Cold Calling is Dead – Do This Instead

Before you start reading, just ask yourself: when is the last time you received a cold call and enjoyed it, or didn’t hang up immediately?

Your answer is likely “a long time ago” if ever, at all. In this brief article I will show you why cold calling the way we all know it is dead, and how there’s a whole new way of reaching out which is constantly underrated, particularly by larger corporations and companies. However, by adapting to a couple of these tips, your small business can be prospecting with results unlike any other!

Traditional Cold Calling

What we know as cold calling today consists of getting a list of phone numbers online, from lead generators, bought from a third party (whom you allowed to sell your information by clicking “I accept”) or just about any other way companies can get their call center employees on the phone. Usually you have a group of telemarketers who use a software which dials for them. The moment someone hangs up, the software is already dialing the next prospect.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried being a telemarketer, and I respect them more than most! You have to give every bit of yourself in every phone call, and no matter the outcome you’ll have to start over the moment the call ends, regardless of its outcome. Do this about 200 times in one day and then tell me you don’t respect someone who does this all day, every day.

However, I strongly believe these skills can be put to much better use.

The new way of prospecting

We live in an era where there is no limit to how you can get in touch with someone if you really want it. From drones delivering parcels, to notifications on phones. It’s a beautiful thing, really. The problem is how many salespeople don’t understand the balance of what’s to vague and what’s too intrusive. Take calling as an example; I don’t even speak with my girlfriend on the phone on a regular basis. I can assure you if you cold call me, I will certainly not want to talk to you. It’s much more intrusive these days, as opposed to those times where phones and written letters where the only ways to communicate from afar.

What I’ve found, and the reason Becama is successful in helping businesses expand their “sales horizons” is how you can warm cold leads up in a way which brings massive value to your product, makes it seem personal and if done correctly, even make your prospect feel guilty for not getting back to YOU.

It’s certainly not rocket science, but it’s not commonly practiced. If you have a lead list, you need to put together an email. The email needs to be nothing short of perfect. You follow up 4 times, at distinct times which I’ll tell you later. If you haven’t heard anything by now, you can call them. However, if you have sufficient a amount of contacts within the company you are prospecting (usually go with 5-10) then you’ll hear back from someone more often than not.

How to write the perfect sales email

I have a secret (until now), but deadly formula for writing emails. I’ll also tell you what’s wrong with your sales emails if you’re like 90% of other companies when they prospect; it’s way too long and/or too salesy.

Subject Line

Keep it short. Stick within 3 words, no more than 5. Hubspot have found that even the subject line “(no subject)” has 8% more opens than everything else. However, you may not want to do this as it can come off as unprofessional. An open is only so good if they’re “open” to what they find inside… See what I did there?

Good examples are using something your proposition is targeted towards. If you’re going after a banks’ business accounts, just say “Your Business Accounts.” Or if you want to install security cameras at Chelsea FC’s stadium, just make the subject line “Stamford Bridge.” Lastly, if you don’t have a direct target, just write “Good Morning” or “Good Afternoon.”

PS: Notice I capitalize all words as this is also proven to get more opens. As is including numbers in your subject line if that’s relevant to what you do.

First Name Only

That’s all you need to write. No “Hi” or “Hello,” no “Dear” or “Ms.” Assert yourself right away, show that you’re not here to smother someone with sweettalk, but that you’ll go straight to the point.

Body

This is the most important thing. The body should consist of three sentences and a link. If you don’t remember anything else, just remember this:

Sentence 1: I am looking to set up a meeting with [Company Name] with regards to your [Target]
Sentence 2: [Insert sexy one-liner about what you deliver, exactly] – No more than 1 sentence!
Sentence 3: A link to a page relevant to what you are pitching. Product page, About us page, or similar.

Ending

 

Always end with a question. This was you enforce subconscious guilt for not responding to your email. I simply end my emails to prospects with:

Would you be available for a chat this week or the next?

Some variations depending on the companies I’m prospecting, but that’s the essence. A simple, informal invitation to a conversation.

Example

Here’s an example for how I reach out when I wrote a template email for the company UBINU. The target was to get in touch with football clubs in order to install a massive solution which is based on proximity marketing to make the most out of the loyal fans.

Email Subject: [Stadium Name]

Email Body

“[First Name],

I am looking to set up a meeting with [Football Club] to discuss a potential partnership. Our technology allows you to contextually engage and interact with each of your fans through automated studying of their behavior and everyday values. Take a look at this video for a quick introduction to scratch the surface of what we can do for : UBINU for Stadiums. (link to intro video on Youtube)

How is this week for an informal chat?”

This is just starting to get into email marketing, but follow this template example and you’ll be off to a flying start, miles ahead of anyone else.

Pro Tip

It’s important to keep track when you’re sending emails to 5-10 people for every company, with about 4 follow-ups per person. I personally use Yesware to do all my tracking. I am not affiliated with them in any way, nor do I get any referral pay, I just genuinely love it for all my emailing purposes!

If you’re worried about people starting to talk and find out you’re sending emails around – don’t be… Just imagine this. How many emails do you get in a day? How many of those do you share with your co-workers? Probably pretty few…. How many emails which you’re not even interested in do you share with your co-workers? Presumably, none…

When I first reached out to Premier League clubs, I picked 10 teams as a trial for the template I just shared with you. I got in touch with 9 of them. Manchester City opened, clicked and forwarded my emails, but I guess they didn’t like it enough to get back to me. On the other hand, I had about 10 contacts per team, and even when I got responses from several of them in the same team, no one ever mentioned I had already been in touch with their colleague, so don’t worry. Be aggressive! You have value to offer, so make sure you find the one willing to listen! This is just one example, where I’ve had similar success rates in many other verticals. Try it!

If you’d like help with writing templates for your company, or would like Becama’s 6 page prospecting guide which includes writing of emails, but also how to use Yesware and find contacts for companies when you don’t have any to start with. Just follow this link to Becama’s contact page and drop me a note. I’ll get back to you in no time.