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Looking to beef up your phone skills? Follow this cold calling advice and connect with more prospects, more often.

Some of the best cold calling advice out there is this: “Fear about cold calling is just temporary, especially when you’re making calls for the very first time. In time and with practice fear gets replaced with incremental success.” 

We’ve got some solid cold calling advice that will not only make the task less stressful, but may just help you close on more calls and turn all of your fears into excitement.

Keep in mind that even following this advice doesn’t guarantee you results immediately. Like anything, you have to practice on a regular basis. Don’t stress about incorporating every bit of cold calling advice at once. Instead, focus on one thing at a time and keep at it. Eventually, the task will be second-nature, and that anxiety that nags you before each call will slowly subside.

cold calling advice

Cold calling: What to avoid

There are a lot of “dont’s” when it comes to cold calling. Many of them are defined by TCPA regulations, but many of them are things people have learned along the way.

For example, some of the best cold calling advice you can receive is to focus on the customer, not the close. If you only focus on the close, you come across as unsympathetic towards the customers, and that’s pretty much a guaranteed lost sale.

Other things to avoid: You don’t want to be too pushy (though don’t be timid, either). You don’t want to hang up without scheduling a follow-up. And perhaps most important, don’t try to push back against every reason a customer has for saying no.

cold calling advice

Cold calling: The best approach

The root of all cold calling advice is this: Remember that you’re establishing a relationship, not making a sale. Oh, the deal may come with it, but that’s for later. Right now, you’re trying to establish a connection.

And the best way to do that without bumbling for words is to use a cold calling script. It may feel a little funny at first, but once you have your script memorized and you feel comfortable with it, you’ll appreciate having a standardized way to begin your calls.


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But standardization only works from the start. From there, you have to be able to tailor your call to your prospect. You do this by asking open-ended questions instead of yes or no questions. This forces the prospect to give you some information, which you can then use to tailor your call towards the prospect’s stated needs.

Another bit of cold calling advice: Listen more than you talk. Learn meaningful things about your prospect by hearing what they have to say. When you do talk, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, share some things about yourself. This helps generate empathy in the prospect, which is necessary for building trust.

cold calling advice

The script

There are a few things to keep in mind when you use a cold calling script.

Keep it short.

The more succinct your opening, the better off you’re going to be.

Identify yourself.

State who you are and where you’re from right away, then immediately ask a question about whether the prospect might have a use for your product or service. If they say yes, move on. If they say no, ask why not.

Offer value.

Make your offering as valuable as possible. If it’s a special promotion, say so. If there’s a maximum value attached, disclose it.

Don’t lie!

This should be self-explanatory. You won’t build a relationship with anyone by lying to them – especially in sales.

Along with your script, utilize an auto-dialer as well as a CRM. (Sometimes they are one and the same.) Using an auto dialer allows you to focus on the prospects you’re calling rather than fiddling with dialing, waiting, and leaving a message. The CRM is essential because you can store all the data you have about a given prospect and refer back to it anytime. The CRM allows you to run reports so you can find out which calls were most successful, and then see if you did something different on those calls than on the others.

This last word of cold calling advice is probably the simplest thing of all: When you make a cold call, sit up straight (or stand) and smile. You may feel a little goofy at first, but if you smile, it brightens the tone of your voice, which makes you sound more personable and perhaps more trustworthy. Smile like you’ve already won, talk like someone who understands that relationships are more valuable in sales than any close.


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