Sales and Marketing

Is cold calling one of your least favorite things to do? If so, you are not alone; however, improving your cold-calling skills can help the task seem less dreadful.

Cold calling is usually done by someone in sales, but anyone in the company can be responsible for doing it. Quality Janitorial Inc., Fredericksburg, Va., has its bookkeeper/receptionist, Sherry Murphy, take care of the sales calls.

“We get a monthly listing of local businesses printed from the Chamber of Commerce and it provides business names, addresses, phone numbers and contact names,” says Murphy. “I just call each one up and introduce our company to them.”

Bill Mateski, sales manager for Great Western Supply Co., Davenport, Iowa, says his company also uses the Chamber of Commerce local business guide, but also tries to target a specific audience.

“It varies who we target, although we tend to target small and mid-sized businesses,” he explains.

“However, you can’t determine who to call if you don’t know your market,” says Alan Iacobucci, owner and principal of API Consulting, Chicago.

Looking in the yellow pages or purchasing names from a marketing firm are a few ways to get business contact information, he adds.

Determining your target audience is only half the battle. Once you have a potential customer on the phone, what you say is essential to increasing sales. Therefore, it’s crucial how you word your opening.

“I always start by saying a greeting, then my name, then by asking a open-ended question like, ‘I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time,’” says Iacobucci.

Exact phrasing depends on what you distribute and who you are calling.

“The first thing we say is who we are and what we do,” says Mateski. Although the purpose is to gain new accounts, he explains that never happens during the initial call.

“The first call is to find out who is the right person to talk to,” he says. Great Western does this by asking questions to determine who is responsible for what in the organization.

When Murphy cold calls it is a little different. Here’s what she says in the first few minutes of a cold call:

“I let them know that we are a member of the Chamber of Commerce. It is a tight-knit group that is supposed to support and help each other. I let them know since they are also a member that they will receive special discounted pricing — that usually keeps their interest,” she says.

She also explains that the first call might not generate instant sales, but that’s not what Quality Janitorial is exactly looking to do.

Iacobucci agrees that cold calling shouldn’t be just to gain sales, but to build relationships. “The purpose is to understand the business’s needs, as well as to understand the individual as a whole in order to sell effectively,” he says.

One of the best ways to improve cold-calling skills is to practice your approach and presentation, according to Jack Deal, owner of the The Deal Consulting Group, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Ideally, cold calling is on-going, daily part of the sales and marketing force, says Mark Ormond, principal of Capstone Consulting, Chicago.

“New sales reps should call everyday until they create a database,” suggests Iacobucci.

Even after a database is established, Iacobucci stresses it is still an on-going process. “Keep the pipeline going,” he says.

Cold calling is an educational process. It can be a great way to learn and grow in your industry, says Deal.

And attitude plays a big role in cold calling.

Iacobucci suggests not using negative words like “if” (if you can call me back) and displaying a lack of confidence. No matter what, he says, don’t stop calling.

“People are generally kind. Don’t give up — this is how you build relationships.”

Ormond agrees, “Cross-selling should be on everyone’s mind.”

Whether or not selling is on the minds of your salespeople reflects on your business. It can mean the difference between a call that wastes company time, resources and energy to one that is strengthening industry relationships.

“Cold calling helps to get our name out there and if they’re not interested right now, hopefully they’ll keep us in mind and give us a call later,” says Quality Janitorial’s Murphy.