5 Must-Know Tips for Closing Cold Call Sales

By Rachel Africh

You collect a list of leads. You’re just going to call them and tell them what you have to offer, and you make millions, right? Not quite. No matter how targeted and fresh your lead list is, the leads are still cold. Making the sale with a lead that you have no prior relationship with is no easy feat. There are a few things that you can do to close that lead and make them a new, paying customer.

1. Relate to Your Lead. It’s important that you reach out and really get on your lead’s level. Tell them a story, give them an example, and appeal to their emotions and needs. Most people fall short because they spend too much time saying, “We have this feature. Look at what we can do.” Instead, you should focus on “Here’s how we can help YOU. You’re going to love this, because it will make your life easier.” Make sure your sales conversation or script is written to focus on the lead.

2. Make Sure to Have a Guarantee in Place. Especially when cold calling, it’s important that you have some kind of promise to back up your product. You’re approaching this person about your product; they didn’t come to you. You need to offer a money-back guarantee. Take the risk out of purchasing. Adding a guarantee shouldn’t be a huge deal if you’re offering a quality product or service. You should believe in your product 100 percent. Statistics show that most people will not hold you to that guarantee, but they’re more likely to purchase if you have one in place.

3. Pre-Qualify Your Leads. Make sure that when you order leads, you have a targeted list of people within your demographic. Don’t spend time calling leads that don’t fit the bill. If you get a list of emails and phone numbers, you can email the leads pre-cold call to get a little bit of background information. For instance, if you’ve got a list of mortgage leads, you can send an email that says:

“Hey John,

I noticed that you’re looking to buy a house. I took a look at your information, and I think that we can get you set up with a mortgage and into a house by next month! I’m going to give you a call over the next couple of days to discuss what we can do for you. I have a couple of questions: Where do you want to live? Do you have any concerns about getting a mortgage? What’s stopped you from getting a mortgage in the past?

Look forward to speaking with you soon.”

Take a look at your responses. If someone says that they aren’t interested, don’t waste your time calling them. If someone mentions credit problems, maybe they aren’t your ideal client. You can use a pre-email as a way to warm up your lead and filter out prospects that aren’t what you’re looking for.

4. Share Testimonials or Success Stories. During your cold call, be sure to share past success stories from your other clients. Share testimonials, too. Back to the mortgage industry example; don’t be afraid to say something like, “We actually just got a client name Lucy into a house. Her credit score was less than perfect, but we were able to get it done! She’s very excited and loves her new home. Let’s get you into a home you love!”

5. Make Your Offer Time Sensitive. Let your leads feel like they need to act today. Letting them know that they need to respond right now helps you avoid people trying to put you off. For instance, if you’re a car dealer, let them know that you’re offering a 10 percent discount today only, or that you only have one BMW on the lot, so they need to make a deal today. Create urgency in your offer and you will begin to close more sales!

Converting leads to customers isn’t easy, but these are a few tricks that will help you have a higher closing rate and, ultimately, increase your profits.

Post sponsored by Lead Research Group