Sales by cold calls. What is the principle of cold calling? Submit a commercial offer

Hello! Today we will talk about cold calls.

Today you will learn:

• What are the characteristics of cold calling?
• How to write conversation scripts;
• What rules should the caller follow.

What are cold calls

A certain type of call is called “cold” not at all because of the tone of the caller, but because of the attitude of the client who answered the phone. It is not in vain that sales staff are afraid to make such calls, because very often the responses to an unsolicited offer are rude and unpleasant.

The main task of a cold call is to set up a meeting. The second most important task is to expand the customer base.

Cold calls are made by new clients with whom they have not yet established business relationship. This is their main difference from warm and hot calls, which are addressed respectively to already familiar and existing customers.

In a number of countries, cold calling is restricted and controlled by law, and sometimes even banned.

In Russia, many companies strictly instruct secretaries not to facilitate cold calls. Phone sales are becoming more and more popular among marketers, and potential customers, in turn, are becoming more and more evasive.

Cold calling has its pros and cons.

The advantages of this type include:

1. Minimal cost of time and money. The search for clients is done from the office, the manager does not need to make many unnecessary trips.
2. Quick communication (relative to correspondence), a high chance to convince the interlocutor.
3. The ability to understand the client's reaction to the offer, ask additional questions.
4. PR of the company, increase in popularity and the number of customers.
5. An additional method of sales without prejudice to the main one.
6. Research of demand, competitors and the market as a whole.

Disadvantages of cold calling (even if the calls are organized correctly and the sellers do not make mistakes):

1. A deliberately negative reaction of the client to a sudden call.
2. It’s easier to refuse an offer if you don’t see the seller live.
3. The client can end the conversation at any time (hang up the phone).
4. It is impossible to visually demonstrate the product.

In our country, cold calls are most actively used:

• Forwarding companies;
• Advertising agencies, mass media;
• Manufacturers or wholesalers of goods for business;
• Real estate agencies.

Cold calls can be made by both specially trained in-house employees of the organization, and third-party specialists from the call center.

Cold calling techniques

There are a lot of cold calling techniques. But it’s better to look at an example of how to make cold calls.

In every company, the customer base inevitably changes. Regular customers leave sooner or later, losing interest, necessity, or becoming interested in a new seller. To maintain a balance in the client base, it is necessary to regularly call not only the warm base, but also make about a hundred cold calls to new clients per day.

The main skill of the cold calling technique is to anticipate the client's responses and know the scenarios for continuing the conversation.

Cold calling is only appropriate in the following situations:

• The offer is definitely necessary for a potential client (for example, a watch repair shop always needs batteries and spare straps);
• Different clients may be interested in the offer from time to time (repair of computer equipment);
• The offer is not necessary, but may be of interest to various customers (printing of business cards);
• The offer is constantly needed and at the same time they choose the most suitable seller (courier service).

In practice, cold calls are very complex technique, and sales managers who have mastered it are irreplaceable employees in any company. In addition to theoretical training, such a specialist needs self-control, self-confidence and the ability to accept refusal.

Components of a successful cold call: self-control, knowledge of the product, customer needs and sales techniques.

Stages of cold calling

Let's figure out what the cold calling technique looks like in a phased scenario.

Stage 1. Collecting information about customers

It is more pleasant to talk with the interlocutor who is well aware of whom and why he is calling. The Internet, directories and other media will help here.

If your client is a legal entity that provides some kind of service or product, you can scout and pretend to be a buyer to learn more about their offerings.

At this stage, it would be nice to have a reason to call.

Example. The beginning of the conversation can be like this: “Good afternoon, Ivan Petrovich. My name is Victor Sidorov, I am a representative of the EcoPlus company. I saw a story yesterday about your new production line. I agree with what you say about modern production should cause minimal damage to the environment. We are engaged in the removal and disposal of waste from industrial facilities. I would like to meet with you to tell you more about our proposals.”

Stage 2. Scripting

This is a kind of cheat sheet for the seller. You can learn it by heart or have it before your eyes (the format of phone calls allows this).

Well-designed cold call scripts are true assistants to the sales manager, helping him to speak confidently and to the point.

Stage 3. Conversation with the secretary

Sometimes this stage can be avoided, but the first call most often goes through the secretary. At the same time, the larger the organization, the stronger the “wall” erected by the secretary in front of his leadership. We will talk in more detail about how to cold call bypass the secretary.

Stage 4. Conversation with the client

The total duration of the conversation should not exceed five minutes. Golden mean- three minutes. The main purpose of the conversation is to set up a meeting and conclude a deal.

In a conversation with a client, a sales manager needs to go through several steps:

1. Introduction: greet the interlocutor, introduce yourself and clarify the availability of free time for a conversation.
2. Establishing contact: refer to the source, use the information obtained at the first stage.
3. Getting more information: ask if the client uses a product similar to yours, if he is interested in improvements.
4. Attracting Interest: explain the benefits to the client from the meeting.
5. Work with objections(If you want to).
6. Meeting Arrangement: suggest your own date and time for the meeting.
7. Completion: repeat the agreed time of the meeting, thank the client for their interest, say goodbye.

Secretary on the path of cold calling

If you call not an individual, but the head of the organization, then it is likely that the call will be received by his secretary (or other third party). How to behave in such a situation?

• Introduce yourself politely.
• Try not to state directly that the purpose of your call is sales.
• Ask to be connected to the decision maker of your concern (for example, "Who can I talk to about advertising?").
• If on this moment you have been denied a conversation with the manager, find out as much information about him as possible (name, when and how you can contact).

There are several tricks that will help you get around the attentive secretary:

1. big boss mask. The secretary will not refuse to communicate with the boss if he hears in the receiver the confident voice of not the seller, but the boss. (For example: “Are you worried about the reception CEO Alekseev. Connect me to the director."
2. Recall Style. Such a technique is possible only if at least the name of the decision maker is known in advance. To the request “Please connect with Arkady Ivanovich”, the secretary most likely will not ask additional questions, but simply direct the call to the right person.
3. Request for advice. Friendly tone and the phrase "Please advise who is best to contact ...". The secretary will be flattered if the interlocutor raises his status (“only you can help me”).
4. Complex issue. Sometimes, in order to answer a caller's question, the secretary has to redirect the call. But to ask it, you need to know the structure and specifics of the company well.
5. false error. In this case, the caller goes to the trick and asks the secretary to connect him to another department. For example, if he is interested in the purchasing department, he goes through the secretary to the accounting department, and there he pretends that he made a mistake. “Hi, is this the purchasing department? No, it's bookkeeping. “Can you put me in touch with the purchasing department?”

tricks

For effective sales on the phone, first of all, practice is needed, and only then theory.

It is impossible to develop an ideal cold call scenario that is universally suitable for each seller and buyer - both have their own characteristics.

Here are a few basic rules that should be followed by all sales managers working in the technique of cold calling:

1. Find out the needs and interests of the client in advance.
2. Use scripts prepared in advance.
3. At the beginning of the conversation, explain the purpose of the call and ask for some time for you.
4. Do not put pressure on the client, communicate without aggression. Don't use expressions like "I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse." The phrase "Let me tell you about ..." sounds much softer.
5. Emphasize the importance of the customer. Less "I" and "we", more "you".
6. Take your time, pause between speech blocks, speak clearly.
7. Be confident, friendly and be sure to smile - you can hear it even on the phone.
8. Don't try to sell your product. Your goal is to interest and make an appointment. In this regard, replace the common “we offer” with “we are engaged”.
9. Do not argue and do not prove that you are right. Respect the choice of the client if he is satisfied with his current counterparties.
10. To interest in a meeting, talk about the main benefits.
11. Know how to switch the attention of the interlocutor, to interest in additional offers.
12. For questions about the details, offer a personal meeting.
13. More specifics. When asking about a meeting, call a specific time right away. Instead of "Maybe we'll meet?".
14. Monitor the mood of the client and adapt to it.
15. Remove “not”, closed questions and complex terms from your speech.
16. Use attractive words: “promotion”, “free”. If there is an opportunity to offer a free trial product, do not miss it.
17. Do not drag out the conversation, keep track of the time. Three minutes is usually enough.
18. Listen to the recordings of your conversations, analyze and draw conclusions that could have been said differently.

Work with objections

In any sales it is important to distinguish objections from outright rejection. Cold calls usually become an unpleasant surprise for the client, and therefore objections arise in this format much more often.

There is no point in working with decisive refusals, it is better to end the conversation on a positive note and not waste your own and other people's time. But with objections, subtle work is needed.

Let's look at the most common examples:

Cold calling scripts

Sales call scripts can be of two types:

1. Rigid. They are used in sales of a simple product, where the variety of interlocutor's answers is minimal.
2. Flexible. For sales of complex goods and ambiguous offers. They require creativity and more experience.

Everyone who makes sales by phone should have their own scripts, and those who work in the technique of cold calls are no exception.

1. There should be as many scripts as possible. An experienced seller regularly replenishes its database.
2. Each script must first pass a practical test on colleagues and acquaintances. Obviously unsuccessful and inconvenient should be eliminated immediately.
3. The main task of a cold call script is to illustrate the essence of the conversation, and not become a verbatim scenario.

Download cold calling scripts

outgoing call script

incoming call script

Cold calling examples

Example 1

— Good afternoon, Ivan. This is Anastasia from international company"ABV", engaged in ... . I am calling you in order to arrange a meeting during which I could tell you about our new program, which ... (what the client is interested in). I am sure that you, like our other clients ... (examples of companies), are interested in ... (certain benefit).

Yes, I'm interested in it.

- Great, let's meet. How about Wednesday at four o'clock in the evening?

Example 2

— Good afternoon, Ivan Ivanovich. This is Anastasia Petrova from ABV. We are doing…. Do you use ... in your work?

“I don’t have time to talk to you right now, send all the information by mail.

— I will send you a presentation for you to review in free time, but I'm calling to set up an appointment and demonstrate all the benefits of our offer. Would it suit you on Thursday at two o'clock?

I'm afraid I've already got the whole month booked.

- Well, is this the same number next month you have busy?

- I'll take a look now. Not yet.

- So, maybe we will meet on the seventeenth of April?

Example 3

- Good evening. My name is Anastasia, I represent the ABV holding in your region, which is engaged in ... . Your company is … (type of activity), which means you will be interested in our new offer for … (what the client needs).

“Sorry, but we are already working with another company.

- Let me ask you, is it by any chance the EYu company? Probably, you have chosen their tariff "First"?

- No, this is the "Second" tariff.

- Great, I think it will be useful for us to meet, because our programs perfectly complement this tariff. How about this Friday?

Hello!
Wrote another (but short) article in which he cited real examples their own dialogues on the phone ...

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The topic of cold calling seems to be endless. There are many articles about cold calling technologies and the risk of repetition is very high. Therefore, I decided to describe my non-standard view on this topic. I want to get to the bottom of it so that I can figure out how to increase personal motivation. and efficiency.

Irrelevant indifference.

So, let's put ourselves in the place of the person receiving our cold call. What do you think it (this person) is doing at this time? That's right - anything. Sits on the Internet, writes a report, talks to someone, drinks coffee, smokes a cigarette, fills out an Excel spreadsheet, feels like going to the toilet, etc. In short, he is not up to us and not up to our proposals.

We make the first conclusion. We don't care. They do not know us, and we distract, therefore, we create the first reason for irritation, resulting in a desire to send us away as soon as possible.

Do you know what we have to work with? I answer: with indifference. They don't give a damn about us. However, this can work!

First of all, let's get to work. Our job should be to put those who pick up the phone to work. We are not to blame for distracting someone from an important matter or idleness. We do our job and try to do it well, because our work feeds us. Our boss, by and large, also does not care that those whom we call from morning to evening do not care, and they do not want to talk to us. Therefore, the only way out is to call yourself the "Architect of your own happiness" and become the MANAGER of the work of others.

We, too, should not care that we are distracting people and this is the first installation that you need to give yourself. “I make a call, I distract someone from some work, which means that this someone should now work for me. After all, taking calls from me is part of his job. And don't care."
The habit of sending everyone to...

Any form of refusal, even if it is expressed in a cultural or veiled form, is precisely “you go to ...”

This is quite logical, because no one wants to work, and with our calls we make people do work, some actions, make them think. This is unbearable for many. We must understand that people quickly get used to doing the same things. And if the company we call receives countless calls like us every day, then any employee of this company will quickly get used to sending everyone away. Clear?

You can fight this too.

We need to get used to the fact that we will be sent and not pay attention to it. I propose to realize that we are the “Architects of our own happiness” and MANAGE the work of other people. We love ourselves very much and no one is allowed to wipe their feet on us and work out their habits on us.

Simply put, you need to say to yourself “you go to ..., with your “you go to ...” ”and overcome the habit of sending, the habit of not hearing it.
Enter into contact.

Let me give you an example from my own practice. Dialogue (I am me, She is she). Names have been changed.

Option one - the result: "you go to ..."
She: Hello!
Me: - Hello, my name is Alexey Dmitrienko, Optim company. Who can I talk to about supplying accessories for small appliances?
She: - We don’t need it (read: “you go to ...”)
Me: - Excuse me, are you making a decision?
She: - No, director, but we do not deal in petty household appliances…
Me: - It's about accessories, not technology. Can I talk with the director?
She: - He won't talk to you. I told you, we don't do this.
Me: - Allow me, in your Online store offered for sale various Appliances. I want to make you an offer on related accessories for many of the models of the equipment that you sell. This will help increase the attractiveness of your store and increase your income.
She: - Young man, I told you, we don't need it.

The conversation is over. She hung up the phone.

Option two - effective
She: Hello!
Me: - Hello! Is this an online store?
She: - Yes, what do you want?
Me: - I would like to buy a brand X vacuum cleaner. And I'm wondering if a set of disposable dust bags is included in the kit?
She: - Oh, I need to clarify ...
Me: - Unfortunately, I did not find dust collectors in your assortment ...
She: - But we do not sell them ...
Me: - So, are dust collectors included in the package of the vacuum cleaner? Excuse me, what's your name? (Stirlitz's technique - answer the last question)
She: - My name is Oksana.
Me: - Very nice, I'm Alex. Tell me, Oksana, where can I buy dust collectors?
She: - I don't know. Most likely in the service centers.
Me: - Excuse me, am I the only one asking about dust collectors?
She: - No, sometimes they are interested.
Me: - Understood. Why don't you sell dust collectors?
She: - Well, I don’t know, you need to ask the management ...
Me: - What is the name of your leadership?
She: - Dmitry Leonidovich.
Me: - Oksana, can I talk to Dmitry Leonidovich?
She: - What do you want to tell him?
Me: - I want to suggest that he include dust collectors in the assortment. Because it's uncomfortable to run around service centers and order the necessary dust collectors from them! How can I talk to Dmitry Leonidovich?
She: - Call after three hours.
I'm fine thanks. By the way, this “X” vacuum cleaner is equipped with disposable dust collectors.
Her: Let me clarify. Can you call back?
Me: - Ok, Oksana. I'll call back.

Conversation is over. I hung up.

What is the result? I brainwashed Oksana, found out who makes the decision and when it will be. I made Oksana feel guilty and "bummer", because I was interested in a vacuum cleaner and wanted to buy, but the purchase is delayed. My next call again led to Oksana and I asked to connect me with Dmitry Leonidovich, to whom I did offer.

The conclusion that can be drawn from this dialogue is very simple. I made Oksana work. I asked her to clarify an essential detail that stands in the way of making a decision. In addition, I blocked an attempt to send me away, because I am a "BUYER"!!! She does not decide anything, but for some reason in the first dialogue she allowed herself to send me away on behalf of her director, who, by the way, for some reason did not send me))). Therefore, it was necessary to send her away. Actually, I did just that.

Let's understand, finally, that the seller is a person and, as a person, he is a buyer. We are all tied. If you send, then be prepared for the fact that you will be sent too. And vice versa. And on any bolt you can always pick up a nut.
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In fact, sometimes your nerves are on edge and sometimes you force yourself to restrain yourself with an effort of will.

Discussion question:
Has anyone had such that, unable to stand it, you sent away the person you called? They got nasty, scolded, spoiled the mood, etc.

In general, does it make sense to sometimes produce emotional anger on someone?

Active telephone sales or telemarketing is a tool that has long won its recognition and popularity in the business environment, as relatively inexpensive, but enough effective method attracting new customers.

In addition to the fact that it is almost universal in relation to the goods and / or services sold, it is also successfully used in working not only with legal entities, but also with individuals.

Hot, warm, cold calls as an effective way to sell goods and services

"Cold Call"- this is the initial, one of the main stages in the overall series of events in the hard battle for new consumers.

Currently, there is no clear definition of the term "cold calls". However, traditionally, cold calls are understood as practice of promotional phone calls carried out by employees trading companies almost all business sectors, in order to attract potential customers and / or conclude a contract for the supply of goods or services, as the final stage in the sales chain. Sometimes, the cold calling technique is also used to collect necessary information about potential customers, which can later be used to make a sale.

Cold calls are made without prior arrangements and only at the initiative of employees of companies selling goods or services.

At its core primary goal of all cold calls is an increase in the client base.

Experienced sales professionals, authors of various business literature, and developers of various sales courses and trainings share outgoing calls to cold, warm and hot.

cold type- this is a call made for the first time and is addressed to a person who is not familiar with the seller company, its goods, services, service and prices. At the time of making a cold call, the contact person does not plan to get acquainted with the activities of the company, its services and capabilities, therefore it is assumed that the manager making the call is on the other end of the line waiting for a “cold reception”.

Unlike cold calls warm type are carried out by persons who are already somehow familiar with the activities of the seller company and are to some extent interested in cooperation. The purpose of warm calls may be to restore once interrupted cooperation, to inform about new products or services, about promotions or upcoming price increases, to remind yourself in the form of pleasant communication with the contact person or to collect information about the intentions of the contact person or his plans for possible cooperation etc.

And finally under hot calls sales professionals understand calls made to customers with the direct intention of doing business with the selling company. Unlike warm calls, hot calls are carried out in order to bring the transaction to its logical conclusion, which in 95% of cases ends in success for the sales specialist.

The essence and purpose of cold calls

Cold calling is the hardest type telephone conversations. This is due to the fact that most of possible customers already, as a rule, have some suppliers of goods and / or services, cooperation with which suits everyone or solve their problems in some other way (for example, they have a staff of necessary specialists and do not need to involve a third-party company to solve some tasks).

Therefore, many experienced and practicing sales professionals do not set themselves the goal of making a sale as a result of a cold call. main goal in this case, it is the collection of information about the existing or possible needs of the company of a potential client, and the achievement of agreements on carrying out business meeting on which occurs:

• personal acquaintance of the representative of the seller and the representative of the company-potential client;
• presentation of the possibilities of the company-seller;
• discussion of plans for further cooperation.

Only if these conditions are observed, the chances of the transition of a “cold” contact to “warm” and “hot” are significantly increased.

difference calling by cold base legal and individuals is only that when working with legal entities, as a rule, a sales specialist of the selling company travels to the territory of a potential customer. If cold calls are made on the basis of individuals, then they are invited to visit an event or institution on their own.

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Everything happens in a few clicks, without queues and stress. Try it and you will be surprised how easy it got!

The main challenges of cold calling

Can be distinguished the following difficulties when making calls to a cold base:

1. The main difficulty in conducting cold active telemarketing events is the reluctance of potential customers to communicate with strangers.
2. In addition, newcomers to the field of sales, who are forced by the nature of their work to call on a cold contact base, find it difficult to overcome various barriers that arise on the way to the right contact person.
3. And, of course, objection handling. Where without her? And potential customers have a lot of objections from the standard “We don’t need anything”, “Too expensive” and “We are already working with suppliers” to the most extravagant and unexpected, for example, “I don’t like your voice, so I won’t work with you” or "Stop calling me, I'm dead for you."

However, all these challenging tasks have their own professional solutions, and the sales technology of "cold" calling of the client base remains the most demanded technology in the field active sales.

Cold calling rules

There is a certain scheme for the implementation of almost any cold call. It is versatile and suitable for use in a wide variety of business sectors.

To improve efficiency such calls should be made preparatory work, which is as follows:

1. Necessary prepare an up-to-date contact base for an upcoming call. The current database is a list of organizations with valid phone numbers. Ideally, when the database already has the full name and position of the necessary contact persons. But often, managers involved in cold calling have to extract such information on their own in the process of work.
   In addition, before making a call, the sales specialist must know exactly the position and responsibilities of the contact person with whom he will conduct a conversation. So, for example, it is advisable to discuss the supply of stationery with the AHO service, staff training - with the personnel department, the supply software- With technical director etc.
2. The sales manager needs to thoroughly and carefully study the offered product or service. It is necessary to know all the features, unique qualities, disadvantages and the same about the goods or services of the main competing companies. This knowledge is necessary for effective work in general, and to work out objections if they arise already at the stage of a cold call.
3. Before making the first call, the salesperson must clearly understand the purpose of the call. It is extremely rare that a transaction is completed after the first and only call. That's why perfect option the goals of a cold call are to set up a meeting or reach at least some agreements, for example, send a commercial offer and call back, call back the next day if the contact person is too busy today or find out the contacts of the deputy, etc.
4. Preparing a conversation script. Even experienced sales professionals from time to time prefer to look into some "cheat sheets" - exemplary scenario or conversation plan. In professional terminology, the script telephone conversation is called a "script" and it schematically depicts almost all possible options development of the course of the conversation, with answers to standard objections and professional tricks in order to return the interlocutor to the mainstream of the conversation, which is convenient for the sales manager.
   For beginners, such scripts help to cope with uncertainty and fears and more or less competently conduct a dialogue to its logical conclusion.

As long-term practice shows, despite the fact that cold calls are one of the most popular sales technologies, the effectiveness of cold calls is very low in almost any business segment. So, the existing statistics show that if as a result of 100 cold calls at least 5 transactions are made, then these are very good indicators.

Therefore, for maximum efficiency, for a continuous flow of new customers, sales managers must make calls to cold bases CONSTANTLY. And this is a rather difficult, stressful and very painstaking process.

The following video training is devoted to the competent implementation of cold calls:

Features of the work of a sales manager

Concerning, successful managers salespeople working with cold bases must have some specific qualities that are either given to a person by nature (which is rare) or acquired in the process of professional growth.

Yes, to these qualities include:

1. Stress tolerance. A sales manager is a person who gets rejected probably more often than professionals in other industries, and the lack of a quick positive result can greatly affect overall motivation. Therefore, too receptive and sensitive people have no place in sales.
2. Tenacity and perseverance. The saying “they are at the door, and they are at the window” is the best description of successful sales professionals. Not infrequently, only at the cost of stubborn perseverance can one overcome all the barriers and obstacles on the way to the person making the decision to complete the transaction. Without these qualities, it is extremely difficult for sales managers to achieve great success in the profession.
3. Energy, high level activity, self-discipline and high performance. A specific feature of the profession is the dependence of the result on the amount of effort expended. And this means that the chances of success in the profession increase if the manager always has extra energy for a couple more cold calls over the plan or for one more meeting during the day.
4. Ability and desire to learn, the desire to find out as much useful and necessary information as possible, suitable both in professional activities when communicating with clients, and for personal growth and development.
5. Sociability. By the nature of their work, a sales manager has to communicate constantly, sometimes during the whole working day and even after it. Introverts, people who are not sociable and withdrawn, build professional activity much more difficult.
6. Responsibility and performance. Failure to fulfill the obligations assumed is fraught with the loss of a potential or existing client. So, for example, if a manager promised to call back in a day and did not call back at the agreed time, this may characterize him as an optional and irresponsible person, and the desire to work with such a “specialist” is sharply reduced, especially when there are a lot of other similar offers on the market.
7. Sense of humor- quality is not mandatory, but desirable. A good, correct sense of humor helps a sales person make contacts, even when they are still very cold. In addition, this is a very valuable human quality that helps to look at the current situation with optimism, no matter how it develops.

Tips for the proper organization of the work of an active sales manager are given in the following video.
Part 1:

It is very difficult to make cold calls if you do not know what and how to say. But if you have a script written in advance, then everything immediately becomes much easier. And in this article, we will write a cold call script - a step-by-step conversation scheme for your specific situation.

And yes of course we will consider different examples work with objections. So that you don’t just repeat this scheme like a robot, but you can adapt it to the situation. Then your results will improve several times.

How do I make cold calls?

I remember, 6 years ago, I was engaged in attracting clients to our translation agency through cold calls. I put off starting work for two weeks and looked for excuses not to call anyone. It was just very scary.

But when the money began to run out completely, I still forced myself to pick up the phone and dial the first number from the list. To my great relief, the other end of the line did not pick up the phone.

Then I dialed the second number, and they answered me quite politely that the head of the foreign economic activity department had just left, and asked me to call back in 15 minutes. I have already considered that for a start it is quite enough, and you can go to rest. But still I decided to clear my conscience to dial the third number.

It was a large industrial company in our city. And I knew for sure that they were already working with some kind of translation agency. Therefore, I assumed that the conversation with them would not last long.

What was my surprise when the person on the other end of the wire listened to me and offered to meet in an hour to show the current orders. On the same day we received our first order from them. And this company is still our regular customer. And it was all in one call.

Of course, I understand that I was lucky. Clients are not always so willing to agree to start working with you. But still, there are certain statistics - how many cold calls you need to make to get one order.

How many cold calls do you need to make to get one order?

If you think that there is some kind of magic scenario of a cold call, which, like a golden key, will open all doors for you, you are mistaken. There is no such script and cannot be.

And yet there is not and cannot be a seller who would make twenty calls and conclude twenty transactions. You can’t sell to everyone, no matter how hard you try, and no matter how wonderful the conversation scheme you prescribed.

Cold calling is a statistic. Statistics of refusals and consents to meet with you. You need to know your statistics, and just do it every day. For example, in most cases, you need to make about 20 calls to set up 2-3 meetings.

Further, out of 3 meetings (according to statistics), you will conclude one deal. That is, you need to make twenty calls and hear “no” nineteen times to close one deal. It is very important. Often, salespeople are trained to "press" everyone on the phone until they agree to meet with you. My experience is that this is bad practice.

Why being overly assertive is bad

If you are persistent enough, and you find your answer to any “no”, then in the end the person on the other end of the wire will still agree to meet with you. And as a result, you will only lose your time.

That is, your interlocutor after half an hour of playing "objection - answer" will say - "Well, you persuaded me, let's meet next Monday, at two o'clock in the afternoon." But he will say this only in order to get rid of you. Then you will not be able to get through to him (he will write down your phone under the name "Do not take in any case").

And when you arrive at the meeting, you will not find anyone at the specified address. That is, you will waste several hours, or even the whole day.

In fact, the purpose of a cold call is not to “persuade” everyone and everyone, but to correctly filter out those who you should spend time on and who you shouldn’t. The whole conversation scheme, which you will find below, is precisely aimed at making this filtering as fast and comfortable as possible.

It was very important for me to clarify this before starting to parse the circuit. Your task is not to get one “yes” at all. Your goal is to get nineteen valid nos. After that, you make a deal and calmly move on to the next round.

And yes, by the way, all of the above applies to a conversation with a decision maker (Decision Maker). But before talking with the decision maker, we will most often have to talk with the so-called "Gatekeeper". This is a secretary or assistant or someone else who does not want you to distract the boss with your calls.

With gatekeepers it is necessary to act a little differently. After all, there is no way they can give us a valid no. And that means they just need to be “pushed through”.

Scheme of a conversation with the "gatekeeper"

And so it happened. After much procrastination and looking for excuses, you've finally made up your mind to get on the phone and start calling the potential customers on your list. You sell antivirus for corporate computer networks. You pick up the phone, dial the number of the ACS department (Automation of Control Systems), and after a series of beeps you hear:

• OAO "Mashinstroyperestroy", I'm listening to you...

You answer:

• Hello, my name is Dmitry. I am calling you from the Peresvet company about a new antivirus for your computer system. Can you tell me who I can talk to about this?

And in response you get:

• Thanks, we're not interested. Goodbye.

This is one of the standard gatekeeper objections. And if you bought into this “we are not interested”, then it is very in vain. Now I will tell you a secret. In fact, the secretary on the other end of the line has no idea whether they are interested or not.

It's just that your call is interfering with her work. If she lets you through to her beloved boss Arkady Petrovich, the head of the ACS department, and you offer some nonsense, she will get hit on the head.

And if you offer not nonsense, but a super-solution that will save the plant a million dollars a month, and her boss will be rewarded for this, then the secretary ... still will not receive any benefit.

All the laurels will go to Arkady Petrovich, because he "found", "offered", "implemented". That is, the secretary will either get hit on the head, or (at best) will not get anything. So why would she risk it? It's easiest to go directly to the best option and get "nothing". That is, just do not miss your call to the boss.

But the secretary has his own problems and tasks, and you and I have our own. And the task number one is to break through the barrier of standard "objections-rejections".

Overcoming standard objections

Here are some of the standard objections a gatekeeper can usually make to you:

• We are not interested / do not need
• What exactly do you want to offer?
• Send us an email and we'll take a look and get back to you
• No (I won't connect you/he won't talk to you)

And here's how best to build a dialogue with such an interlocutor.

Secretary: And what did you want to offer (And on what specific issue are you?) (Are you on the issue of advertising?) (What kind of services do you have?), etc.

You: We are installing a new anti-virus program for computer networks. Who can I talk to about this?

Secretary: We're not interested (we don't need it)

You: Understand. You know, with about every fourth client, our cooperation began the same way. That is why I would like to ask a few clarifying questions to your specialist. Who can I talk to about this?

Secretary: Reset your proposal by e-mail. We will review and call you back.

You: We do not have a general commercial offer, there are a lot of options. I need to talk to your specialist, because we are committed to offering only what people need, not everything at once. Connect me please.

Secretary: We are doing well.

You: Wonderful. Among our clients, most of the companies are successfully developing. That is why our services were useful to them. All I would like is to talk about whether we can be of service to you. So who can I contact about this issue?

Secretary: No (I will not connect you, he will not talk to you).

You: If it's so difficult to talk to him, maybe I can talk to someone else about this issue?

Two main points in the scheme of conversation

You methodically work out all the “no” and push through the gatekeeper so that he still risks connecting you with the person you need.

Pay attention to two important moments in this conversation. At the end of each answer to an objection, ask to be connected to the decision maker. Usually people can't stand being asked for something several times and give up.

The second point is an explanation of the reason why you need to be connected with someone. In the famous book The Psychology of Influence, Robert Challdini describes an experiment where a person first simply asked to be skipped a line. And in the second case, he added “Let me skip the line, because I really need". And in the second case, it was missed 3 times more often.

Of course, in our example, we got a very "hard nut to crack". Usually secretaries give up after 1-2 objections. But there are even harder ones. They just tell you no.

What to do if you are still told "no"

If you can’t convince the gatekeeper to let you go further, then you can try to “make friends” with him.

And make acquaintance with a stranger not difficult at all. Here's what the dialogue might look like after four or five nos.

You: Okay, I understand you. By the way, my name is Dmitry, I am a sales manager in our company. What is the best name for you?

Secretary: Maria.

You: Maria, what is your job title?

Secretary: Assistant manager (secretary/assistant).

You: Maria, please advise me. How can I best deal with this situation?

In such a simple way you have a person to yourself. You met him and asked him to help you. In this case, even the most stony heart will melt, and Maria herself will tell you how and with whom you need to contact.

And after that we move on to a conversation with Himself - the Decision Maker.

Scheme of a conversation with a decision maker

As mentioned above, the task of talking with decision makers is to filter out those who are not worth wasting time on now. To do this, we need to either get a reasonable "yes" or a reasonable "no". Both results will suit us perfectly.

Our conversation with the decision maker will consist of four stages:

1. Performance
2. Question-Engagement
3. Objection Handling
4. Making an appointment

After that, they either say “no” to us, and we calmly move on to the next contact. Or we are told “yes”, and we enter the time and place of the meeting in the diary. And let's look at the options for the conversation scheme with examples.

Stage #1 - Presentation

Here we just need to give our name, the name of our company, and explain why we are calling. The person on the other end of the wire is primarily interested in who we are and what we need from him.

Therefore, do not try to cheat and deceive someone. As a result, deceive yourself. For example, I am very annoyed by salespeople who call me under the pretext of conducting some kind of “survey”. I don't have much time, just tell me what you need.

You (we learned the name from the secretary). My name is Dmitry, I'm from Peresvet, and I'm calling you about a new anti-virus program for corporate networks.

That's literally all. You said everything directly and honestly. In this case, the interlocutor may not answer you. And we need dialogue. not a monologue. Therefore, we immediately proceed to the second stage.

Stage #2 - Question-engagement-pause

At this stage, we need to get an initial reaction to our proposal (most often the reaction will be negative).

You

We ask a question and shut up. This is a very important and very difficult moment. Most people cannot physically bring themselves to pause. Because pause is pressure. With our silence, we literally force a person to answer something to us. This will be the beginning of the involvement in the conversation.

We specifically formulate the question in such a way that it is “impossible” to answer no. Of course, most of the time the answer is no. But at the same time, your interlocutor himself will feel the whole strangeness of the situation.

He is offered to increase the level of protection, but he says “no” - I don’t want to increase anything, let our computers be hacked, the data is stolen. We will lose clients because of this, and I will be thrown out of my position, and I will end my life under the fence with a bottle of Triple Cologne in my hand. Everything is super, it suits me.

You: Please tell me if you would be interested in improving the level of protection for your computer network?

decision maker

Let him say “no” out loud (to give up everything is the first normal defensive reaction of a person). But subconsciously he says yes. And this is much more important for us. And having received this “no”, which is actually “yes”, we move on to the next stage.

Stage #3 - Closing the Objection

There is one simple phrase that gets around most objections. That is, it will encourage a person who, at least theoretically, may be interested in your proposal, to agree to meet with you.

And if a person does not want to agree to any, it means that this is not our client yet.

decision maker: No, thank you, we are not interested in this now.

You

That's all, this simple phrase firstly reassures Arkady Petrovich - they say, there are other people with whom I have already met, and they are all alive and well. Secondly, it explains the benefit - simplifying work and reducing costs.

After this phrase, we no longer need to pause. You need to immediately go to the final stage of the conversation.

Step #4 - Making an Appointment

It is very important to suggest a specific meeting time yourself. So the interlocutor is more likely to agree to meet with us. That is, either he will simply accept our conditions, or he will appoint his own. Here's what it all sounds like.

You: You know, Arkady Petrovich, other people working in your field told me the same thing before I came and showed them how our program can simplify their work and reduce costs.

Could we meet? Will Wednesday at two o'clock suit you?

decision maker

And if in this case the person repeats - “No! We don’t need anything,” you can congratulate yourself. You have already received one justified refusal. It looks like they don't really need to improve anything at the moment. Eighteen more such refusals and the deal is in your pocket.

To consolidate, let's write down the whole scheme of talking on the phone with the decision maker once again.

You: Hello, Arkady Petrovich (we learned the name from the secretary). My name is Dmitry, I'm from Peresvet, and I'm calling you about a new anti-virus program for corporate networks ( Stage #1)

You: Tell me, please, would you be interested in increasing the level of protection of your computer network? ( Stage #2 - Pause…)

decision maker: No, thank you, we are not interested in this now.

You: You know, Arkady Petrovich, other people working in your field told me the same thing before I came and showed them how our program can simplify their work and reduce costs ( Stage #3)

Could we meet? Will Wednesday at two o'clock suit you? ( Stage #4)

decision maker: Let's better on Thursday, at one o'clock in the afternoon. I will have half an hour.

Conclusion

We have discussed how best to build a conversation scheme for cold calls. I remind you that the gatekeeper must be pushed through, and the decision maker must receive a “reasonable refusal” or “reasonable consent”. The main thing is not to confuse.

Don't forget to download my book. There I show you the fastest way from zero to the first million on the Internet (squeezed from personal experience for 10 years =)

Happy hunting!

Hello! In this article we will talk about "warm calls".

Today you will learn:

• What are warm calls?
• Who should make warm calls;
• How to write a warm call script.

What are warm calls

Telemarketing is one of the distribution and promotion channels for products. With this tool, you can increase the company's sales, or remind the old ones about yourself. Moreover, the achievement of a particular goal depends on the one chosen for telephone sales.

The type of phone calls depends on the target audience:

• – negotiating with a potential client who is not familiar with your products and company. His need has not yet been formed. The purpose of such calls is to find new customers.

Often the reception of "cold" telemarketing is used by enterprises from the service sector. They buy customer bases with certain characteristics and make random calls offering their product.

• Warm calls- a conversation with a potential consumer who already knows about your company and product. Probably, he was once your client or was interested in the product.

For example, you sell mobile phones. A week ago you bought a smartphone. You can call the client and offer him headphones at a special discounted offer for the purchased model.

• hot calls- a conversation with potential consumers who themselves show interest in your product. They have already made their choice, it remains to bring the matter to its logical conclusion - the sale.

In this case, your potential consumer, for example, has already left an application for the purchase of goods, you just have to call him and agree on the terms of the transaction.

If in the first and third cases the goals are clear and understandable - to find new customers and sell goods, respectively, then with warm calls everything is not so simple.

Warm calls are intended to remind the company about itself. To a greater extent, they perform the function of promoting the product, but often lead to sales.

In more detail, the goals of warm calls can be expressed as follows:

• Return of departed customers or those who have not purchased goods from you for a long period of time. The period of time allowed for the absence of purchases is the time of using the goods. For example, for mobile phone this period is a period of time from two to three years, and for a package of milk two to three days.
• Communicating information about new products and services to the customer. If a consumer bought a product from you or was just interested, you can advise him something from your range, tell him about new products that are suitable for solving his problem. It is very important to personalize your message here. You must offer products that will satisfy the needs of a particular consumer.
• Company promotion. In this case, we simply remind the client about us.
• Definition of needs. This goal is the most difficult to achieve: as a psychologist, you must identify the problem of the consumer that your product can solve.

If you compare cold and warm calls, you can find several fairly significant differences.

Let's name the advantages of "warm" calls over "cold" calls:

• Aimed at building long-term trusting relationships with consumers;
• More often lead to product sales;
• Do not cause a negative reaction from potential consumers.

How warm calls work

As a rule, calls to a "warm" base do not cause as many difficulties as "cold" telemarketing. But still, they are not as simple as hot calls.

When you dial a customer's phone number unintentionally (as happens with "hot" calls), you run the risk of running into a negative reaction. This needs to be understood by account managers.

Before you make a call, you need to determine the customer's need. This call should be useful for him. In addition, you must clearly define for yourself the frequency of calls. You should not bother the client, you should help solve his problem.

The frequency of reminding the company about itself, as a rule, depends on the period of use of the product. There are the following types of goods: consumer goods, durable goods (1-3 years), durable goods (more than 20 years).

It makes no sense to offer the client to buy washing machine if he bought it a week ago. The likelihood that he will be interested in your offer is very small, most likely, you will cause irritation and resentment. In this case, you can remind the client about yourself with the help of related products.

Identification of need is also very milestone in the implementation of "warm" calls to customers. The initial analysis can be carried out even before talking with the client. See what purchases your interlocutor made, what interested him. This will allow you to set the right direction for the conversation.

In general, there is a common scenario for making warm calls. Such a scenario is called in professional language. It allows you to standardize successful conversations and increase the efficiency of telephone sales.

Stages of a "warm" call:

1. Welcome and introduction. Remember that you have already contacted this client, so you do not need to get acquainted;
2. We ask whether it is convenient for your interlocutor to continue the conversation. If not, we will find out when it will be possible to call back;
3. We clarify the previous fact of cooperation;
4. We present the goods;
5. We respond to objections. It is better to prepare answers to possible questions and objections in advance. Analyze the products that you are going to offer to your consumer. Find flaws and justify them with virtues. For example, a high price can be explained best quality or greater effectiveness of the product;
6. We fix the purchase (or refusal) and say goodbye.

For making "warm" calls, it is best to choose employees with experience. Since it is likely that he will have to improvise and deviate from the script.

Yours should have the following qualities:

• Be sociable, be able to win over the interlocutor;
• Be able to navigate in non-standard situations;
• Be literate;
• Prevent drifting away from the main topic of the conversation.

An example of a "warm" call script

1. Good afternoon, "Customer Name"! My name is “your name”, I am a representative of the company “Custom Shirt”.
2. Can you talk now? (If the client answers “no”, then we ask the second question: “When can I call you back to continue the conversation?”)
3. You recently ordered a blue children's shirt from us.
4. Today we started a new campaign "Get your child to school with a 10% discount", we would like to offer you skirts and trousers for girls with a discount in addition to the shirt. We can send our catalog to your email to get acquainted with the range.
5. Let's imagine that the client said that he was already familiar with the assortment. We say: "This is a new arrival for the new school season, while we offer it only to our customers, since the offer is limited."
6. Goodbye! We are waiting for you again in our store.