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You just got home from work and want nothing more than to take off your shoes and have a cold, delicious beer. Then suddenly your phone rang out of the blue. You begrudgingly picked it up, dreading that you might be called back to work for some emergency. But then, you heard the chirpy and fast-talking voice of some sales rep asking you if you want to get buffed and get a gym membership.
I don’t know what your reaction would be, but I know it wouldn’t be nice. It won’t surprise you then that cold calling is hated not only by the receiver but also by the caller. Well, not only, but especially on the part of the caller. It’s not easy introducing yourself and getting cursed over and over again.
Cold calling remains one of the most effective outbound lead generation strategies, capable of driving high-quality prospects into your sales funnel. In this guide, we’ll break down proven cold calling strategies to help you convert more leads, boost your outreach, and improve sales results. Whether you’re new to outbound sales or looking to refine your approach, these expert tips will set you up for success.
What is Outbound Lead Generation
To break it down, Outbound Lead Generation is the method of interacting with possible customers who have no idea what your product is. It is done by outbound sales reps using outbound sales tactics like social selling or good old cold-calling techniques. It is the first part of the sales cycle and usually includes outbound sales calls.
Businesses use telemarketers to boost consumer interest. To create leads, advertise events, carry out surveys, and gather consumer data. Keep in touch with current clients or remarket goods to former consumers. Outsourcing center services also provide collaboration tools to help gain customers.
These sales teams are experts in selling products or services on behalf of an individual or business. These sales specialists can work at home or branch offices, depending on their contracts. They may even be required to travel to different locations to meet with customers and do sales. The main objective of sales representatives is to create a sales pipeline. This is done by creating interest in a product or service.
Outbound leads
Outbound leads are the endgame. They are potential customers who are attracted to the company’s products or services. Even so, these prospects didn’t buy anything yet. So they need that not-so-gentle push to get them over the edge. These important leads are designated into two kinds: Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and Sales Qualified Lead (SQL).
Marketing Qualified Leads
Customers who have visited your website through social engagements and have shown interest in your product or services. MQLs are especially beneficial to digital marketers. MQL customers give important reviews of products and services. Digital marketers make use of this information in optimizing content and digital marketing strategies.
Sales Qualified Lead
The next step in the buyers’ journey down the sales funnel. They are former MQLs who got passed down to sales representatives. SQL customers are customers who are ready to buy products or avail of services.
Inbound vs Outbound Sales
The Outbound Sales process is when a salesperson reaches out to leads to offer them products or services. The sales marketer usually uses cold calling, cold emails, or even cold texting to contact potential leads. During outbound campaigns, the awareness and attentiveness of the target audience are reduced. And also, the buyer persona is not that important.
Inbound Sales, on the other hand, is a method of enticing ideal customers to the company. The visitor subscribes to the company opt-ins in exchange for freebies like a tool, webinar entry, cooking recipes, or even a free consultation. Inbound strategy sales professionals will then later email or call these inbound leads. If the sales call is successful, the potential lead will be changed into a sales conversion. Inbound marketing enables the sales manager to have a sort of personal connection to the customers.
Those websites where you need to subscribe before you can access are some form of inbound lead generation. Albeit slower, the outbound process generates more quality leads and high conversion rates. This is because of the relevant content included on the subscription pages.
The obvious difference between the two generation processes is delivery. Outbound tactics focus on speed, while Inbound Sales focus on attention.
You can even liken both sales to planting. Outbound sales is like grabbing a handful of seeds and scattering them on the ground. Inbound sales is researching the seeds, soil composition, fertilizer, and other helpful tips that might increase the chances of the seeds turning into a plant.
Definition of Cold Calling
First things first, let me say that Cold Calling and Outbound Calling are often used synonymously. However, they may have a slight difference. Cold Calling is simpler and is usually done by just having a phone list and a given script. Outbound Calling, on the other hand, needs some research and preparation. You could say Cold Calling is just a part of Outbound Calling.
Cold Calling is the process of reaching out to customers who don’t show any previous interest in the products or services offered. This is particularly hard since people are stubborn by default. It is a fact that people, in general, don’t like getting told what to do. And coupled with the fact that you are calling someone in their home. Cold Calling can be considered an invasion of privacy, and some countries have even banned it. If you get angry at cold emails, then cold calling is a whole different level.
In the old days, cold calling could practically be done by anyone who had access to a phone, a telephone directory, and a scripted sales pitch. It is particularly expert in breaking family dinners and getting your old man’s blood pressure through the roof. Bill Burr’s F is for Family is a perfectly good example of this. That scene where they have a nice family dinner and the phone suddenly rings and Frank Murphy shouts threats at the caller? Joking aside, that is one of the most obvious scenarios of an old-school cold calling.
In the new age, however. Cold Calling has evolved from the “spray and pray” method into a more focused, target-driven sales tool. This is done by third-party data providers like OnAudience, Lotame, and Adsquare, among others. Digital marketing and social networking tools are now advanced. This makes third-party data the most valuable currency in the online marketing world. Third parties buy from data owners and publishers for their first-party data. These data are, in turn, sold to whoever needs them.
So why do companies do outbound calls, and why is it important? What sort of martyrs can handle this tedious and punishing work for the benefit of the company?
Outsourcing Cold Calls
Outsourcing is when a business, let’s call it B1, hires another business, B2, to do something that the former needs. This can be in the form of services or goods. These products or services are usually done in-house by B1. But to save money, B1 delegates said services to B2.
B2B company outsourcing has practically around since the Industrial Revolution in 1760. Since the moment people realize that they can produce certain products easily and in great quantities. This lets pioneering entrepreneurs realize that they don’t have to make every part themselves. This leads businesses to specialize in specific products and services.
Following the law of supply and demand, outsourcing companies came into being. Outsourcing companies provide cheap and world-class outsourcing solutions to clients globally.
2-Tier Outbound Strategy To Generate More Leads and Sales
The most obvious drawback of insourcing is the high-cost maintenance of manpower and equipment. The solution to this problem is outsourcing operations to reliable companies.
Companies in the US are already regularly hiring outsourcing companies in the Philippines and India. Legitimate outsourcing companies can provide the manpower to handle the literal ocean of cold calls.
Most companies already have an established business program. But for businesses that need help in getting their business mojo back on track, here’s a 2-tier outbound sales strategy that is perfect for you!
This 2-tier outbound strategy is a time-tested method offered by leading outsourcing companies.
Companies can reduce operational costs without compromising the quality of products and services. This is done by partnering with outsourcing companies that offer high-skilled talent at a cheaper cost.
Tier 1 – Lead Generation Experts
The miners who mine for qualified leads. These experts do the grunt work in sales and marketing. Taking on the hard part of filtering hundreds, if not thousands, of cold calls. Politely talking to strangers while taking insults with a smile. These are the unsung heroes of the sales and marketing world.
Lead Gen experts are the backbone of sales and marketing. Maintaining an in-house complement of cold callers can be costly. So instead of hiring 10 in-house cold callers, you can outsource the whole operation to legitimate outsourcing companies. You just hired three outbound prospecting experts who do the same job with fewer costs. Imagine the money you could save on coffee alone! Lead Gen experts receive a commission based on how many qualified leads they can get.
After creating enough qualified leads, the spotlight will now shine on the Closers.
Tier 2 – Closers: The Cream of the Crop
If cold callers are the grunts, then closers are the Don Drapers of the sales marketing world. These experts can talk the talk and walk the walk. Most high-paid closers are veterans of sales and can turn potential buyers into repeat customers with a snap of a finger. Oozing confidence, closers are the golden child of any company’s sales and marketing.
Closers, as I mentioned, are mostly veteran salesmen. Cold calls are a waste of time for these experts. These experts don’t want to waste their precious time doing cold calls. Rejections can also dampen their sales performance. This is why dedicated cold callers are important. This way, the Closers can focus their whole attention on the most important part of sales marketing. And that is turning qualified leads into buyers. Closers, in turn, receive commissions on how many qualified leads they can turn into buyers.
Now, if you want to outsource your sales operation, there are many ways to do it. Some companies already have good closers. While some companies have a lead generator but need closers. The advantage of outsourcing outbound sales is versatility. Does your outbound Sales Team only need a closer? Then you can! Do you want more lead-gen experts? No problem!
But if you are an upstart business, you will gonna need both. The perfect ratio would be three to one (3-1). Three lead generators to one closer. This ratio is variable as it depends on your company’s resources and target estimations.
Live Transfer Leads
The most important aspect in bagging those qualified leads is time. This makes live transfer leads invaluable. Live call transfers let you connect with customers the moment they become interested. This is done with the lead generation company connecting the customers directly to the sales team. The screening and customer profiling are already done by the lead generation company. This ensures that the leads are extremely qualified. This is, of course, done only after the customer’s approval.
Summary
Outsourcing companies have been around for decades now. Almost all companies in the US outsource to English-speaking countries like India or the Philippines. With this method, you can maintain just a small group of dedicated teams. You don’t need to expand your company’s physical location. Or hire more personnel, which means more costs.
Especially in specialized operations like cold calling and sales. Outsourcing can help cut back the costs of maintaining a team of cold callers and salespeople, with excellent sales strategies like live transfer. Boosting your operations with outsourcing will have your ROI shot to the moon.
Conclusion
This is essentially what outsourcing outbound cold calling is all about. If you like, you could compare outsourcing companies to ease-of-life software or tools. Why use Notepad if you can use Word Office? Why do manual calculations when you can use Excel? See what I mean? Partnering with a legitimate outsourcing provider can be the “software” you need to streamline tasks, improve efficiency, and allow you to focus on higher-value activities.
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