In high school, I worked in sales for a large corporation and about 90% of my job involved business-to-business cold calling. It wasn’t my favorite job and it certainly didn’t do anything for my future careers, but it did teach me a thing or two about sales and marketing. When you are faced with the challenge of business-to-business cold calling, you must remember four very important points:
1- You Must Know Who You’re Calling
I’m not just talking about the business name; you should know as much as you can about a company before you attempt business-to-business cold calling. Most department managers are used to receiving sales calls all day long and they are experts at getting them off the phone, so you’re going to have to have an Ace up your sleeve. The best way to do this is to get to know the business you are attempting to woo.
Using websites like BBB.org and Hoovers.com, you can easily find out the basics of the business structure as well as the name of the person with whom you need to speak. Knowing names, job descriptions and a basic idea of the business will help you to relate to the person you call on a more personal level. Furthermore, he or she will respect the fact that you did your homework before making a business-to-business cold call.
2- Sweet Talk the Gatekeeper
If you’ve ever done business-to-business cold calling before, then you know how surly and protective a secretary or administrative assistant can be. He or she is the gatekeeper — the person through whom you must go in order to speak with the principle decision-maker of the company. If you are rude or short or pushy with the gatekeeper, he or she can shut you down immediately.
Instead, ask for the person with whom you want to speak as casually as possible. If you are questioned, simple explain that you want to discuss a product or service you think the company would be interested in. You don’t have to disclose the full purpose of your call, but be at least somewhat corgial.
3- Ask for Permission
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when conducting business-to-business cold calls is to jump directly into your sales pitch as soon as you get the targeted party on the phone. That person has probably spoken with thirty sales people already today and is not going to listen to you at all if you don’t respect his or her time.
Instead, ask politely: “Is this a good time”, or “Do you have a moment to speak with me?” This shows a high degree of respect and will be naturally reciprocated in most situations.
4- Talk Like a Real Person
Don’t make the mistake of reading directly from a script when making business-to-business cold calls. Instead, talk to the other person like a real human being. Ask if he or she has a need for your product and talk about why your product is superior to that of the competition. Make sure to explain your purpose for calling within the first ten seconds of your conversation and don’t forget to drop the name of the company for which you work.
