Nobody likes rejection. It’s one of the reasons why almost two-thirds of sales reps report that cold calling is their least favorite part of their job.
Whether your reps enjoy cold calling or not, it’s still one of the most effective ways to generate new leads. While you won’t be able to eliminate rejection from the process (sorry), you can increase your team’s chances of success by setting up a killer outbound calling strategy.
So, where do you start? We’ll help you by introducing you to some of the best cold calling strategy for this year, with some examples to help you better contextualize how to increase the effectiveness of your touchpoints. We’ve got you covered. Whether you’re creating an outbound calling strategy for yourself or your team, you’ll see an uplift in results in no time.
Why is an Outbound Calling Strategy So Important?
Before I dive into my top strategy for this year, we need to get on the same page about a few things. First, what is an outbound calling strategy? Outbound strategies are your team's tactics and processes to seek out and connect with prospects.
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Every sales team needs an outbound calling strategy. Without a cohesive strategy and the right language, you won’t be able to reach your team’s maximum potential in outbound sales. A cold calling strategy will also help support your sales reps and prevent them from getting disheartened by repeated rejections.
Despite whatever think pieces you may have seen to the contrary, cold calling is still the most effective channel for prospecting. This outreach method allows you to instantly speak with and create a connection with the prospect on the other end of the line, unlike more asynchronous methods of contact like email or social media outreach.
With this in mind, let’s get into the four-step process you need to follow to implement the best outbound calling strategy for the current market.
Step 1: Determine What Success Looks Like
Before you begin your outbound calling strategy in earnest, you need to define success for yourself and your team. What metrics do you want to measure? What KPIs are you tracking? If you don’t set these up ahead of time, you’ll have a hard time determining whether your strategy was successful.
In addition to helping you determine success or failure, your metrics can also give you an idea of what areas you’re excelling in, and what areas your team may need additional sales training to improve.
RELATED: Using 4 Common Sales Metrics to Reach Your Goals
Which metrics should you consider tracking for your outbound calling strategy? Metrics like number of dials, time spent on calls, conversion rates, and number of meetings booked are a good place to start.
You can use these metrics is to improve conversions. For example, if you made forty outbound calls and engaged with fifteen contacts, that's a 37.5% conversion rate. If you booked four meetings, you'd have a 26.6% success rate.
Once you know these numbers, you can start working on adjustments that would make the 26.6% closer to 40%.
You can use a CRM like HubSpot to capture and track these metrics and measure your team’s performance over time. It's important to note here that the metrics you choose should reflect your desired outcome. A hundred dials may look great, but if you're not generating meetings from your activity, you're missing your ultimate goal.
Step 2: Build Effective Call Lists
The next step for your strategy is to build effective call lists. You don’t want to waste time and energy calling the wrong people. You can avoid having unnecessary conversations and fielding unnecessary rejections by spending time building the right call lists upfront.
When you’re building a call list, quality trumps quantity. Twenty calls to the right people is better than fifty calls to prospects who aren’t a good fit for your business. Spend time and resources finding contacts that fit your ideal customer profile.
The best use of your time is building a list of people who already buy and use what they sell, even if they already have a supplier. You should always keep a list of dream clients, the largest and best prospects in your territory. It takes time to win these deals, but when you win, it's transformational.
Step 3: Use a Modern Sales Script
One of the best ways to increase your odds in cold calling is to always script the sales conversation.
You need to respect your prospects’ time and attention. The best way to communicate this respect is to ensure that every conversation provides value to the prospect. Using a script is the best way to always know how to properly trade value to advance the sale.
Do your homework before the call and prepare your script with information specific to your prospect. Ensure you can demonstrate that you understand their problems, their role, and their needs. Be prepared to field any objections or concerns they may raise during the call.
Step 4. Engage in Regular Sales Training
Nobody ever has the perfect cold call.
You need to watch and analyze your metrics, but the job doesn’t stop there. The next step is to implement effective sales training and coaching programs to identify and overcome the blockers and bottlenecks in your sales funnel and your outbound calling strategy.
Work closely with your team to identify challenges areas for improvement. Collaborate with your sales reps and ensure your team understands the steps they need to take to improve their skills.
If you’ve tried sales training programs and been disappointed with the results (or lack thereof), you’re not alone. Many sales training programs focus on broken sales techniques that drive prospects away.
Implement a modern sales training program like my Sales Accelerator for the best results.
Boost Sales with an Outbound Calling Strategy
Outbound sales is an important component of any sales strategy. Cold calling efforts can be frustrating and stressful when done ineffectively, but with the right outbound calling strategy in place, your team can start advancing more sales and closing more deals.
An effective outbound calling strategy is essential in increasing your sales and growing the organization. Once you find messaging that resonates with your prospects, you can implement processes based around that language to help all your reps improve their skills and advance more sales.
Unsure of what the right language is? Good news: You don’t have to start from scratch. I’ve put the work in so other sales professionals can hit the ground running. Pair this outbound calling strategy with the lessons in my Cold Calling Mastery eBook to get the best results from your cold calling efforts.
