Practical Advice for Creating Leads with Cold Calling

Making cold calls is one of the best ways to get solid leads.

Speaking with the gatekeepers and stakeholders gives you a fantastic understanding of their needs and influences.

However, making cold calls is a creative endeavor.

It’s always a lot of work and intimidating at times, and you have to create a good first impression.

Thus, it must be done correctly. Here are some pointers to assist you in doing that.

Take notes on everything.

Always record every aspect of your phone conversations.

Note any names or titles you come across.

Not just the person’s name that you are attempting to reach.

Since receptionists frequently serve as gatekeepers, it can be important to memorize their names.

Note the time you called and the time you promised to call back.

To keep track of everything, use a spreadsheet or database.

Hand management is unfeasible, and Excel spreadsheets are not long-term user-friendly.

That’s a terrific concept if you’re willing to spend money on a genuine CRM (customer relationship management) tool.

If not, there is a less expensive option.

Consistently return calls when you say you will

Don’t disappoint them.

It’s possible that they won’t even recall your promise to call them back.

If, however, they do and you break your promise, you will forfeit a great deal of respect and credibility.

Moreover, try your best to accommodate their schedule.

Your purpose is to assist them, not to complicate matters.

If you write copy for websites or advertisements, request to speak with the marketing manager.

If the person answering the phone claims they don’t have a marketing manager, ask to speak with “the person who looks after your advertising and website.”

Most businesses have that person, who is usually one of the owners.

Try to get along with the gatekeepers at all times.

When it comes to making decisions and exerting genuine influence, personal assistants and receptionists frequently make more decisions than the person you are attempting to reach!

You can gain access if you become friends with them.

(But don’t crawl or waste their time; they receive plenty of that!)

Keep it brief and sweet.

If you do have a chance to talk to someone, don’t hesitate to make it brief and sweet, unless they are eager to chat.

Calling them is meant to grab their attention, let them know you are available, obtain their name and contact information, and determine if they need your services.

If you write copy for websites or advertisements, you may have heard about producing brochures before learning they also require online writing.

Avoid hard selling!

Don’t put someone under duress or make it difficult for them to end the call.

Inform them of your services and that you would want to send them an email (or an attachment with examples) with a link to your website with testimonials and samples.

Then, let them take it from there.

Send an email as a follow-up.

Always follow up with an email, if you have permission to do so, and do it right away.

In your topic line, be precise.

Put “advertising copywriting” or “website copywriting” in the subject line if you write copy for websites or advertisements.)

Since this is not a common subject line for emails, it will stand out and most likely avoid being ignored by spam filters, if they have any.)

Send them an email with a salutation like “Hi Joe” and make it brief and pleasant.

Since they’ll probably simply skim it, only include the information that is absolutely necessary, make it easy to read and conversational, and bold any crucial terms or phrases.

Provide a link to your website, mention the time and date of your phone conversation (and express gratitude for their time), mention any names you learned (such as the name of the receptionist, particularly if you were given an email address but were not able to speak with the decision maker), and let them know you would like to follow up in a few weeks (assuming that the conversation suggested doing so).

Make a follow-up call.

If the lead appears intriguing, be sure to pursue it further.

And when you do, don’t forget to include the time and date of the initial call along with the email you wrote.

Briefly describe yourself and your work, then explain that you are contacting to ensure they received the email.

The lead will typically discuss your services with you, even if it’s just to remind them of what you offer!

You won’t be making a lot of calls.

I’ve made 80 cold calls on a really good day.

On most days, though, you should be really happy with an average of about forty.

Playing telephone tag is going to take up a lot of your time.

Leave no message

Don’t leave messages unless it’s really necessary (or you’ve very much given up on the lead).

Returning calls from individuals they know and like is usually difficult for people to do; answering calls from salespeople is typically not their top priority.

Don’t anticipate qualifying a lot of leads.

If you receive one quality lead per day, depending on your line of work, you’re most likely doing pretty well.

Don’t count on a quick conversion.

Regrettably, it can take up to two years for the majority of leads to materialize.

Thus, you need to be ready to exercise patience.