How to Hook Leads Quickly During Sales Outreach Calls

Cold calls — love them or hate them, they’re an essential part of business. Even the most tech-savvy marketing experts say that no matter how advanced things get, it’s unlikely that we’ll see the cold call removed entirely anytime soon. Because it seems outdated (and often out of fear of rejection), many sales reps don’t like making cold calls and don’t prioritize learning how to do so effectively. 

The result is a lot of lost opportunities. After all, even with all the technology and access out there today, it gets results. While the success rate overall is only about 2%, as many as 82% of buyers accepted sales meetings after they connected with someone on a cold call, according to Zippia. 

And since your sales reps are making an average of 30-40 cold calls every single day, that’s 24 to 30 new opportunities for further conversations and eventual conversions. Unfortunately, it often doesn’t happen that perfectly. In fact, it often takes a lot more work to get an outreach call to a conversion, but it’s an effort well made. 

If you want to do it faster, read on. This guide is dedicated to helping you hook leads faster and get them moving along in the sales journey without having to reach out more than a few times. 

Plan a dynamic sales outreach calling strategy 

Every success starts with a solid plan. If you want to improve the speed and quantity of your lead intake, you need to have a plan in place. You can’t just pick up the phone and start making calls. You have to know important factors including:

• Who you are calling
• Why you are specifically calling them
• What you have to offer 
• What their pain points are
• Whether you’re talking to the right person
• How to deliver a pitch that hits the mark for their specific needs 
• Whether your prospects are even interested in what you have to offer

And while sales scripts are great (more on that in a minute), they should always be used as a guide. No one wants to feel like they’re being read to by someone on the other end of the phone. 

Create adaptable sales scripts

When you’re collaborating with your team on how to improve your sales outreach calls, scripts can be a great tool. These should not be “word-for-word” dictations or something that you expect people to memorize entirely. Sales scripts are guides. They are designed to make sure that all the important areas of the conversation are covered and that your reps have the guide they need to close the deal. 

Today, conversations are two-way interactions. More than ever, your sales team needs a set of scripts that are flexible and that can fit the various pain points and prospects they encounter along the way. If your scripts are well-crafted but still flexible, they’ll deliver the best results every single time. 

Make sure you’ve got the right person on the phone

One of the biggest reasons for cold call failures, especially in the B2B space, is that reps are reaching out to the wrong person. If you don’t find out who you need to talk to about a product or service you’re selling, you might end up getting turned down for your lack of research. Usually, it’s not hard to figure out which department, at least, you need to contact. 

In some cases, companies might have information about who to contact for different things. You may even be able to call and ask to speak to “whomever deals with contract renewals” if you are selling digital document software, for example. Just make sure you’re talking to the right person before you even start your pitch. Ideally, you’ll make sure they’re your target before you even pick up the phone, but sometimes that’s not possible. 

Follow up quickly and deliberately

The best time to contact a lead is immediately after they reach out. Their mind is already on the topic, they’re freshly informed, and they are available because they just reached out to you. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that they will get busy or forget about contacting you in the first place, which will cost you the lead. 

When you respond within a day, you increase your success rates substantially. When you respond within hours, or even minutes, that continues to climb. People like prompt communication. Make sure that if you’re following up on leads, you’re doing it in a timely fashion. 

Add immediate value 

People don’t have time. They just don’t, and they won’t make time unless something proves to have value to them. If you want the best chances of hooking prospects quickly, you need to lead with your unique value proposition (UVP) and make sure that they know you’re calling to help them out, not to sell something for the benefit of your company. 

Yes, you are still trying to make sales, but they don’t care about that. They care about how you can help. The sooner you make that clear, the more likely they are to become a converted customer. 

Create killer intros

People get tons of solicitations. They don’t have time for the ones that are of no use. Therefore, they’ll likely decide whether they care to find out whether you have value to offer within the first few seconds of your call. Keep this in mind when you are creating intros and subject lines for emails. 

Make it very clear why you are reaching out, what you have to offer, and why it matters to your prospect. Provide value without requiring a purchase and make sure that you stand out from the competition in your outreach. 

Smith.ai can help you field all those new leads

When you hit the mark, you’re going to see an influx of business. At Smith.ai, our virtual receptionists are here to help you with that every step of the way. We can handle lead intake and appointment scheduling and even support your outreach campaigns to help drive leads in the first place. 

Plus, we can provide a 24/7 answering service to ensure that you never miss a single opportunity. To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai. 

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