Picture this: You’ve got a list of leads sitting in front of you, a phone in hand, and a mixture of excitement and anxiety swirling inside you. It’s time for the dreaded cold call.
But did you know that according to Zippia, the average success rate of cold calling is only 2%? Well, fear not! Because we’ll tackle the challenges head-on and dive into the world of cold-calling training.
Our comprehensive training guide will provide the strategies and tools to excel in this high-stakes sales arena. So, let’s dive in and transform the way you approach cold calling forever.
Why Cold Calling Training is Important?
This training is crucial for SDRs or salespeople, yet many lack the necessary quantity and quality. Now, investing in this training is vital because —
Brand Reputation
A single bad cold call can harm your business’s image and reputation. Adverse experiences may spread through word-of-mouth, dissuading potential customers from engaging with your brand.
Customer Acquisition
To get new customers, you need effective cold-calling techniques. And training gives your salespeople skills to engage prospects by showing empathy, building relationships, and converting leads.
Increased Revenue
Quality training improves sales performance, helping you close more deals and generate higher revenue. Ultimately, better cold-calling skills directly boost your company’s profits.
Overcoming Challenges
When it comes to cold calling, we all know it can be tough. You might encounter some aggressive people or foolers along the way. But training will equip your salespeople with clever strategies. Thus, they’ll be able to handle objections, build strong connections, and turn challenging situations into epic outcomes.
Skill Development
It’s an art that gets better with practice. By making calls consistently and fine-tuning your approach, you’ll polish your sales pitch, level up your communication skills, and skyrocket your chances of success.
It’s evident that cold call training will empower sales teams to navigate challenges, create strong notions, and drive business growth.
Top 8 Cold Call Training Concepts
If you’re welcoming a fresh face to your sales team or stepping into the role of a sales rep, our training will turbocharge your skills from day one. So, prepare to soar as you master the art of making fearless cold calls.
Start Shadowing
It’s like a golden opportunity for SDRs during onboarding. They sit beside a seasoned pro, absorbing their cold call expertise like a sponge, no questions asked. But don’t worry; there’s a separate time for that.
To do shadowing right, organize a quick session where new SDRs can ask questions and mentors can explain the cold calling process. It’s like mixing and matching the best techniques from four or five shadows.
Once your team has shadowed and learned the ropes, it’s time for independent work. Pick up that phone and make live cold calls, receiving valuable feedback from your mentor.
Role Play
When it comes to making cold calls, we all know it can be stressful, right? Even seasoned sales reps can feel agitated if they haven’t done much cold calling before.
But this fear can be minimized by incorporating role play into your training session.
It’s a great way for new sales reps to test their skills and a fantastic opportunity to sharpen their cold call game. The key is to make it feel as real as possible.
So, you better grab an actual phone, find separate rooms, and recreate that authentic cold call environment.
Provide a Script
When it comes to sales, providing a well-crafted cold-calling script to your salesperson can make all the difference.
You can easily fast-track a new salesperson’s success by providing them with access to your existing, for example, real estate scripts. If you don’t have any, you can create them using cold calling templates or assign the task to the new salesperson.
One crucial aspect to include in your script arsenal is voicemail message templates. According to RingLead, in 2020, around 80% to 90% of calls from unknown numbers ended in voicemail. That’s not all; 60% of all cold calls go straight to voicemail.
Suppose you wing it and develop a sales pitch on the spot within the recommended 18-30 seconds. Well, that’ll usually end up in a total flop.
Give Your Team a List
While preparing your new salesperson for cold calling success, provide them with a solid list to work with. However, when bringing new salespersons to the team, monitor the existing territories and how leads are assigned.
You don’t want them accidentally stepping on the toes of your star performers and invading their contacts, right? Just a friendly reminder to avoid any unintended invasion.
Anyway, here are a few options to consider —
Pass on the existing list
If you’re replacing another salesperson, hand over the list they used. It’s a great starting point to build connections.
Lead assignment
Add their name to your call center automation program’s lead assignment mechanism. It’ll ensure a fair distribution of leads among your team.
New vertical, fresh leads
Assign them a specific vertical and provide buyer personas. This way, they can conduct lead research and tailor their response accordingly.
Add Behavior Objectives
To set your salespeople up for success, adding behaviour objectives is crucial. While experienced reps may be driven by performance-based goals like closed deals and revenue, new salespeople thrive with behavioral goals.
These goals focus on specific actions that’ll help them improve their cold call skills and lay a solid foundation for future success.
Now, you can consider tracking the behavior-based goals mentioned below —
- Encourage consistent outreach to build momentum and develop their calling abilities.
- Foster a proactive approach to finding and engaging potential customers.
- Emphasize effective communication even when prospects aren’t available, honing their messaging skills.
- Measure their ability to secure valuable face-to-face interactions with prospects.
Train to Accept Rejection
According to a recent finding, customers believe unknown calls to be bogus in 94% of cases. That shows cold calling is a tough game, and rejection is part of the process.
So here’s the deal, when training new SDRs, hit them with the truth: they must be ready to face those dreaded “no’s.”
Now, you can turn it into a challenge, like a race to a hundred rejections. Keep a leaderboard, and the winner gets an exciting prize.
Besides, make them realize that the worst outcome won’t be a riot! It’s just a frustrated prospect or a missed sale. So, teach them to embrace the sting of rejection to fortify them in this ruthless world.
Going through Cold Call Recordings
Cold call recordings are gold and a treasure trove of knowledge. So, it’d best for your SDRs to dissect those calls. Let them find where the conversation went sour, where it broke like glass.
Was the intro too weak? Or did they pick the worst time to strike? Encourage them to brainstorm and figure it out.
Affix a Mentor
Finally, if you want to level up your salespeople team, assign a mentor for them. Get someone experienced, someone who’s been through the grind.
Now, here’s how a mentor can help your team —
- They’ll listen in on first calls, live or recorded, and give pointers to improve.
- They’ll break down their own sales process and share their hard-earned lessons.
- Got questions about the company, the products, or the market? They’ll have the answers.
Now, some top professionals might be stingy with their wisdom. In that case, seek a leadership, marketing, or product team mentor. But, assigning a mentor is the key to success in the hard cold call system.
Apply and Practice Cold Call Training
When you or your SDRs make those cold calls, remember that your prospect isn’t waiting around for your pitch. They’re already enjoying some product or solution, maybe even the one you’re trying to replace.
So, don’t come off like an eager beaver!
When you ask customers about their “problems” or “challenges,” it triggers their defence mode. They’ll shut you down faster than the drop of a hat. Instead, flip the script and spin it positively.
Now, we at Synnergy Business Solution don’t just talk the talk. We practice.
Picture this: you take that phone, hit record, and make a mock cold call to a fellow team member. It may feel dumb, but it’s how we catch those terrible habits of using unhelpful language, pesky talk and sales jargon.
With enough practice, positivity becomes second nature. So, keep at it, hone your skills, and soon you’ll be slinging sales with the best of them.
Final Words
We’ve explored the importance of effective scripts, the power of role-playing and mentorship, the need to develop resilience in the face of rejection, etc.
Look, cold calling isn’t just about making a sale—it’s about building relationships, solving problems, and providing value to your prospects. So, implement what you’ve learned from our cold call training.
Embrace the challenges, the discomfort, and the opportunity to connect with potential customers.