The art of sales is all about convincing the clients to buy from you, which can be a tough job. It can be even more difficult when you have to convince an unknown person over a phone in the very first interaction. Known as Cold-Calling, it seemingly appears as one of the toughest tasks in sales.

The approach is used by sales personnel to contact individuals whom they have never met or know personally. Moreover, these individuals neither know nor have expressed an interest in the product or service the sales reps are about to offer them. To make it even tougher, most of the numbers the salespeople dial during cold calling end up at the voice mail. Based on a study by Baylor University, it has been found that about 72% of all cold calls don’t get through to a human being, while 80% of calls go to voicemail, according to research by RingLead.

However, cold calling is not as tough as it is made out to be. It can be a bit surprising to know that it is the oldest and one of the most common forms of sales tactics. So, had it been so hard, it wouldn’t be considered as one of the most preferred options, after all. For instance, a study conducted by Rain Group found that 82% of buyers accept meetings when salespeople reach out to them. It shows that a cold call can be a highly effective and successful option when performed appropriately.

A cold call can be considered successful when the prospects don’t hang up immediately. At the same time, they would also show interest in offering the salesperson wants them to buy. For this to happen, the sales personnel should be able to make a pitch that resonates with the prospect. The following are some of the tips that can be used by sales professionals to break the ice on a cold call.

Avoid monotone

When people receive a cold call, they mostly try and avoid it instinctively. A monotonic sounding salesperson would further make them irate. Others may simply disconnect the call immediately without uttering a word. However, when a salesperson sounds energetic and is able to open the call in a cheerful tone, people would want to listen and also respond affirmatively. While it is good to sound energetic, the salesperson should avoid being too loud and fast, as it may seem annoying and even intimidating at times.

Show empathy

Salespeople making a cold call should try to be as polite as possible because every person likes to be respected. For instance, thanking people for their time even if they are not interested in your product will create goodwill for both the company and the salesperson. Also, when people hear a polite voice, they are most likely to respond favorably, and the salesperson can use it as the opportunity to build a rapport with the prospect quickly.

Create a strategic plan

In B2B in lead generation, sales people require much more than interpersonal skills to achieve the desired results. What they need is the right strategy. For this, the companies should consider running an appointment setting campaign that complements their sales team’s cold calling initiative. As the concept is quite relevant, companies can even choose to outsource this task to professional appointment setting service providers. Managed appointment setting has many advantages as it is much more targeted. As such, it can generate many more qualified sales leads by focusing on prospecting meetings that ensure quality face time with decision-makers.

Harness new technology

At times, it can get a bit frustrating for the sales reps as not every cold call ends up contacting the right prospect. To avoid this, companies can provide their sales team with an efficient sales dialer tool. The tool will help sales reps to preview a lead. Based on the information, they can determine if the lead is the right fit to buy their offering and then decide whether to call or not. This would not only save their time an effort but also dramatically increases sales results by delivering speed, efficiency, and predictability to the sales process. For instance, Intelliverse’s Sales Dialer software empowers salespeople to sell smarter and faster by using data-driven insights & real-time analytics.

Using these tips, salespeople can find it much easier to use cold calling for contacting, engaging, and also convincing prospects. As such, every sales professional should try these inventive tips to break the ice.