How To Generate Leads Without Cold Calling?

When it comes to marketing and generating leads, cold calling is one of the sales techniques that’s guaranteed to generate good results. And there’s nothing wrong with relying on the strategy for your business growth. However, relying on it at all times is not always effective, especially if that’s the only way you generate leads for your business.

Yes, cold calling is direct, practical, and effective – but relying solely on it is not the best use of your time and resources. If you’re like most business people, you’re probably trying to figure out how to generate leads without cold calling.

Well, generating leads without cold calling is possible – but you’ve got to be willing to let go of your attachment to cold calling. Also, some of the strategies will involve cold calling. Therefore, entirely letting go of cold calling is somewhat difficult.

In this guide, you’d discover all you need to know on how to generate leads without cold calling. But first, what does cold calling mean?

What Does Cold Calling Mean?

When your salesperson calls people who have not expressed interest in your product offering, that’s cold calling. There are times when these people may have expressed an insignificant amount of interest in the product offering – and such expression of interest must have been forgotten. With cold calling, you can pretty much generate leads using outbound efforts.

Typically, cold calling is done by your business development representative. Why? Because it somewhat focuses on your company’s growth and sales. Even though cold calling is widely known, it’s somewhat confusing, disruptive, and could make people develop the feeling of being scammed. With the advent of social media and other digital prospecting methods, business owners can easily generate more leads without the need for cold calling.

Before diving into ways of generating leads without cold calling, there’s a need to address if cold calling truly generates leads. To address this issue, there’s the need to answer the “does cold calling generate leads?” question.

Does Cold Calling Generate Leads?

If you want to go deep into lead-generation marketing, then you’ve got to consider cold calling. One of the benefits of the technique is that it positions you in direct contact with your customers. And if you’re a newbie in cold calling, here are some vital tips to help you get started.

• Write a Script:

Having a script doesn’t always translate to using the exact line of words and sentences while reaching out to your customers. It means having a framework that works – and the framework should be used during regular calls with your customers.

Since you’d be making lots of calls, having the right statements to help you convince your prospects into buying your product or service offering comes in handy. To get started, you’ve got to listen to successful cold calls and figure out what made them work.

This way, you’d draw out useful insights to help you make successful cold calls. If you manage an agency, you could direct your employees to use the statement in the script. Using the right statements will help them steer the sales conversations in positive directions.

• Prospect and blitz:

To be more effective, you’ve got to divide the cold calling into two different tasks – prospecting leads and blitzing your preferred prospects. Ideally, you’ve got to finish prospecting leads before blitzing them. This way, you’d adequately identify your preferred leads, and also reach out to them multiple times. When it comes to prospecting, you’ve got to do it as soon as possible. However, take every time you need to carefully blitz your leads.

If you desire the best results, you’ve got to wait late in the day or early the following day. As a general rule of thumb, you’ve got to be prepared for some rejections. Yes, rejection is a vital part of the blitzing process. Don’t take these rejections personally. You’ve got to train your employees so they also get prepared for rejections.

Customers are always skeptical about cold calls, but you’ve got to persist. And most times, you can get the prospect to listen by being persistent.

• Don’t make small talks:

Cold calls are different from personal calls – avoid all forms of pleasantries. Focus on the business for the day, and avoid things that don’t add to it. Business owners who use cold calling would agree that potential customers don’t always welcome common greetings. You’ve got to start with a direct statement.

If you’re unsure of what to do, you should start by introducing yourself and stating where you work. Furthermore, always avoid the urge to ask customers if they’re available to talk. Asking them about their availability to talk pretty much gives them the room to say no – and that’s not the right answer you’re looking for.

Always start your conversations with direct statements and avoid the urge to ask questions until the conversation starts flowing naturally. Moving on, you’ve got to check out for clues that assure you that the prospect is pretty much interested in what you’re saying. If they show much interest, then it’s time to give them additional information.

• Research leads:

You should do your homework before taking up your phone to call your leads. Nothing beats preparation and being proactive when it comes to cold calling. Take the bold step by learning everything you need to know before calling a customer.

Thorough research helps you to tailor your sales pitch to fit each customer you’d be cold calling. Simple things like doing a basic Google search could go a long way to help you dig up some background information about your potential customer.

There are lots of personal details that can be found on the customer’s social media profile and blog – all you’ve got to do is go through it! Having some personal details could boost your chances of making successful calls.

• Keep practicing:

Experience is the prerequisite to success – and that also applies to cold calling. If you want to generate more leads, then you’ve got to constantly practice your sales pitch and hone your script. Going in blind is a recipe for disaster – you’d probably lose the opportunity. Before starting, you should listen to some cold calls.

Ready for some cold calling examples? Well, that will be discussed in the “What is cold calling examples?” section.

What Is Cold Calling Examples?

Making cold calls as a first-timer comes with lots of mistakes and a learning process. To help you through the process, you’ve got to consider going through some useful tips and tricks. Regardless of your level of expertise, here are some tips and tricks to help you during cold calling.

• Use scripts, but don’t lose your authenticity. You’ve got to be yourself – and there’s zero need to speak like a robot. Yes, be natural and confident – the client shouldn’t figure out that you’re reading off a script
• Pay attention to details, and listen to what the client has to say. Even minor information can easily make or break your sales process
• Offer solutions that solve the customer’s problems. You’d have a hard time trying to sell generic products. To get the most out of your cold calling, focus on personalized products
• Always record, track, and follow up on your prospects.

Here are some examples of cold calling.

Example 1:

You: Hello, I’m John from the Sales Institute. Is it a good time to call?

Evelyn: No, I’m busy at the moment

You: That’s no problem. Are you available at other times?

Evelyn: Yes, 2 pm tomorrow will be fine

You: Okay, I’ll reach out to you by then. Have a good day!

Example 2:

You: Hi Evelyn, are you available for a quick chat?

Evelyn: Umm, yes.

You: I’m John with XYZ company that sells productivity tools. I see that we are members of the same LinkedIn group. I love your recent post on how employees experience higher stress levels when working from home. Our primary goal is to help boost productivity levels and also reduce stress issues. Are you interested in knowing more?

Evelyn: Yes, I’m very much interested in what you have to say.

You: That sounds great! [Insert your sales pitch and ask relevant questions about the challenges your clients are facing. Offer solutions that would be of great help to them]. Let me know what time you’d be available so I can schedule a demo.

Evelyn: Tomorrow evening works fine.

You: Okay. Thanks for your time. I hope you’ve taken some of the stress off your mind. A great day to you!

Example 3:

You: Hi Evelyn! I came across your company’s website, and I’m quite impressed by the sleek design. However, I noticed that there is no e-signing tool, is there a reason for it?

Evelyn: Yes, the company doesn’t have enough funds for the tools on the market, and we don’t think there’s much need for it

You: I understand. What if I show you an inexpensive and robust option?

Evelyn: Okay, I’d love to know more about it

You: XYZ is an inexpensive e-signing tool that comes in both free and paid versions. Do you think your customers prefer signing business documents by hand?

Evelyn: Hand-signing documents are my preferred option, but the company deals with several clients who prefer using e-signing apps

You: That’s okay. Would you not prefer having both options instead of just one? This way, you and your clients could choose their preferred option. Since there’s a free trial available, you can go for it, and probably upgrade to the paid version. Furthermore, the rates are negotiable if you opt for the paid version.

Evelyn: That’s fine. But I would love to know more about your product before making a decision

You: I understand. Let’s book an appointment with you for Tomorrow at 10:00 AM

Evelyn: I’m okay with that.

You: That’s great! You’d be added to the schedule. Looking forward to talking with you. Bye!

These examples demonstrate cold calling. In the next section, you’ll discover how to generate leads without cold calling.

How To Generate Leads Without Cold Calling?

When creating your sales and marketing plan, you’ve got to consider using other strategies in addition to cold calling. Regardless of the kind of industry you are in, here are some other marketing strategies you should consider.

Start and Maintain a Business Blog:

Blogging is a reliable way of sharing valuable information with your target audience, creating viable opportunities that would convert web visitors into loyal paying customers, and building up your website’s page count.

You could build a business blog around anything, but it would be best to start a business blog that offers solutions to the challenges of your customers. Also, you’ve got to position yourself as an authority around a specific subject. This way, your business blog will rank high on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

Create Compelling Landing Pages:

There are times when you’d have some content that cannot be included in a single blog post. These content pieces could be a whitepaper, e-book, special calculator, or other pieces of premium content. Your best shot is to offer this content in exchange for the customer’s contact information like email address, name, company name, or other relevant details.

Moving on, a landing page that thoroughly explains what the customer would be getting in exchange for the contact information should be created.

Use the Right Social Media Channels:

There are lots of social media platforms out there. You’ve got to choose the right ones for your brand. Your choice should largely be dependent on where a large chunk of your customer avatar is found. One of the sure ways of grabbing lots of attention online is by being active on your preferred social media platform.

Incentivize Reviews, Referrals, and Testimonials:

One way to turn loyal paying customers into brand ambassadors is by encouraging them to leave reviews and testimonials after completing work with them. Referrals are also a sure way to get them to broadcast your brand to their sphere of influence.

Check Your Website’s SEO – And Make Necessary Updates:

The world is a global village – and the internet made it possible. Nowadays, people can search for their most desired product or service by merely using search engines. The search results are ranked according to how relevant they are – and the ranking is listed from the most relevant to the least relevant (while ads are usually found at the very top of the list).

Furthermore, the search ranking is dependent on several factors, and these often change from time to time. The changes are dependent on the updates on the algorithms. Since there are always changes to the search ranking, you must always evaluate the search engine optimization (SEO) of your website.

For instance, do you have a responsive website, and is the website compatible with mobile devices? If not, your website may not be prioritized by search engine platforms like Google. Why? Because Google favors mobile-friendly websites. These websites tend to rank higher on search engine result pages.

A robust SEO comes in handy when trying to convert visitors into loyal paying customers.

Re-Engage Former Customers:

If you’ve got a good sales process, and you nurture your leads well, then reaching out to previous customers won’t be a big deal. Your previous customers already know what they’d get by buying from you – therefore, there will be no need for some juicy sales page or other fancy things.

As a business owner, if you’ve got a great product or service offering, then your previous customers will probably reach out to you when the need arises. Other times, you’d have to take initiative and reach out to them.

It’s no news that it’s much cheaper to retain existing customers than to convert new ones. Always make it a point of duty to reach out to former customers who have used your product or service offering in the past. These people already have a taste of what you have to offer – upselling to them won’t be a big deal.

How PPC Can Help You Generate Leads Without Cold Calling?

The primary objective of cold calling is to boost the sales of your products or services. However, cold calling is not the only way to do that – you can do it by using PPC campaigns. Running effective PPC campaigns is not easy. You’d have to spend lots of cash on paid ads – and that’s why you need tools like the PPC Signal tool.

With the PPC Signal tool, business owners get to easily optimize multiple campaigns from a single account. This way, they would eliminate the stress that comes with manually managing these campaigns.

Furthermore, the PPC Signal tool helps you to closely monitor your PPC campaign data. By using the Signal tool to keep a close eye on your campaign, you get to forecast any downtimes before it happens. In the long run, you will save more, and also reduce any form of wastage.

For instance, if you’re managing the campaign of an online business, you can optimize your conversions by navigating through the dashboard of the PPC Signal tool. Click on the metrics icon, and proceed to select the conversion option.

After selecting the option, an automated signal will be generated – the signal shows you how your conversions are performing. There is an option to explore the signal. By exploring the signal, you get to see more insights.

By clicking the explore button, a graphical representation of your campaign will be displayed. The graphical data shows you how long your campaign has been moving downwards.

There is also an option of showcasing your data in a tabular form. This way, you get to quickly check other campaign metrics that are relevant to your campaign conversions.

The signals on the table show you how your conversions are performing. It also showcases relevant metrics that are likely to be affecting your campaign conversions. This way, you’d have a good grasp of what’s happening, and how you can optimize your campaign for better performance.

That’s not all…

The insights drawn from the table can help you eliminate actions that are draining your campaign budget. By taking the right actions, you will most likely boost your sales, and improve your PPC campaign in the long run. If your PPC campaign is going well, then you’re guaranteed some great results. Great results pretty much translate to more sales – and that’s good for business.

FAQs:

Can you sell without cold calling?

Yes, there are several alternatives to cold calling. These alternatives could be emails, social media, and online networking. You could also consider public speaking, writing for publications that your ideal customers always read, or PPC Campaign.

Does cold calling generate leads?

Cold calling is a solid lead generation strategy. However, having a keen focus on it could make you miss out on other robust lead generation strategies that may be as effective (or more effective) than it.

Is cold calling a waste of time?

If not done the right way, cold calling could be a waste of time for business owners. And if the wrong approach is sustained over a long period, then it could cost your business. However, there are possibilities of generating good results using cold calling.

What is the success rate of cold calling?

Getting an initial appointment using cold calling could amount to a 1-3% success rate. Most times, cold calling could be abusive to both parties.

Wrap Up:

There’s no doubt that cold calling is effective. As a business person, focusing only on cold calling is not good – you should have options. Yes, paying much attention to cold calling could limit your chances of identifying more effective lead generation strategies.

That’s not to say that cold calling is not viable. A thorough research process coupled with other techniques will yield many results. Moving on, you should consider other lead generation methods like blogging, landing pages, and social media platforms.

If you’re up for it, you should consider running good PPC campaigns. However, managing multiple PPC campaigns is hard – and that’s where the PPC Signal tool comes in.

Speaking of the PPC Signal tool, you can start by using the free trial today.