Today’s fast-paced digitally-dominated world makes it easy to assume that traditional methods like cold calling have lost their gist. We’ve been bombarded with claims that cold calling is dead, after all – buried underneath the inflow of social media, chatbots, and email marketing, to name a few.
Nevertheless, here’s the cold truth: Those who sentenced it to death are WRONG. It is, in fact, undergoing a dynamic revival, proving its worth in the digital landscape. Let the numbers speak for themselves:
- 82% of buyers accept meetings when salespeople reach out to them, according to a Rain Group study
- 72% of them want to hear from sellers when they’re searching for fresh ideas to drive stronger business results.
- 62% of buyers prefer to hear from sellers when they’re actively looking for a solution for their problem
- DiscoverOrg found out that in some industries, 75% of prospects have scheduled a meeting or attended an event based on a cold call or email
- A report by Salesforce reveals that 92% of all customer interactions take place on the phone.
Whether you’ve been an experienced sales rep or are just starting out, cold calls are a key part of your daily job. Determining how successful your sales calls are will depend on your timing.
When is the best time to call your prospect?
Topics have been discussed and debated in many telemarketing books and blogs about this, but according to Massimo-group.com, the best days and times to call are Wednesdays & Thursdays, 6:45 – 9:00 am and 4 – 6 pm – the perfect time to get hold of prospects as these are non-hectic hours during weekdays. However, lead prospecting strategies like reaching the target decision-makers at the perfect time, have greatly evolved with processes and technology development. The evolution of marketing automation in particular, where a prospect’s action and intent to communicate can be tracked through the integrated power of nurturing tools and the CRM, has made the call activity multi-functional, and the telemarketer more productive, taking both into a new perspective:
Call the prospect at the time he is most convenient to talk.
This does not merely pertain to the standard day of the week and the hour of the day to call, but the prospect’s preferred schedule – the time when he’s out of the meeting room and just browsing some emails while sipping a cup of coffee at his desk, probably waiting for the next agenda.
As mentioned earlier, automation tools can track actions like visiting a website or clicking a contact me form in an email, so strike the iron while it’s hot:
Call the prospect right away after he has taken action.
Apply the 5 to 5 Calling Rule for Inbound Leads, this calling strategy has generated over 40% increase in sales.
Get hold of the favorable circumstance at the soonest time possible. This is a best practice, especially for 1st call encounters wherein the prospect has the highest level of interest in knowing more about your product or service and what benefits the business can get.
Run against time and chance. When you receive an email reply where a prospect asks you a question about what you offer or if he requires you to give him a call, never let go of the chance of making a good impression on your first call and keep up with time as fast as possible. The longer it takes for you to place the call, the chance to reach the prospect diminishes and his level of interest decreases. So it is best to:
Call the prospect at a time when he is expecting your call.
The prospect may have questions after he has read your introductory email, or he may urgently need some information that he hasn’t found answers to from the reference materials you sent or from the website.
But not all contacts would be available as scheduled so you have to take the chance that each new business day brings. And that is to pick up the phone and call contacts that were tagged as “Follow Up”, “Not Available”, or even those who said in the previous month that they were “Not Interested”. These prospects may not be expecting your call but who knows, some of them may already have the “need” for your product at this time or are open to seeing options this time around.
Why is it essential to determine the “perfect” time to call your prospect?
Timing defines the success or failure of your sales strategies. That said, being intentional about it is so much like creating your own luck. The difference between a 0%-100% chance of nailing the call and sealing the deal lies in being in the right place and at the right time.
Establishing and nurturing strong customer relationships, especially in the B2B setting, helps you determine the most appropriate time to call your prospects, making sure that it suits your prospects’ convenience and receptiveness.
By building a strong rapport and fully understanding your customers, you gain valuable insights into their schedules, preferences, and availability, allowing you to determine the most opportune moments to reach out.
Strong customer relationships also facilitate open communication channels, enabling proactive interactions and meaningful conversations with prospects at the right moment. Investing in customer relationships enhances your timing skills, thereby resulting in more effective calls, greater success in customer acquisition efforts, and enabling you to generate more sales.
The Role of Timing and Accuracy in cold calling success
In cold calling, savvy sales reps acknowledge the value of time, effort, and resources- thereby making every call to the intended recipient a crucial task. Determining the optimal call timing is equally important as ensuring that the contacts being called are accurate and up-to-date Focusing on precise targeting and timely engagement maximizes call effectiveness and increases the likelihood of closing deals.
Optimize contact and timing precision with Callbox’s Database Solution
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data is changing at bullet speed. In fact, a staggering 8% to 10% of data becomes outdated within just three months.
We at Callbox understand the detrimental impact of inaccurate data on B2B telemarketing and lead generation. To help companies reach the right audience at the most optimal time, we offer a comprehensive suite of database services, including Data Cleansing, Customer Profiling, and Data Maintenance.
These services enable us to meticulously verify marketing intelligence information, ensuring that your lead-generation efforts are fueled by reliable and up-to-date data. With Callbox, you’re ensured that your data are kept fresh and your campaigns thrive.
Our Account-based Marketing (ABM) multi-touch, multi-channel approach plays a crucial role in keeping contacts up-to-date. Here‘s how it works:
Multi-touch, multi-channel engagement
Our approach goes beyond the traditional method of cold-calling. To reach and engage with our audience in a wider and real-time range, we utilize multiple channels including email, chat, voice, web, social media, and webinars.
Comprehensive Data Research
To identify and gather accurate contact data for targeted accounts, Callbox conducts thorough research that includes the verification of phone numbers, email addresses, and other pertinent customer details.
Data Cleansing, Validation, and Maintenance
We employ robust data cleansing strategies to eliminate erroneous or obsolete contact information. Doing so on a regular basis guarantees that only relevant and updated data are used for our cold-calling campaigns. This is the secret behind the success of our telemarketing efforts.
Engagement Tracking and Account Monitoring
Our team closely tracks account activities and engagement responses. Any changes made in contact data or preferences are promptly updated and recorded to ensure data accuracy for all upcoming cold-calling initiatives.
Aside from your contact database needs, Callbox can also empower your business in telemarketing and appointment setting lead generation, and event marketing.
You can avail of our services with flexible and tailored pricing according to your business needs (request for pricing).
Perfect the right balance of contact data accuracy and right timing by outsourcing to Callbox, the trusted telemarketing and lead generation services provider of B2B business since 2004.
