Marketing is ubiquitous. Wherever we go, no matter what we do, we are both consumers and sellers. Along with advertising, there are active ways to promote goods and services, for example, cold calls. What is it and how to use this tool in marketing?
Phones have become everyday. As a rule, the numbers of people who make important decisions in a company are publicly available.
It is enough to browse the catalogs of companies or independently make a list of potential contractors. The first way to contact the customer is to make cold calls. What it is? Telephone consultants dial a potential customer number. The script of the conversation should be carefully designed and thought out. After all, only 1-2 percent of potential buyers of your service or product express interest immediately. Identify different categories of customers help
cold calls. What are these groups and how do consultants classify
potential buyers?If one or two percent respond immediately and are ready to purchase a service or product, then the remaining 98 percent of customers can be divided into negatively inclined, doubters and inclined to purchase. Making a first call to a potential buyer is not easy. The seller is a telephone line worker, the consultant is usually very tense. Meanwhile, how successful the cold calls will turn out to depend on the first impression and phrases.
What is this if not advertising, and even quite aggressive? Nevertheless, skillfully arranged conversation will help determine how much the client is potentially interested in the service. As we have said, few people are ready to pay immediately for your offer. However, if the list of clients is not compiled arbitrarily, but thoughtfully, among the interlocutors whom you call, there are probably already those who thought about purchasing your product or service.
It is advisable in these cases to submit not just an offer, but its differences from competitors. For example, your company is engaged in the manufacture of sites. Perhaps the client already tried to solve this problem on his own and ran into a number of difficulties. Therefore, he is ready to talk about how you will help him, but he is not going to order your service immediately. If the client already has a website, you can offer its improvement or promotion. Therefore, the technology of cold calls will help weed out those who are completely not interested or do not want to communicate in this form and choose those who are ready to continue the conversation.
The next step will be the so-called warm ringing. Potential customers need to give time to think, formulate questions and suggestions. Cold calls, the templates of which should be thought out for each specific action, product - this is the first acquaintance and a brief self-presentation. If the consultant cannot contact the person responsible for making decisions in the company, it is best to set another time (for example, through the secretary). From the moment you leave a message or submit a proposal, building relationships with a potential client begins. He already knows who will call him and roughly understands what will be discussed.
One common mistake is obsessive naming for short periods of time.
Why? Because customers very quickly realize that the seller, without receiving an answer, proceeds automatically. And none of us wants to be perceived simply as an object, as a machine. Sellers should know that even the first call must be agreed with a specific customer. You need to find out who you can contact with a proposal, what day and what time it is better to call.
The next contact attempt should be carefully planned. In other words, the seller must know when to make a call, when the customer can take the time to talk. The best solution would be to remind yourself once every two weeks for at least two months. You can supplement calls with an e-mail.
It is imperative to learn how to present yourself correctly and clearly. Telephone consultants often “swallow” precisely this introductory part of the conversation with a tongue twister, as a result, the client does not immediately orient with whom he is talking and why. It is also advisable to explain where you got his phone number in order to immediately avoid a negative reaction. The activity of the seller-consultant is aimed at creating a situation in which the potential buyer will be comfortable. The goal is to build long-term relationships, and not just sell goods quickly.