What to do after a sales cold call
by Shannon F.
Sales cold calls are not usually stand-out events, either for the person making the call or the person receiving it. After the receptionist writes (or pretends to write) your name down, she or he generally forgets that you exist. Even if you get through to a decision-maker, you are probably just one of many disruptions that day. The general forgettability (we made that word up) of the average cold call is partly to blame for the staggering number of touches you’re probably going to have to make before you manage to set an appointment (between 12 and 18, ouch). Following up the right way can help you set more appointments, more efficiently.
Always send a follow-up email
Immediately after you hang up the phone—even if you just left a brief voicemail—send an email. It should be something like, “Hi, I recently spoke to you (or tried to reach you) regarding _____. I would like to set up an appointment to discuss_____. Please contact me at your convenience.” Busy people are more likely to check their email than answer the phone, so even if repeated call-backs don’t elicit a response, a simple email may do the trick.
Connect with them online
As soon as you’ve spoken to a prospect, connect with him or her on LinkedIn. This will give you another means of contact. Plus, you may be able to reach out to other members of the same company who are connected to your initial contact. Remember: the more contacts you have in the same company, the better!
Drop a postcard in the mail
It never hurts to follow up with a mail piece in addition to an email. The more times the prospect hears/sees the name of your company, the more likely it is that he/she will think of you when the time comes to seek out bids for a product or service.
Call back while you are fresh in the prospect’s mind
It’s important to schedule a follow-up call as soon as you hang up the phone. For example, plan to call your prospect again the same time tomorrow. If you wait too long to make a follow-up call, you’ll feel as if you’re starting at square one again, since your prospect probably won’t remember you. Set your follow-up for no more than one week after your initial call, and continue to reach out to your prospect regularly.
The number of steps from making the first contact to finally setting an appointment can seem insurmountable. InsightPRM is a CRM designed especially for cold-calling and lead management. When you’ve finished a sales call, you can set a follow-up appointment, send an email, and move on to the next call all with the click of a button using InsightPRM—it literally takes one second. The only thing you can’t do in InsightPRM is send a postcard—you’ll still have to put a stamp on it and slide it into the mailbox. (Sorry.) If you’re not setting as many sales appointments as you think you should be, let us know. We’ll help you iron out the wrinkles and speed up the process.