Turn Cold Calls into Hot Appointments

You may have heard recently that cold calling is dead. Apparently cold calling died along with dial-up, MySpace, and the Blackberry but in actuality cold calling is still used today. Except is not so much cold calling as it is emailing, networking, using social media, and then calling! Cold calling hasn’t died it’s just evolved and if you aren’t evolving with it then you’ll most certainly be left behind. Here are some great tips on how to turn a cold call into a warm call and a hot appointment!

1. Know when to call. This goes for any kind of communication really. You should know your target audience inside and out, so assuming you do, then you should also know when is the best time of the day to reach them. Not only to call them, but to email them, LinkedIn message them, or whatever form of communication you are choosing to use. Are they more likely to answer in the morning? Maybe the end of the day is the best time? Whichever one it is make sure you know so you can optimize your opportunity to get in touch with them.
2. Make sure you have an egaging opener. No person wants to hang up faster when they hear “Hi! My name is ___ and I’m calling from ____” so whatever you say after that better be pretty darn interesting or you’ve just about lost them! Take some time to work on this, it’s important.
3. Build a rapport first. Trying to sell within the first 30 seconds is very likely to lose the person on the other end of the line of communication. Talk to them first, attempt to start a relationship, build a rapport, THEN SELL! Remember, people work with who they know, trust, and like!

We hope these tips help you in your next go-around! Remember to utilize our appointment reminders so the next time you make that hot appointment they show up!