Cold calling is a highly effective lead generation strategy that many people underestimate.

Unfortunately, it can also be intimidating. But with good preparation, a proper plan and enough practice, it can become second nature and give you great results.

In this article, we’ll share with you our 10 top tips for cold call lead generation. These are based on our own experience. Follow them and start generating leads for your business.


10 best Cold Calling Tips for Effective Lead Generation

1. Research, Research, research!

Research the company you’re going to call before reaching out. Know who they are, what they do, and what their needs are.

Show them that you’re not just blindly calling anyone and that you’ve done your homework before calling. This is always a good first step in building a relationship with the prospective customer.

Understand the company’s product or service inside out. Knowing what they sell (or plan to sell) will help you make more accurate recommendations and ensure that your solution really does meet their needs, rather than simply being something “close enough” because it fits your product portfolio.

Understand how each of their products or services works individually as well as in tandem with other solutions. You’ll need this knowledge for qualifying questions later down the road, so don’t skip over this crucial stage!

Research who makes purchase decisions and who holds budgets in their organization. Knowing where the power lies will give you better insight into how the conversation could play out and how to tailor it to your benefit!

2. Create a script in advance

Have a cold calling script prepared in advance. A ready script will give you a structure to use during your call.

Remember that a cold calling script is just a tool, and you shouldn’t follow it verbatim while communicating with the prospect.

Structure your approach around the prospect rather than assuming you know what they want or need. That said, if you have an idea about which areas are likely to pique their interest then writing out some notes will help guide your conversation.

Preparing a script is also a time to get creative. Consider what makes your product or service unique, different, or better than those of competitors.

What problems does it solve in general? How could it specifically help the prospect you are cold calling today. Add this information to your script. Don’t assume that your potential customers know everything about you and what you offer. Get to the point quickly and focus on how your product or service will benefit them.

3. Know your Product and Company Inside-Out

Make sure you know your company and your product or service inside out. This is especially important if you’re new to your company.

You’ll need to be able to answer all questions that the prospective customer will throw at you.

Strong knowledge of your product, company and industry also makes for a more comfortable conversation with someone who doesn’t know you yet. You can draw on details about what makes your product or service unique, different, and better than those of competitors.

You can also use this knowledge to guide the conversation and make it more productive.

For instance, you may know that your product or service has three different versions – Starter, Intermediate and Elite. If a prospect says they’re interested in the Intermediate or Elite versions but only have the budget for the Starter version, then you could guide the customer in the direction of the Starter version or find a way for the customer to find more budget for the more expensive versions.

This knowledge can also be useful during the qualification phase, where you’ll want to delve deeper into understanding your prospect’s challenges and how they would specifically use your product or service.

4. Have a solid reason for calling

You need to have a clear objective for making the cold call.

The objective could be simply to introduce your company to a new potential customer.

Or it could be to ask for feedback for a product that the prospect is already using. Or it could be to request a meeting to discuss needs or propose solutions to a problem the prospect is facing.

5. Call when the prospect is likely to answer

By calling when you are most likely to reach a prospect, your chances of actually speaking to them increase.

When someone is busy or in a meeting, it can be frustrating for both parties. You don’t want the prospect hanging up on you because they were caught off guard by your call. It’s best to go ahead and leave a message if you know they’re away from their desk.

6. Call with confidence

What do we mean by that?

While it does matter what you say, it’s equally important how to say it. Your tone of voice matters.

Cold calling can be intimidating at first because you’re reaching out to strangers who might not want anything to do with you or your company.

But the prospect might be willing to speak to someone who knows what he or she is talking about. Be an expert. And experts talk with confidence. That’s why you need to call with confidence to make it more likely that the other side will listen to you.

Here are some techniques for sounding confident:

Speak slowly and enunciate clearly – don’t rush through sentences as if you’re trying to get off of the phone as fast as possible!

Pause between thoughts so that the prospect has time to process what they just heard. This helps build rapport and increases the prospect’s willingness to talk longer because you’re giving them time to process what you’re saying.

Ask questions. A confident person wants to hear what the other side has to say.

7. Get to the point

You don’t have time for small talk and neither does your prospect. You can either get to the point or you won’t get anywhere at all.

Explain who you are, why you’re calling, and quickly get to the value add that you are offering the prospect.

When you stay focused on the value you are offering, your prospect is more likely to stay interested in what you have to say next!

8. ‘No’ today doesn’t mean ‘No’ forever – don’t give up!

Most prospects are likely to say “No” to your pitch on a cold call. That’s just the nature of cold calling.

Just remember that “No today” doesn’t mean “No forever”. People change. Their needs change.

At the moment that you call the prospect may have no need for your product or service. They may not even foresee a need in the future. But everything could change in a few months.

The prospect could acquire a project, parts of which they need to outsource to a company like yours. Or they may an internal need for which they cannot find good employees and they decide to outsource.

What’s important is that you keep following up. Don’t lose motivation. It can easily take between 6 to 8 follow-ups from your first cold call before a prospect convert to a paying customer.

9. Ask for what you want

Don’t forget to ask the prospect what you are looking for. If it’s product feedback you would like, ask for it.

If you’re looking for a meeting or a follow-up call, ask for it.

Keep your mind on the goal. It’s easy to get distracted by a prospect who is interested in what you have to say. But don’t forget why you are calling them in the first place. Ask for what you want with confidence!

10. Remember, it’s about them and not about you!

Finally, remember that you’re not the only one who’s trying to reach out and connect with this potential customer. The prospect likely gets many cold calls a day. Everyone is looking for an opportunity, so take it as your chance to show off what you can do for them!

Before pitching yourself or your company, ask about their specific needs and how they’d like their problems solved. They’ll appreciate that you were thoughtful enough to enquire about their needs first making it more likely that you will build a relationship with them over time.


Summary

Cold Calling can be an excellent addition to other lead generation strategies you may deploy. When done properly and diligently cold calling will deliver results.

Here’s a recap of our 10 Cold Calling Tips for Effective Lead Generation:

  1. Research the target company
  2. Create a script in advance
  3. Know your Product and Company inside-out
  4. Have a clear objective for calling
  5. Call when a prospect is likely to answer
  6. Call with confidence
  7. Get to the point
  8. Don’t give up – A “No” is never final
  9. Make the ask:  Ask for what you want.
  10. Remember, it’s about the customer and not about you.