Establishing rapport is the most important thing you can do when cold calling investors. Check out these tips on how to walk away from each cold call with a new business relationship.
The first objective of any salesperson isn’t closing a sale; it’s building trust. That’s especially true when you’re selling over the phone. The reason is simple: No one is going to give you their money if they don’t trust you. Dozens of salespeople are cold calling investors every day. No investor is going to put money into an offer that comes from a complete stranger. The most successful salespeople know that sales isn’t fundamentally about closing; it’s about establishing relationships.
Of course, relationships with investors look a lot different than your personal relationships. But like your personal relationships, any connection with an investor is built on a framework of trust. If a person feels that you’re trustworthy, they’ll be much more open to your proposition because they’ll know you’re not trying to pull one over on them. And if you establish a relationship with someone, it doesn’t matter if you don’t close on your initial call. A relationship means future contact, an ongoing conversation. Maybe you’ll close the second or third time, or perhaps you won’t close at all, but your new prospect will recommend you to someone else who you will close. The relationship is the backbone of the close, and trust is the backbone of the relationship.
So how do you get people to trust you and build rapport? How does cold calling investors translate into a sense of trust between you and someone you’ve never met? It can be tricky, but it’s also not as hard as it sounds. After all, sales has more to do with the science of psychology than it does with business. Think the way other people are thinking, and you’re already more likely to succeed in influencing your prospects.
Phone sales is an art as much as it is a science, and there are ways to hone your craft to produce your desired results. If your job involves cold calling investors or anyone else, follow these simple tips, and you’ll almost surely give your Rolodex a boost, as well as your bottom line.
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10 Tips for cold calling investors (that actually work)
1. Do your research
Our first tip for cold calling investors is to do your research. Know who you’re talking to so you’ll know how to help them. You can’t just blindly call busy people and sell them a product off a shelf. You need to know what makes your product or service relevant to them. Find out as much as you can about your target audiences before you make your first call. They’ll appreciate that you’ve taken the time to learn about their business.
2. Show sincere interest
If you demonstrate a genuine interest in your prospects, they’re more likely to listen to you in return. People like to talk about themselves and to be understood. Give your audience a chance to do that by asking questions and genuinely enjoying the “getting to know you” part of the call.
3. Give space
If an investor feels attacked, their defenses will go up, and your call will be all but lost. In an interview with ThinkAdvisor, Mike Brooks, founder of Mr. Inside Sales says, “Give them space. That’s the fastest way to build trust because it’s an environment where you’re not assaulting them with a sales pitch.”
4. Be authentic
Cold calling investors with a call script isn’t a bad idea, but it needs to sound authentic. If you come across as a cookie-cutter salesperson trying to close a deal, most people will shut down. If you sound like a real, honest person, people are more likely to trust you, and therefore, listen.
5. Listen
Speaking of listening, your ears are one of your greatest tools on a sales call. Many salespeople go in with too much to say, but what you need to do is listen to what your client needs so that you can help them solve a problem.
6. Solve problems
In that same vein, remember that a good salesperson wants to help a client, not talk them out of money. If you go into a call looking to resolve an issue a prospect has, they’re going to appreciate you much more than if you just come across as someone trying to make a commission.
7. Find commonalities
According to the book Conversational Intelligence, How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results, by Judith E. Glaser, every conversation we have has a chemical impact on the listener’s brain. Engage your prospect in a discussion about something the two of you have in common, and you might be surprised how much more they trust you when it comes time for the sales pitch.
8. Use a script that makes sense
If you’re using a call script, be sure that it makes sense and flows logically. If a prospect detects that you’re using a script, they’re likely to become skeptical, which will hurt your chances of forming a relationship.
9. Establish credibility
Cold calling investors is less about the product or service you’re selling and more about the person selling it. Establish your credibility through success stories, LinkedIn recommendations, and interesting facts and figures about how you’ve helped other clients in the past.
10. Stay in touch
Establishing trust with investors doesn’t stop at the end of the call. Build your rapport with follow-up calls and e-mails over the course of the following months. If you stay in touch and continue to demonstrate an interest in your prospect, they’ll feel that you care about them and not just their money. Be someone who creates bonds, and the selling will take care of itself.
Strengthen your relationships with a call management system that’s built to connect you with your prospects. Take a moment to schedule a demo and learn more about how Call Logic can help you.