accept our offer ...”.

- "What needs to be done to cooperate with you?".

Things to keep in mind when making a cold call

1. The initiative must always remain with the manager. Use counter-questioning tactics. The task of the client is to find out the necessary information and hang up. The task of the manager is to set up a meeting, agree on the next step, and finally, sell. Questions help break through the client's defense and avoid objections.

2. Avoid overly long phrases. Remember that this is a dialogue, not a monologue. Moreover, the more information falls out on the client, the less he will hear from what was said. Rather, it will piss him off and he will hang up the call. Pause and speak in short sentences. Keep the main principle of the dialogue “you to me - I to you”.

3. Remember the purpose of the call (to make an appointment). If you tell all the information over the phone, the client will no longer be interested, he found out what he wanted. The task of the manager is to intrigue and lead the client to a meeting.

If you work in CRM INTRUM, you can set up

And managers will be able to make and receive calls, having before their eyes a ready-made script with answer options and examples of working with objections.

During a conversation, you can simultaneously fill in the data received from the contact on the card.

If the client is already recorded in the CRM database, his data will be automatically inserted into the text of the script when calling.

During the conversation, the manager can quickly navigate through the script branches.

You can set up step-by-step scenarios for different situations: cold calls, receiving incoming calls from new clients, etc. This way, your managers will always have ready-made recommendations, which will increase the success of negotiations.

Remember

A good script is a cheat sheet, not a rigid set of rules. It helps the manager quickly navigate and choose the best answer to direct the conversation in the right direction, avoid critical moments, and not get stuck if the question is stumped.

Someone loves them, and someone terribly hates.

At the same time, x Cold calls in conservative industries and narrow niches remain one of the best ways to find new customers and customers.

Even an experienced manager on the phone experiences some stress during a phone call. But all the experiences are more than paid off by inner delight and jubilation from closing the sale after cold calls.

In this case, everything happens according to the well-known law of nature: you must first give in order to receive something. You are investing your personal emotions and energy in developing business success.

Online marketing is now becoming the default tool for most companies that want to get new leads and new customers quickly and inexpensively.

Cold calls have lost their place in the ranking of the popularity of promotion tools over the past 10 years. However, they remain an extremely profitable form of marketing when properly configured for you.

In this post, I will show you 10 ways to improve your productivity on your phone. The material is based on personal research and on advice that I have collected on the net and that I have been able to test in my work.

To become a master of cold calling, use these tips and you will definitely collect the contacts of the right people and start working with the most profitable buyers.

Find out who to work with

Without up-to-date data on the industry of your potential customers, even the most talented manager will not get results.

I didn’t do this before, but now I see a deep sense in lingering at the start in order to save strength and energy. The first thing I do when preparing for a cold call is to research the industry or field of my choice. The most inhuman alternative to this step is to call everyone indiscriminately from the directory.

If you do not have data on the decision maker ( Decision Maker), his full name and position. You do not know the role of the decision maker in his company. First you need to find out how working in the selected companies is related to the questions that you plan to ask.

First, collect information and find "points of entry" in the interests of your chosen group of clients. To do this, use search queries and information about the industry from Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Facebook.

Find relevant posts on forums, job openings and resumes on job search sites, discussions at industry events, and other information about how your potential clients solve problems.

The collected information should meet the basic requirement - in given industries they use and purchase similar services or goods that you plan to talk about.

Learn how to use search engines before you start making calls. At the beginning, it may be difficult for you to digest a large amount of information that is not relevant to you, or you may be faced with a complete lack of necessary information.

Narrow your search, use key phrases + industry name. Constantly upgrade your research skills.

For example, I really want to believe that companies from the oil sector use translations from foreign languages ​​when conducting business correspondence and preparing documentation for export deliveries. Previously, we have not worked with this industry, there are only assumptions.

How to choose the right keywords for requesting information about translations? First, I am looking for vacancies for full-time translators in this area.

I collect information on the Web about their level, qualifications, and the requirements of employers with such requests: “an oil company is looking for a translator from a foreign language”, “an oil company is looking for a vacancy for a foreign language translator” and I receive a sample of answers and several resumes of translators from the oil industry.

I look through vacancies and resumes and see that a full-time translator closes most of the issues related to translations in the company.

This means that there is a lot of work and it is preferable to keep a full-time translator than to work under a contract with a company. Therefore, it is not worth asking the question about the expediency of transferring written translations to our company. They will answer me - we have a full-time translator.

This scenario will be repeated over and over and I don't want that.

The only way to get started with such a company is to help out with a full-time translator, who may not be able to keep up during periods of stormy (seasonal) activity. Or who will be able to transfer his routine "to the side."

You can test this hypothesis on forums or social networks by asking industry translators about the need to help them.

After reviewing the information and conducting a brief survey, I decided not to test my hypothesis with further calls. The industry was "closed". Negotiations and correspondence have a high degree of confidentiality. Remote assistants are rarely involved. "The game is not worth the candle" - this industry is not for us. At least for the entrance "from the street."

It took me only 1.5 hours for this investigation. I would not have learned even a share of such information, even if I had called for 1.5 days.

Make a plan, not a script

The rules of cold calling, imposed on us by marketing and sales gurus, state that success or failure depends on the quality of your script. That's right, you can do a script with verbatim phrases for cold calls. But when you start to pronounce it on the phone, it looks like a monologue of a telephone robot reporting a debt.

Such a dialogue sounds uninteresting and even offends your interlocutor, and therefore deprives you of the prospect of establishing contact with him.

Create a plan instead of a script. General map of your calls. And approve the rules of permissible freedom in communication.

Some calls require spontaneous thinking. To successfully and sincerely overcome objections - the script will not help.

The cold calling map allows me to digress from the topic, but eventually return to it again. I personally don't like hard scripts.

Remember what happened at school. We stubbornly crammed the correct answers, retold and rewrote word for word, exactly the same. But many things remained serrated, but not understood. A understood and accepted plan with key phrases distinguishes a successful manager from a market-scanning robot.

Managers don't like detailed scripts because they have to speak their own language. And managers are right when they say that scripts don't give them the wiggle room to answer a potential client's questions. Instead of working on the map, you constantly adjust the conversation script and still have questions. It's also annoying that after working on a script for a long time, you can stop noticing new objections, new facts and events.

Refusal does not mean offending

Very often they “hang” me on the first bitch, do not answer my questions or do not switch (although they say they do). It is important to understand here that this will always happen.

Even if the offer is completely free or carries fantastic benefits. People working in the IT field who have developed a new unique product or service will understand me now. Even from an indefinite free test drive, people refuse.

But this does not mean at all that no one wants to deal with you personally. You just have to get used to the fact that it is not you who is rejected, but your call.

The market in some industries is “scorched” by cold calls. The subscriber on the other end of the wire often subconsciously rejects all attempts to start a dialogue.

Still there is a call to the wrong place, out of business, at the wrong time or at the wrong address. Don't let yourself be convinced that your product or service, idea or opportunity is useless.

Yes, several people refused. Use denial for personal learning. Record failures in a notepad or save audio recordings of failures on your computer.

How can you use the rejection to your advantage?

When your presentation has already failed, don't hang up - ask the person why they said "no, not interested." Through such a simple survey after unsuccessful calls, you will learn a lot about what makes people refuse.

This unexpected technique I often use in new industries. And it is very important not to make assumptions for the client: “They probably have full-time translators. Yep, that's understandable."

Don't do it! Let the customer speak for himself!

For example, use such a direct question: “Let me ask, why is it “not interesting”? So I can understand your specifics ... "

And very often they answer me like this: “In general, we are a branch, and all services are purchased from the parent company. You can call there. Write down the phone."

Stand up when the conversation is important

You should not think that since the interlocutor cannot see us, then you can lie in an armchair with your legs on the table.

People are sure will hear your insecurity or arrogance over the phone. Believe me, the person lying in the chair can be heard. I listened to my audio recordings. I didn't want to talk to myself!

Once upon a time, at one of the first sales trainings, we were recommended to get up with the phone handset if an important contact occurred.

When I do this, I feel like I get extra energy. A straight back makes my voice clearer and more persuasive for discussing details. I understand that I am already participating in serious negotiations, and this technique allows you to catch the right wave at the physiological level.

This is a psychological trick, just like smiling during a conversation.

It also helps me to remember those people who managed to influence me personally in a conversation or during a meeting.

Try to imitate the body language, tone of voice and confident phrases of such people “on the screen” during cold calls.

You won't be able to do it right away. But each time it will get longer and better.

These are learned skills. Start by simply getting up from your chair.

Prepare responses to objections

Very few clients will say “Oh, we just need this!” from the first call. Almost every call will have objections from customers.

Of course, more often than not, we ourselves disagree when someone slips an opinion that is not adapted to our needs. Or when they ask questions that distract from current affairs.

But if you tell more about yourself or your way of helping in an original way, then you pass the test of trust and expertise. The client becomes interested enough to be distracted for a few minutes from their affairs.

The key to overcoming objections is to know ahead of time what they will object to. Just as you plan a conversation, prepare strong arguments and colorful explanations in your favor.

If you cannot address all objections immediately, then, as I said above, collect and accumulate them from the very beginning of your work. This way you can prepare and test good answers on the next call.

Every objection is important to use!

If you hear - "It's too expensive!" - do not try to declare your (as it seems to you) “features” without a clear example, such as the high quality of the product or an acceptable price.

And do not try to tell the client about the strong personality of your director, who is known to everyone in the city.

Clients know that the strong personality of your director will not help them in any way, that today the quality of services is on average similar across industries, and reasonable prices and high speed - all this needs to be proven first!

Most often I use the technique: “Divide the price into components”
It is so convenient to show the client what he refuses if he wants to save money.

Consider the example of my typical dialogue with a client (there will be question templates in parentheses to adapt to your needs)

Client: We are now translating 300 rubles per page, and you have 450 rubles in the price list. It's too expensive for us.
I: So, let's stop there. Do you order translations from an agency or from a private person? (Who are you paying? What level of current competitor?)
Client: In the company, under the contract. Looks like Translife.
I: Great, but what volume of translation are we talking about now? And what are the deadlines usually? (Request for the volume and urgency of execution)
Client: Our volumes are 1000-1500 pages, project documentation. Within 2-3 weeks, it usually "endures". There are a lot of repetitions and identical tables, but they edit and finalize everything for us at this price.
I: Great! If such serious volumes and with numerous repetitions, I think that we can agree on 300 rubles per page. Can you send a sample with a document for an accurate calculation? At the same time, look at the level and quality of work of our translators. It will be free.
Client: Well, the quality really does not always suit us. We finalized the last project for another whole week. If you can do better and at the same price, we can try to work together.

Break your objection handling into a series of small clarifying questions.

You kind of say to the client - I'm not just calling the base on the list, I want to work with you, I want to make cooperation profitable for you, I know the market and will seek a compromise.

Offer to do a free quote based on a recent project that has already been completed with your competitors so that the client can appreciate the big picture.

The usual comparison of positions in the price list is biased!

Also, immediately clarify whether everything was perfect in working with a competitor, or there is something that you would like to avoid in the future.

With the original wording of the answer to the objection, you have the opportunity to show the client that you are not like other managers who constantly call the office.

Perhaps a masterfully crafted objection is the best opportunity to continue the conversation and build trust.

Get my bonus list of top customer objections for free

Prepare your own original answers instead of the suggested ones and become just an unstoppable phone salesman!

The habit of hearing "no"

In the world of sales, rejection doesn't always mean you don't stand a chance. Many interlocutors answer “no” as soon as they identify you as a seller. This reaction is more like a reflex than a reasoned response.

Don't worry just because you got rejected in the beginning. This does not mean that they will not agree with you later, after hearing your arguments or clarifying questions.

There is a rule: "Use refusal as an invitation to ask questions." Do you think the client needs more information? Maybe yes, maybe not. In any case, this is not at all an excuse to “apologize for the bother” and end the phone call.

Do not persist right now if you feel that the moment is not the best.

Often, when I get rejected for no reason or even “rude rejection”, I just set an alarm for another date.

Toward the end of the day or even the end of the month.

So I check that that hasty refusal was not due to seasonal or weekday peaks of a person's load on the phone.

I've turned down calls myself, simply because it wasn't convenient to talk, or because I'd already talked to a few salespeople, or because the kids were too noisy around me.

You understand, the first refusal is not real. Like make-believe. Instead of giving up immediately without a fight, ask clarifying questions about the reason for the refusal and then use your plan to answer the objections received.

These phrases are like shots: “no”, “we don’t need it”, “not interested”, “don’t tell, it’s not necessary” can be intimidating and paralyze novice managers. But their pluses are that tremendous opportunities lie behind them.

Alas, in order to make sure of this, it will take some time and regular practice.

Talk to the secretary

In the corporate world, the manager traditionally shields himself with subordinates and assistants. Almost all incoming calls go to secretaries and administrators.

In sales, these are the people who stand at the “gateway to the company” and ruin all your great plans. The answer to your offer or question is often the default “we are not interested”.

Despite the secretary's immediate reaction, they, like everyone else, react to proven psychological tactics.

One of the best ways to get the right information or action is to introduce yourself as a client or partner of the company.

Ask the secretary for help finding the information you need. When they switch you and they answer there, say that you don’t know why you were connected to this department and ask them to connect you to the department that you were originally looking for.

Here, the expectation is that the internal employee recognizes the secretary's mistake in dialing the number and performs his function smoothly and without objection.

Good afternoon, Sergey Sedykh! Please tell me, do you have an estimate engineer in your company? Do you calculate custom projects? Who can I discuss my project with?

... Switch to the budget department

Good afternoon, Sergey Sedykh, SPHERE company, is this the department of foreign economic activity? No? Where did I get to? And how can I get into the foreign trade department now? Can you switch?

This trick works because it slightly changes the usual notion of "secretary's passage". All secretaries and administrators are used to being “pushed through” or asked in a friendly way to connect with a specific person.

And when someone asks them for help, it breaks the stereotype of a brazen or cunning salesperson. After all, only clients or partners ask for help. Try this tactic with those who have turned you down before and you didn't know how to approach them.

Know Your Product

There are only three types of customers who buy from you.

The first ones, the most numerous and the most unreliable in the long run, become customers because of the low price.

The latter become customers thanks to a convincing presentation and technical boost from the fourth or fifth attempt.

Still others always want to know more about the characteristics of the product and how to use it before you buy.

The most valuable “for life” customers are the third ones who need to know the technical details and how to use the product or service after purchase.

You are selling these customers a new world, in which you describe in detail its new opportunities from using your product or service.

And they live in this new world thanks to you! They are grateful to you!

This rule is even more true if you are selling a technical product or a specific service.

Consulting, auditing or new IT infrastructure may not fit into the current needs of the company. In this case, knowing the technical data and exceptional features of your product will help you close the deal with your most valuable customers.

Instead of focusing solely on mastering sales techniques, speaking culture, and writing cleanliness, rather than endlessly overcoming objections and rejections, take the time to learn about your product's key technical features and know how valuable they are to your customers.

Prepare a special offer

Each of us loves to get something for free.

What could be better than getting a discount on the right product or service. Especially if you feel that this offer is exclusive, and even with a limited duration.

One of the best ways to negotiate a deal over the phone is to offer a bonus or discount for those who are still hesitant or hesitating.

How excruciatingly painful and insulting it is when you sell a new world to your client and he mentally buys it, but delays paying the bill.

And he pulls because he needs this world, but he really wants to get a small discount. Tiny.

But you think that you can not give it. And you lose the deal because your competitor gives you a discount.

When there is a fundamental decision that the client cannot live without your product or service now, swing the swing of the transaction in your direction. Just use as an argument not the amount of the discount, but its exclusivity or limited duration.

Prepare in advance two or three justifications for additional bonuses for new customers - from free samples to a physical discount. Use them only to overcome the indecision of a potential client.

An additional five percent "new customers only in March" discount is often all it takes to get started with your new customer.

Track call results

Analyze the results of your work. Think about what methods work and what don't. This way you can gradually increase your level of performance.

Factors such as the time of day you call, which departments you are transferred to, who you spoke to in terms of position, which conversation plan worked best - all this will allow you to notice the difference.

This will allow you to see which combination of variables works most effectively. This way you can optimize your next steps.

Based on the statistics of past years of work, I determined for myself that calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 pm to 3 pm have the maximum efficiency. This does not mean that I do not call at other times. But if I need to leave for a meeting, then I will schedule it for the morning or evening so that I can devote myself to calls at the best time.

Recording cold calls becomes easier with a CRM system. There will be a lot of phone calls. In addition, we experience work stress and often forget who we called a week or a month ago. I demonstrated a convenient CRM for cold calls with a recording of negotiations.

1. Reread this post again

2. Choose for yourself those items that "respond within you"

3. Start Making Other Cold Calls

Personally, I love cold calling. Cold calling is scary right from the start.

When you found confidence in yourself, realized that rejections and objections are your opportunities, and not obstacles at all - cold calls become a favorite way to acquire new orders and customers.

There is no business without sales. An employee who owns effective cold calling techniques is valued by the company's management and receives a good salary.

Cold calling is one of the most difficult yet effective sales methods.

What are cold calls on the phone

Cold calling is the initial phone call to potential customers who have never worked with your firm before, in order to attract them into the ranks of your buyers.

The client is not waiting for a call. The call is called "cold" because the interlocutor on the other end of the wire treats him coldly. Even if he needs the offered service or product, he needs to try hard to get him interested.

The cold sales technique is complex and requires effort, experience, and good knowledge of the product or service being offered from the salesperson.

Video - how to make cold calls, examples for a manager:

Mastering the technique of cold calling is not easy due to the many barriers that must be overcome in order for the call to end effectively. Often you have to listen to the refusals and objections of the interlocutor, unwillingness to talk.

All this affects the mood of the manager making cold calls. To make such calls more effective, you need to constantly train and improve.

In what cases are used

This active sales tool is essential for B2B sales. Recently, cold calls have become more often used in working with ordinary people.

Cold calls are needed:

• to constantly increase the number of new customers;
• when launching a new project, to inform the market that a new organization has appeared;
• to update a large database of potential customers: when there is a list of potential customers, and those that are most beneficial for work are selected from it.

Cold calls in Russia are more often used in the following business areas:

• forwarding companies - advertising rarely works, and customers are scattered throughout the country and abroad, there is no possibility of a personal meeting;
• advertising agencies, magazines, print publishers - use calls to find new advertisers;
• manufacturing companies selling goods for business - to find new markets, expand the customer base;
• wholesale companies selling goods for organizations;
• real estate agencies - for the purpose of selling commercial real estate.

Conversation scheme

In order for a cold call to be successful and give the desired result, you should prepare in advance for the conversation and draw up an approximate scheme. The conversation itself can be divided into the following stages:

• call to the secretary, switching to the decision maker (DM);
• getting to know the decision maker, representing your company, establishing contact;
• clarification of needs, presentation of the company, product or service, processing of objections;
• end the contact and make an appointment.

Video - how to overcome the fear of making cold calls:

Do not call all customers in a row indiscriminately. Before calling, you should study in detail the potential client, his portrait, possible needs. According to only 20% of customers give 80% of the profits.

How to bypass the secretary

In working with organizations, there is often an obstacle between the sales manager and the person who makes the decision - a secretary or a personal assistant. A lot of calls pass through it throughout the day. Often people who call offer something.

In order not to distract the manager, the secretary does not connect with him, but answers that nothing is needed and hangs up, even if the product and service are really useful for the organization. The larger the company, the more difficult it is to get around the secretary.

In such cases, techniques are used to bypass the secretary. Here are some of them:

• first find out the name of the decision maker and when calling the secretary, ask to contact the right person, calling him by name and patronymic. The secretary will decide that the call is repeated and will connect without asking unnecessary questions;
• use swiftness and suddenness, in a confident tone, say: "Hello, connect with the commercial director." Further questions should be answered briefly and confidently. For example, to the question: “Who are you?” we answer: "Serey Ivanov." "What company?" - "Company A";
• make sure that you call not the first time. You can say: “hello, company A, switch to the purchasing department”;
• call at a time when the secretary is not in place. It can be lunch time, the end of the working day, or 30 minutes before the start.

To get the result, you should follow the following rules in communicating with the secretary:

• speak confidently;
• no need to tell the secretary about your proposal, as he does not make decisions;
• before calling the manager, you should find out his full name, this will help to bypass the secretary much faster.

Video - how to get around the secretary when cold calling:

How to start a conversation with a decision maker and get him interested

The conversation with the decision maker is the most important stage of the call. The overall result and prospects of working with this company depend on how it goes. When you first call, you should not try to sell. The main purpose of the first telephone conversation is to collect information to draw up a profitable offer and an appointment.

Here is an approximate scheme of a conversation with a decision maker:

At the beginning of the conversation, you should introduce yourself, designate your company. Briefly describe what she does. It is better not to mention the position of a sales manager, as it causes unnecessary associations in decision makers, the fear that something will be imposed on him.

After the introduction, it will be right to clarify whether the person has time to talk. You can start like this: “Hello, my name is Sergey, I represent company A, which produces raw materials for companies like yours. Are you comfortable talking now?

If the decision maker says that he has time, then we continue the conversation on the sales script. If not, then you will have to clarify what time it is convenient to call him. You should offer the person several options for the time of the call so that he can choose from them. We call back at the agreed time.

At the first conversation, you need to arouse the interest of a person: tell about your company, the benefits of working, say that you work with the same companies as the one you are calling. Try not to talk about numbers and a specific proposal, this information should be left for the meeting.

Basic rules for talking to a decision maker:

• the main purpose of the first call is not to sell, but to get to know each other, to interest and make an appointment;
• the recommended duration of the call is no more than 5 minutes, as the time increases, the effectiveness of the call decreases;
• you need to speak confidently, smile when talking, as the client feels the mood of the caller;
• your interlocutor should be called by name;
• The key to successful sales is to feel the mood of the client and be able to adapt to it.

To make a presentation that might be of interest to the decision maker, offer something interesting that makes the product stand out from the mass of other offers and explain how the client will benefit from the offer. It could be:

• promotion or super offer;
• cost reduction;
• increase in sales;
• time savings.

Dealing with customer objections

At the very beginning of the conversation or after the presentation, objections can be heard from the interlocutor. The main types of cold calling objections are:

• “we already have everything”;
• “we are not interested in the offer”;
• "I don't have time to talk to you";
• "Submit an offer, we'll consider it."

Having heard such phrases, you should not convince the client of the opposite and prove the benefits of your offer. This is a common mistake and can lead to termination of the conversation.

To avoid objection:

• from the beginning of the conversation, try not to give reasons for objections, ask more, be interested in the situation of the interlocutor, his concerns, which can be solved thanks to the product or service you offer;
• if an objection has been raised, it is necessary to answer them easily, causing the interlocutor to be interested in continuing the conversation.

To the client’s answer: “We already have everything,” you can answer: “I understand that you don’t want to change anything, everything is debugged and works great for you. But we can make an offer for your company that will be profitable, because new is development.”

Video - how to deal with objections:

How to make an appointment

Once the objections have been worked through, it is necessary to end the call with an appointment, which is the main goal of the first cold call. You can offer several options for the time so that the client does not have an alternative - to meet or not. You should also clarify the nuances:

• date and time;
• place;
• meeting participants;
• discuss the purpose of the meeting;
• receive confirmation from the client.

At the end of the conversation, you need to leave your contact phone number, once again talk about the meeting and say goodbye on a positive note.

Cold calling scripts

A call script is a pre-thought-out or programmed sequence of a conversation with a client, established by the company. It is convenient to use ready-made modules during the initial call to the client. Distinguish between rigid and flexible scripts.

Video - 24 tips on how to create your own cold calling script (part 1):

Rigid- are used when selling a simple product, where there are not many options for customer responses. Such a script does not require a lot of knowledge and skills from the operator.

Flexible- used for complex products that involve ambiguous offers. Such scripts require managers to be creative and prepared.

Video - 24 tips on how to create your own cold calling script (part 2):

When developing a script, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the industry, the peculiarity of customers. Standard familiar phrases annoy people, cause rejection, so you should develop a unique script that is different from other organizations, which will arouse the opponent's interest.

How to organize: full-time managers or a call center

An entrepreneur may face the question - what is better to organize: cold calls based on their organization and include them in the functionality of their managers or provide a call to the call center. To determine this issue, allocate and consider all the pros and cons of these options.

The main advantages of transferring cold calls to call centers:

• there is no need to recruit and train your staff, in the call center the staff is already trained in such calls and has experience in conversations;
• no need to write sales scripts;
• receive a full report on the work done.

The disadvantages include:

• lack of personal control;
• lack of specific knowledge of your particular product. Call center specialists manage several projects in parallel, their employees manage only your order and know everything about it;
• minimal focus on results. Own staff, if motivated, is more focused on results than call center specialists.

Contacting a call center is beneficial when justified by calculations and cost-benefit ratio. In small organizations, where it is unprofitable to hire an additional employee and train him, it is worth contacting a call center to increase sales.

Video - an example of a cold call according to the scheme:

If the organization has a lot of employees who communicate with customers, then investing in systematic training and motivation of their own staff brings good results over time.

In this case, it is better to choose the option of training your own staff and including cold calls in the functionality of your employees. At the same time, managers should be financially motivated to achieve good results.

Pros and cons of cold calling

The main benefits of cold calling are:

• saving time and money, due to the absence of the need to travel when first meeting with the client;
• faster communication by phone compared to correspondence;
• the ability to understand the client's reaction on the phone to the information received;
• the opportunity to ask clarifying questions in a conversation, to eliminate misunderstandings;
• the opportunity during a telephone conversation to lay out cheat sheets and the necessary documents in front of you and look into them if necessary.

Cold calling also has limitations that need to be overcome:

• the interlocutor perceives the call as a hindrance, distracting him from his affairs;
• it is easier for the client to refuse or come up with excuses over the phone;
• the opponent can end the conversation at any time and hang up;
• it is impossible to track the reaction of a person, since gestures, facial expressions are not visible, it is possible to draw conclusions about the reaction only by intonation;
• there is no way to back up the words with graphs, images;
• when making a phone call, there is a high probability of misinterpretations.

Conclusion

Mastering the technique of cold calling does not come to most managers immediately. This requires experience, patience, constant learning and motivation.

Having learned the technique of conducting such sales, writing scripts, methods of working with objections and other elements of a cold call, an employee improves his financial situation and increases the profit of the company in which he works.

A short summary will help you understand the difference between the two.

What should you pay attention to when the act of acceptance of work performed.

With the help of cold calls, it is unlikely that it will be possible to sell equipment for the production of self-tapping screws; in such cases, several meetings will be required.

Video - examples of real cold calls by phone for the purpose of scheduling meetings:

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From this article you will learn:

• What are cold calls
• Which companies will benefit from them?
• How to organize them
• How to script a cold call
• How to bypass the secretary and answer the objections of the decision maker
• What are the most common mistakes managers make in cold calls?
• How to evaluate the result, and then increase it

Cold calls are rightly considered the most difficult sales channel. Here, the manager is required to be able to interest the client, keep his attention and fend off objections, leading the interlocutor to the idea of ​​the need to make a purchase. We will figure out what mistakes are made when calling customers and how to conduct a dialogue so that your proposal finds a response.

What is cold calling in sales

The difficulty of cold calls is that the interlocutor does not expect your appeal and is not ready for it. It is possible that a product or service will be of interest to him, however, before you can talk about it, you need to get the attention of a potential buyer.

Such calls were called “cold” because the client needs to be “warmed up”, arouse his interest, arouse the desire to listen to you and, as a result, buy the offered product.

As a rule, such calls cause nothing but irritation, because you can be busy and answered only because you are waiting for important news from a partner or employees. Instead, you hear memorized phrases on the phone about the benefits of service in a particular beauty salon.

Most approaches to cold calling come from books by American marketers from the 1960s and 1980s:

1. The conversation is conducted according to a pre-written script (script).
2. At the beginning of the conversation, you need to introduce the company.
3. The call is preceded by serious preparatory work.

The first interlocutors of managers who make cold calls are secretaries. Over time, they begin to calculate such sentences for the first phrase and instantly turn off the conversation. This is where the difficulty lies: with cold calls, the person on the other side of the phone does not want to listen to a description of the merits of your offer.

To solve the first task - to interest the client - it takes time, but most often (more than 90% of cases) the conversation between the person making cold calls and the secretary of the organization does not exceed a minute, most of which the manager does not speak himself, but listens to a refusal and receives a request to send Commercial offer.

Needless to say, as a result of several dozen such conversations a day, his motivation tends to zero? To once again pick up the phone and start a presentation, the employee requires a lot of courage.

Those who are just starting their career in cold sales are usually happy to hear the phrase "send a sales proposal." However, do not flatter yourself and try to send out as many emails as possible. Often this is just a polite refusal to continue communication, and the received offer will immediately be in the basket.

Also, newcomers often believe that the main purpose of cold calls is sales, but in fact they help to filter and expand the base of potential customers.

An instant sale is not at all a task that can be solved with a cold call. You should try to use the little time that the interlocutor gives you to present your company, find out if your product may be of interest to him, and achieve a personal meeting to get to know your offer in more detail.

Cold calling is only the first attempt to establish contact with a potential client. That is why, before dialing a number, it is worth making inquiries about the business of your future interlocutor, understanding for yourself how your product will be beneficial for him, showing awareness in a conversation that can do a good job.

A good example of a cold call by Vin Diesel

Cold calling technique: pros and cons

There are several advantages inherent in cold calls:

• the first acquaintance takes place by phone, which means that time and money are saved on trips;
• compared to correspondence, even by e-mail, communication is carried out more quickly;
• the direct reaction of the interlocutor to the proposal voiced to him;
• overcoming mutual misunderstanding by clarifying questions;
• the use of prompts, scripts and other materials during the conversation on a computer monitor or on paper.

Cold calling involves overcoming some limitations:

• for the interlocutor, your call is an annoying hindrance that interferes with work;
• on the phone it is much easier to refuse or end the conversation, having come up with a convincing excuse;
• one can judge the opponent's reaction only by intonation;
• you can not use visual means of confirmation - drawings, photos, graphs;
• the danger that your words will be misunderstood.

Submit your application

Which companies are suitable for cold calling?

Cold calls can be used by anyone whose average profit from each sale exceeds 250 rubles. But there are sellers for whom this method is recommended in the first place:

• B2B sales with 2000 potential customers.

If there are much fewer of them, the call will be completed within two weeks. Cold calling for B2B is recognized as the most effective way.

• B2C sales for a very wide range of customers.

Getting a database of individuals with the desired segmentation is almost impossible. This means that your product should be of interest to the majority of callers. For example, cold calls are successfully used by dentists, beauty salons, gas meter sellers, and plastic window maintenance firms.

In general, telephone communication with individuals is easier and more effective than with companies.

• Increasing the cost of context and other ways to find customers.

In such cases, cold calls are a real lifesaver for the business. Otherwise, you can spend more on marketing and lead generation than you earn in the end.

• High average bill and expensive leads.

Let's say you have no problem paying for expensive advertising. However, a lead that cost 500 rubles pleases more than a lead that cost 10,000 rubles.

No one but you can tell for sure if cold calling is right for your business. But, if you need to increase sales, and other methods are not suitable because of their high cost, if you are ready to learn new techniques and you are not afraid of the unknown, try it. Perhaps this method will be the most successful for your niche.

How to calculate how much a cold call will cost

Let's consider a simple example.

You pay 20 thousand rubles to each of the three managers. The remote form of work allows you to save on office rent and computer equipment, with the exception of paying for telephone communications, say, 4,000 rubles per month for each employee (the amounts may vary depending on the region and the duration of calls).

Therefore, your monthly expenses are 3 x 20 + 3 x 4 = 72 thousand rubles.

Cold calling records give you accurate information: each employee makes 150 calls daily, 150 x 22 (workdays) x 3 = 9,900. Your average conversion rate is 5%, which means you have 495 leads per month.

We calculate the cost of one call: 72,000 / 9,900 = 7.27 rubles.

One potential client costs you 72,000 / 495 = 145 rubles.

This is where the conversion statistics of cold calls to leads are important. A high conversion automatically reduces the cost of a lead, and vice versa.

Let's calculate the cost of the transaction. Let's say the conversion from the lead is 15%, that is, each client will cost 966 rubles (145 / 15% = 966). The average profit per trade must exceed this amount.

How to organize cold calls

So, you've decided to introduce cold calling to increase sales without major marketing investments. There are two options: create a department in your company and entrust him with the function of finding new customers or entrust this work to a specialized firm - a call center.

The choice depends on the tasks before you. If a one-time survey of customers is planned in order to update the database, it makes no sense to open a separate division for this, it is more logical to entrust calling customers to a call center. But we want to warn about the risks that accompany cooperation with such an organization.

Of course, if the company plans to regularly search for new customers, it is necessary to create a telemarketing department that, using cold calls, will offer your product to a wide range of potential buyers.

The costs of outsourcing and maintaining the activities of your own unit are about the same level. However, having your own department gives you some advantages:

1. Employees of the structural division of the company are much better acquainted with the specifics of the goods that they offer to customers. The training of your own employees is easier to organize, besides, it will require less costs. At the same time, they will act much more efficiently than the involved specialists.
2. In-house telemarketers can offer all of the company's products. At the same time, the cost of staff training will be minimal, and besides, you will not need to pay for the lease of the database.
3. If products or services are more complex, it will be much more difficult for outside workers understand the nuances of their application and Communicating the right information to potential customers in the right way.
4. Own staff is much easier to control. You can make adjustments to the work as soon as necessary, but in cooperation with the agency, this will require much more effort.
5. It also saves time and money when starting a new project., because you do not have to carry out approvals, pay for services, configure equipment and software for a new scenario. Calling customers about a new product can start at least two weeks early.
6. When working with a call center, you have to make sure that its operators and your sales managers do not attack the same subscribers at the same time. In addition, by transferring the database to unauthorized hands, you risk quite a lot.
7. Your own division can act as a base platform for training sales managers. People who go through cold calls become specialists who can sell anything to anyone.

What a cold call manager should be able to do

cold call manager- this is an employee who is tasked with finding leads, getting new customers for the company's product.

In the course of work, he makes cold calls, gets access to the decision maker (decision maker) through the secretary, makes sure that the client is in need of the proposed product or service, possibly sends a commercial offer and “hands” the prepared buyer to the sales manager.

In another way, these specialists are called call center managers. Large companies, as a rule, have a fairly large lead generation sector, allocated to a separate call center, whose functions include both making cold outgoing calls and receiving incoming calls. When contact is established, "warm" clients are transferred to the next stage.

A lot of requirements are imposed on the call center manager: the ability to quickly switch between different scripts, to be well versed in professional programs, to quickly respond to the interlocutor's remarks.

All this requires constant tension from employees, so the turnover in these positions is traditionally high, but it is not difficult to find a new employee to replace the departed employee, because special skills are not required here, and training takes place quite quickly.

The third name for such specialists is telemarketing manager. It has taken root in large companies - banks, Internet providers, etc. The work takes place in specially allocated premises, where workplaces with specialized software are located, while the regime is strictly regulated.

A huge database is used for calling, the number of cold calls is measured in hundreds per day, and one cannot deviate from the developed script. It is quite difficult, and the salary, as a rule, is small (about 15 thousand rubles). However, this is a colossal school and those who do not break down and do not burn out while working in this position become real professionals.

The disadvantages include the fact that the telemarketing manager communicates with end customers, so the acquired skills may not be enough for B2B.

Experience shows that a certain type of person copes best with work in such positions: active, assertive, well-trained, not shy in a conflict situation and able to continue a conversation even when the interlocutor does not show interest in him. Of course, an indispensable condition is well-developed speech and excellent diction.

Given all these requirements, a good cold caller is a godsend. If you have such employees, you are guaranteed a stable influx of low-cost leads.

What do you need to do to get these professionals in your telemarketing department? Nothing special - we just give an announcement about the recruitment of employees. Gone are the days when it took six months to train them. In fact, it is enough for a person who comes from the street to provide:

• a clear logical conversation script (script) on two or three sheets;
• customer base;
• a list of specific tasks: do this and get so much.

This is enough for a new employee to start bringing you leads on the first day after listening to an introductory briefing.

Why you need a cold call script

A script is a carefully thought-out sequence of actions that an employee takes in the course of making cold calls.

This is a kind of algorithm, thanks to which the manager clearly knows what he should say to a potential client, in what sequence, how to respond to objections coming from the interlocutor. At the first contact, a cold call script is an indispensable thing, because we have a minimum of information about the client, just like he does about our company.

The effectiveness of the next communication attempts will depend on the fruitfulness of the first conversation, since it is at this stage that the manager finds out whether the interlocutor has a need for the company's goods and services, or the product is not interesting to him. In this case, it makes no sense to waste time on it, it is better to switch to the search for those to whom we can benefit.

For the second contact with a potential client, the script is no less valuable. Based on a well-thought-out conversation script, the employee moves directly towards the goal, and he has a much greater chance that the result will be positive compared to an employee who is not armed with a script.

An example of a scripted cold call:

How to write and implement a cold call script

Stage 1. Preparation of information

Cold calls are preceded by the collection and analysis of information in five areas:

1. We set a goal: registration, invitation or instant sale.
2. Product. We select arguments to confirm the value through the HPV algorithm: characteristics - advantages - benefits.
3. The target audience. We formulate the needs of potential customers.
4. Competitors. We try to get the scripts of the leading players in our niche and study what they focus on in cold calls. You can get scripts in different ways: using the mystery shopper technique, getting a job with a competitor or making a direct request - it is quite possible that you will be met halfway.
5. internal sources. We carefully analyze cold calls that ended in a purchase; we find and highlight the key points that can be used when creating a script.

Stage 2. Creating a test case

Having finished collecting preliminary information, we try to write a test script. This work should be based on three basic points on which cold calls are built:

1. Structure. The sales classic is something you should constantly think about when building the structure of the script. Without applying the algorithm of five stages of sales (opening - identifying needs - presentation - working with objections - closing), cold calls simply do not exist.
2. Length. It depends on the goal of the seller, and can vary from five minutes, when the manager implements lead generation (registers and invites), to 10-12 minutes, if the goal is to close the deal directly during telephone conversations.

The difference is due to the fact that in the second case, the movement follows a cyclical scenario during the processing of objections. During the specified period of time, the specialist must close up to five objections. If the resistance of the buyer could not be broken, the conversation ends, since there is no longer any point in continuing it.

1. Flexibility. The script can be written in such detail that the employee making the cold call is only required to voice the programmed text. Work with objections is also subject to automation. It is important to pronounce phrases in the right tone and with the right mood.

This is quite realistic if the product is simple, and the audience does not go beyond the boundaries of the outlined framework.

Stage 3. Testing the script

Having created the text of the cold calling script, we carry out its trial run. We control managers according to the following checklist:

• the employee does not deviate from the text;
• the interlocutor fails to seize the initiative in the conversation;
• the script provides for all types of customer objections;
• what phrases provoked the refusal of the purchase.

Stage 4. We introduce the script into the work of managers

The tested and finalized cold call script is subjected to automation. Existing services make it possible:

• writing, correcting and updating the text in one place;
• comparing the effectiveness of various scripts and managers;
• displaying the required parts of the script during the dialogue;
• search for stages at which a failure is fixed;
• integration of all data with CRM.

The right cold call with quick access to the decision maker

For a cold call specialist, the first task that needs to be solved is considered to be reaching the decision maker (decision maker). This person in the company is responsible for whether the product you offer will be purchased. Therefore, a conversation about the merits of a product should be carried out only with him, all other options are simply meaningless.

Most often, the decision maker is the general or executive director, chief engineer - it depends on the specifics of the business. Almost each of them has a secretary who screens out unwanted interlocutors, among which cold-call managers are secretly included.

Is it possible to overcome this obstacle? Let's consider several options:

See how the individual ways look in real life:

Cold calling + objection handling

Very expensive

• It's great that the budget of the company is so important to you. Tell me, is it only a matter of price or do you have other wishes to change our product / service?
• Therefore, all our regular customers are people who appreciate quality and do not like to pay twice.
• Yes, each of us would like to get excellent service and excellent quality, paying as little as possible. But you know perfectly well that most often these concepts are incompatible. Is it important to you that the product is reliable?

I will think

The answer "I'll think about it" is the equivalent of a polite refusal. Specify what exactly confuses the client in your product:

• Of course, as you wish. Let me tell you about the additional benefits of our product so that it is easier for you to make a decision.
• I think in general you liked our offer. Or are there things you don't understand?

Submit a commercial offer

• Yes, definitely. But I ask you to clarify a couple of questions in order to compose it specifically for you, taking into account your needs.
• Of course, I will send you an offer as soon as we meet and talk about special conditions that we can offer your company. Your office is on the fifteenth floor, am I right?
• I think you get a lot of offers. In order not to take up your time, let's clarify what is most relevant for you, and I will prepare an offer based on your wishes.

• Perhaps now our product is not of interest to you. But over time, you may need it and you will know exactly where to go so as not to waste time searching.
• Tell me, what conditions of cooperation would suit you?

If you give me a 30% discount, I will buy

• We would gladly give you this discount if we overcharged. But we initially form the price so that you do not overpay, so this is already an excellent offer compared to competitors.
• We practice providing such discounts if _____ or ______. Let's discuss the details, and if you fall under these conditions, I will seek a reduction in cost for you.

Others are cheaper

• Yes, of course, someone's price is always lower. But are you ready to check on your own experience, due to what they offer such conditions? Are you ready to receive a low quality product or limited service?
• Yes, but the price is not the only criterion when choosing, right? Let me explain what is the difference between our products and then you can decide if it is worth paying less. In any case, the choice is yours.

We work with others

• It's great that you appreciate your partners. But I am not saying that you should cut off your cooperation. Let me tell you what else we can offer you.
• Yes, it is a good supplier. But listen to our offer: it will probably help you negotiate a lower price with him. Or start working with us.

How Sales Managers Fail Cold Calling

A cold call is likely to fail if you:

• Don't prepare for dialogue.

A cold call involves a conversation on a specific topic within a given time limit. Each replica should be confident, thoughtful and with a clear goal.

• You will lead a boring monologue on one note.

Not a single person will listen to your memorized speech, especially if it is spoken without emotion and the slightest interest in the result. An attempt to speak without allowing replicas from the interlocutor is the second mistake. Not only do you have to convey information about the product, your task is to determine the needs of the client and collect as much information about him as possible.

• Don't use words that show politeness.

Be courteous in conversation: Saying "thank you", "please" and "all the best" indicates your respect for the other person.

• You will be selling goods on the go.

The biggest chance of failing a cold call is to start with a sale. A person who is not ready to buy will immediately refuse, even if your offer is attractive from any point of view. Generate interest first, get the client to talk, and secure an appointment.

What does a good cold call look like?

1. A telephone conversation should not last more than five minutes.

The best option is three minutes. This is not as small as it seems. If you do not scatter on unnecessary details, it is quite possible to calmly and confidently convey the necessary information and get a positive answer.

1. The interlocutor does not see you, but this is not a reason to sit with a sour face.

Radiate goodwill, good mood is perfectly conveyed by your intonation.

1. Focus on the buying company.

"You", "your company", "you will get", "you are right" and so on.

1. Maximum specificity in the proposal.

Instead of “Maybe we will meet? ..” we say “When is it more convenient for you to meet - on Thursday or Friday?”. The first question allows the interlocutor to refuse, the second not only excludes such a possibility, but also forces you to flip through the diary in search of free time.

Why Record a Cold Call Dialogue

The calling process must be controlled. A cold call script is an algorithm by which an employee acts. However, professionals recommend checking how the manager "walks" through the script. The easiest way to do this is to listen to recorded conversations between your subordinates and potential buyers.

There are several benefits of recording cold calls:

1. You are gradually collecting an invaluable archive, where you can find both a dialogue that can become a model for other employees, and an example of a failed conversation that demonstrates how not to work with a client.

Working on mistakes will help managers hone the technique of cold calls, and transcripts of recordings will form the basis of training for staff. The best dialogues that ended in a sale are used to correct scripts, while the bad ones serve as material for typing errors that lead to a deal failure.

1. Knowing that their work is being recorded and reviewed keeps managers on track follow the established rules and achieve the best results.

Naturally, you can't listen to absolutely every conversation, but employees are zealous because they don't know whose call is being monitored at the moment. As a rule, ambitious people go to sales, and no one wants to be the worst.

1. Bank of records- a good way to make sure in case of a conflict. Unpleasant situations happen to both employees and customers. Having the evidence base in hand, you have a serious advantage in their analysis.

Let's outline the measures that will help set up the process of wiretapping calls and make it regular:

1. The first step is the integration of CRM with IP-telephony. This is the only way to technically ensure that cold calls are recorded for later review.
2. Periodically ask the head of sales for information about the most problematic stages of transactions. To answer this question, he will have to regularly listen and analyze cold calls.
3. Constantly ask the head of sales for links to the best and worst dialogue recordings. This will not allow him to abandon work on the mistakes of managers, and the data bank will be regularly updated with fresh cases.
4. Instruct to develop manager development checklists - checklists with the skills needed by the seller. On their basis, it is possible to carry out a technological analysis of the qualitative parameters of telephone conversations, and not just give them a subjective assessment.

3 ways to evaluate the effectiveness of cold calls

• Evaluation of the performance of each manager.

Count the number of calls made by one employee per day. Often the manager plays for time, preferring to work with the base, and not with live clients. This approach is explained by the high stress load: telemarketers are constantly faced with a negative reaction from the interlocutor.

Experience shows that every employee should make 100-120 daily cold calls. If this figure is below 80, it is worth taking action.

• Evaluation of the performance of each manager.

You can calculate sales performance by dividing the number of successful cold calls per manager by their productivity and multiplying the result by 100%. The average figure, depending on the business area, varies from 5 to 15%. It is necessary to keep statistics for each employee and use the data obtained to motivate him.

• Evaluation of the profitability of "cold" telemarketing.

Profitability is calculated by the formula: ((income - expenses) / expenses) * 100%.

1. Enter a system of motivation for account managers. The effectiveness of motivation in cold sales is quite high, so it makes sense to identify the best manager every month and encourage him financially.
2. Edit and change the sales script. If, as a result of the analysis, it turns out that most of the dialogues end at the same step, it is worth making adjustments to this part of the conversation script.
3. Implement a CRM system that can be linked to telephony. As a result, you will be able to track how much time an employee spends on cold calls, as well as immediately see who and when the deal was closed.

   The introduction of an auto-dial system, which independently selects a client and makes a call, will minimize the likelihood of a manager delaying the conversation.

4. Train your managers. Don't challenge telemarketers to mechanically reproduce script text. It should serve as the basis for their confident speech that can interest the client, while the ability to improvise is only encouraged.

These skills need to be worked out at internal trainings or by inviting reputable sales specialists.

• Igor Alyasiev, Elena Alexandrova “Direct sales: features of national “cold calls”.

The feeling of indecision is familiar to anyone who had to make the first cold call in their life. What to say at the very beginning? How to continue so that the interlocutor wants to listen to you? What might be of interest to him? How to respond to objections? How to get an appointment? How to get a positive result in the end, how to achieve the goal set by the management?

The answers to all these questions are in the book, so anyone who wants to overcome their shyness and fear, learn how to find contact with any client, convince and sell by phone, it will be very useful. The authors supplemented the second edition with examples of real dialogues.

• Stephen Schiffman "Cold Calling Techniques"

The sales manager faces difficult tasks: to get an agreement to a meeting, to present a product or service, to achieve a deal. How to do it easily and successfully, how to achieve your goals and raise your own bar higher and higher? The book offers proven ways to solve these problems.

• Anastasia Kozachenko Cold calls and what they are eaten with.

The technique of cold calling does not lose its relevance, and the author of this book has done everything to convey maximum useful information to readers. Just look at the content, and it becomes clear that there is everything that a person who aspires to become an ace in this area of ​​\u200b\u200bsales may need.

Psychologists say that a person remembers only 20% of what he hears, so every word counts when calling customers! In order not to lose face, sales scripts are used. These are scenarios of behavior for a manager, which describes step by step what and in what situation he should say. Let's analyze what should be in an effective sales script and consider several ready-made templates.

Scripts exist for all occasions, or rather, for each type of work with a buyer, but today we will analyze the most popular one - a script for cold sales by phone.

Parsing scripts piece by piece

Sales scripts have existed for more than a dozen years, and if you do not want to use the poke method, then you can arm yourself with the most effective algorithm that has been polished over the years. Let your script not get an Oscar, but it will attract customers.

Let's start with b2c sales, that is, with calling individuals. Sales scripts for sales managers will be built according to the following scenario:

The structure of the script for the b2b sector when there is a ringing of organizations, almost the same. The difference is that before starting a conversation, you need to “go out” to the decision maker. The secretary will most likely pick up the phone, and you need to bypass him, proving that cooperation is more beneficial for the client than for you. And only when you are connected with the head of the department or the main boss, you need to start working on the above script.

Some companies deceive the secretary by pretending to call about a job and only after contacting the right person show the cards. Whether or not you do so is up to you, but we recommend keeping the company's reputation as "clean" as possible. You will still need it.

By the way, according to b2b research company Sirius Decisions, the average manager gives up trying to contact the person in charge on the second try. At the same time, from 7 to 13 contacts may be required for successful lead generation in the b2b sphere. Be persistent!

The 7 Best Ways to Make a Client Hate You

Above, we described the standard course of a sales call. This is the basis on which you can “put on” your chips: use the main pains of the client, list the competitive advantages of your product, competently, and so on. Only by testing different versions of scripts, you will gradually formulate the most effective algorithm that will show the best effect for your company.

Thus, There is no single recipe for how to talk to a client, it's easier to say how NOT to do it.

So, you want to piss off the client and not sell him anything? Take advantage of our bad advice:

1. Have a conversation in the form of a monologue. Are you calling to get a client's opinion? It's too much. But he should learn in all details about your proposal. Do not let him insert a word, otherwise you never know, he will refuse more.
2. Chatter. Faster! Time is limited! You definitely need to cram as much information as possible into a few minutes! And better in one! Learn to speak quickly and shoot the client with machine-gun shots of words.
3. Show who's boss here. Business is a wild jungle. This is where you need to dominate. Show the client that you are in charge here. Give, insist. Don't be a yielding weakling.
4. Improvise. Why prepare? Every situation is different. Just call and hope for the best.
5. Damn tact. Each polite word takes precious seconds of persuading the client from you.
6. Speak without emotion. God forbid you show the client that you are positive. He may think that you are doing better than him, and therefore refuse your services on principle.
7. Tell us more about the company. Go beyond product stories. The client needs to know as much as possible about where you work, what kind of connections you have, partners and where your supervisor was vacationing this summer.

Sales script templates: don't cheat!

The sales script templates below are just examples, do not rewrite them one by one, but change them for yourself. There is no universal solution for all occasions, because each company and its product is unique.

Please note that in some points these script examples go against the rules for building a conversation, which we talked about at the beginning of the article.

1. In-scale marketing agency script

2. Seurus call center script

3. Business School Script BusinessTG

Which sample sales script to choose? Best of all, focusing on examples, create your own. But if you want to use ready-made, then you should try everything in turn, evaluating the effectiveness and suitability for your type of service.

Integration of scripts in CRM

If you conduct sales through, then for convenience, you can integrate successful sales scripts directly into the program interface. So that when working with a client, the manager sees a detailed scenario in CRM - what to say at each stage of the sales funnel. In fairness, we note that such functionality is not available in all Russian CRM solutions. An example might be .

In the program, you can prescribe step-by-step scripts for each stage of working with a client through the settings. Thanks to this, in each deal card, the manager will see a detailed guide - what needs to be said and what to do to successfully move the deal to the next stage. Scripts are displayed in CRM as a convenient checklist that a manager can work with directly during negotiations with a client:

To see with your own eyes how it works, in SalesapCRM, and your managers will always work according to ready-made sales script templates.