B2B cold calling can be tough. Not only is it tough to get sales prospects on the phone, but when you do, the prospect may end up being a little difficult or not completely friendly. The first step to improving your ability to deal with difficult or unfriendly prospects is to stop and try to understand where they are coming from and what they may be thinking.
Sales Prospects are Extremely Busy
The first thing to remember is that the sales prospects you try to contact are extremely busy. Or we can at least assume that they are busy, especially if you are calling at a decision-maker level.
This is important for a couple of reasons. First, it can sometimes seem impossible to reach sales prospects. If you are B2B cold calling them on their office phone, decision-makers may be away from their desks most of the day, tied up in meetings. They are not avoiding your call, as they are likely not even seeing your cold call come in.
It would be best to keep this in mind when you get a sales prospect on the phone. Assuming they are swamped, you may want to factor this in with how you approach taking their time. You may want to confirm they have a few minutes and then move quickly through your cold call script.
They Get a Tremendous Amount of Sales Calls
It is helpful to be aware that your prospects get a lot of cold calls from people like you. This impacts the process in a couple of ways. First, this will motivate the prospect to let your call go unanswered.
This can also impact how the prospect receives your call when they do answer the phone. If they have had a lot of cold calls and then they get you on the phone, they may have less patience and openness to what you have to say.
They are Likely not in Buying Mode
When you are B2B cold calling, you typically call prospects who have not raised their hand to express interest or have not contacted you before. When this is the case, remember that you are not likely to reach the prospect in “buying mode.”
In other words, you have something to sell, and the prospect is likely not actively looking to buy what you have to sell. This is not to say that they do not need or will not be interested. They are just not sitting there thinking about the topic you call them to discuss.
Their Guard Will Typically be at a Medium Level
When you add up some of these other factors, like the prospect being extremely busy and getting a lot of sales calls, you will reach prospects that have their guard at a medium level. When they answer your call and don’t know who you are, they will be a little defensive, trying to determine who you are and if you will take (or waste) any of their valuable time.
Those assumptions may sound scary and like a reason not to even cold call. These are what they are, and as we said, cold calling can be tough. However, if you decide to incorporate b2b cold calling in your lead generation strategy, you need to be aware of these factors and then identify how to modify your approach to defuse and work around these challenges.