• Posted On Thursday, May 14, 2020 by Evan Lamolinara

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    Defined as the act of calling prospective buyers with whom you've had no prior contact, cold calling is an age-old technique used by B2B companies to generate leads. From small- and medium-sized enterprises to Fortune 500 companies, countless B2B companies use it to generate leads. Now that we're well into 2020, some B2B sales reps are questioning whether or not cold calling is still effective. After all, the internet has paved the way for other lead generation methods, such as social media and email. So, does cold calling still work for lead generation in 2020, or should you focus your time and attention on other methods?

    Decision-Makers Prefer Talking to Sales Reps Over the Phone

    Even with the rise of social media and email, many decision-makers prefer to talk to sales reps over the phone. According to a recent survey conducted by Rain Group, nearly six in 10 C-level buyers say they want sales reps to contact them by phone rather than other methods. C-level executives, of course, are decision-makers who typically have the authority to purchase products and services on behalf of their business. They don't want to waste time reading and responding to emails. Instead, C-level executives prefer to talk to sales reps over the phone.

    Humanizes Your B2B Company's Brand

    Another reason to consider cold calling as a lead generation strategy in 2020 is to humanize your B2B company's brand. When you call a prospective buyer, he or she will hear your voice. In comparison, sending the prospective buyer an email means he or she will only see text. By placing a voice with your name, the prospective buyer will feel a stronger and more human connection to your B2B company's brand. Emails can be automatically produced using scripts or software, but a traditional cold call shows prospective buyers that you are a real person.

    Easy to Perform

    Of course, cold calling is easy to perform, which is one of the reasons why B2B companies still use it in their lead generation strategies. You don't need any special equipment to cold call a prospective buyer. In fact, you don't even need a computer. All you need is a phone and a list or database of targeted phone numbers. With such a simple process, cold calling continues to rank as one of the most popular ways for B2B companies to generate leads.

    Educate and Inform

    Cold calling allows you to educate and inform prospective buyers about your B2B company's products or services. Regardless of what you are trying to sell, you'll need to explain how it works and, more importantly, why the prospective buyer should purchase it. Failure to convey this information will result in fewer leads and fewer sales. When cold calling, you can educate prospective buyers about the product or service you are trying to sell. There are other channels you can use to convey this information, but cold calling is oftentimes faster as well as more effective.

    Gather Other Relevant Information

    You'll be able to gather other relevant information about prospective buyers when using cold calling to generate sales leads. Unlike most other lead generation channels, cold calling isn't just a one-way conversation. Rather, it's a two-way conversation that allows you to exchange information with the prospective buyers whom you call. In addition to educating and informing prospective buyers about your B2B company's products or services, you can ask them questions to gain a better understanding of their unique needs.

    Here are some questions you may want to ask when cold calling prospective buyers:

    • How are you currently solving the problem for X? (X - is what your product or service solves) 
    • Did you know you could save $X amount from what you're currently doing?
    • Would that be important to you?
    • X Company, which is similar in size and scope of your business is a customer. They were able to realize the following benefits. 1. 2. 3. (fill in)
    • Is that something you have in the budget today?
    • When is a good time for a follow-up call?

    Instant Results

    Cold calling can yield instant results for your B2B company's lead generation strategy. If you send an email to a prospective buyer in hopes of acquiring him or her as a lead, it may take the prospective buyer days or even weeks to respond. Alternatively, the prospective buyer may never respond to your email. Of course, you probably won't experience a 100% success rate when cold calling prospective buyers. If a prospective buyer answers, however, you may be able to immediately capture him or her as a sales lead. In some cases, the prospective buyer may choose to purchase your B2B company's product or service on the spot.

    Let's keep you motivated as cold calling can be a tough job searching for an opportunity, especially now. Try a few Project Reports. Project Reports are identified projects. That means that our researchers have tracked and found projects already for you. You now get to call them and begin the meaningful phone call and sales cycle. Take a look at a few. You'll notice you get the name, phone number and email address. Now you have multiple ways to connect and keep the conversation going. 

     

     

     


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