How to Develop Your Own Cold Call Opener

How to Develop Your Own Cold Call OpenerHow to Develop Your Own Cold Call OpenerThe first few seconds of a cold call are crucial. Thats the moment when a prospect decides if theyre going to say No, thanks and hang up or if theyre going to give you a few moments to tell them more about what youre selling. So developing just the right cold call opener can make a huge difference in how well your schlussverkauf calls go. Using Your Elevator Pitch as a Starting Point A good cold call opener often sounds much like an elevator pitch, a quick sales appeal you could say to someone when youve got minimal time, like in an elevator when one of you might be getting off on the next floor. If you already have a strong elevator pitch, you can modify it into a cold call opener with little difficulty. If not, crafting your cold call opener can give you the basis for your new elevator pitch. Identifying Yourself The first part of your cold call opener is your name and company affiliation. You m ust begin by giving the part whose day youve interrupted the basic courtesy of identifying yourself. If you give only your first name, youll probably sound more friendly. And be sure to lead off with the name of the person youve reached once youre sure thats who it is. That will also help establish a connection between you. Mentioning a Benefit Quickly Unless the person youre calling hears something that would be helpful to them within a few seconds, they will hang up and get back to what they were doing. Thats why its crucial to quickly mention a benefit your companys product or service can offer them. If your product can increase the efficiency of their manufacturing process by up to 33 percent, say that?. If your service can cut their online customer acquisition cost (CAC) by an average of 44 percent, say that. Offering Credibility To make your opening benefit more credible, provide some information on the reach of your company that will show it isnt some fly-by-night out fit. If more than 250 companies around the world that are similar to theirs have experienced that increased manufacturing efficiency, say that. If both your company and the one youre trying to land as a customer are small businesses, you might mention that six local companies they would recognize have lowered their CAC dramatically after using your service. Asking for More Time Now that youve made it clear exactly what youre offering, you need to ask your sales prospect for permission to tell them some more about it. Telling them youll take only a minute of their time when you dont know whether they have a minute to spare right then isnt the best approach. You may be seen as presumptuous and unworthy of any more of their consideration. Asking them whether you caught them at a good time is a better option. It shows youre aware of the demands on their time and youre not taking their attention for granted. If they say no, you can ask whether you could call them back later that day. If they say yes, you have permission to go ahead with a more-detailed pitch. Opener Examples Combining all of those parts would lead to openers like the following, all of which would be preceded by a confirmation that youve reached your intended prospect either a transfer to that persons extension or something along the lines of Hello. Is this Jos Salazar? Yes. Jos, this is Samantha at Fantastic Widgets. More than 250 global companies have increased their manufacturing efficiency as much as 33 percent by switching to our products. Is now a good time to speak with you about them?Jos, this is Samantha at Exemplar Marketing Services. Our company has lowered customer acquisition costs for six companies in Middletown, including ABC and XYZ, by up to 44 percent. Have I caught you at an OK time?