Cold Calling and Cold Emails Both Have a Place in Your Sales Strategy… Here’s Why
There’s no shortage of ways to reach new clients who need your services or products.
You could expand your LinkedIn network, participate in online or in-person events, become a thought leader in your industry, and so much more.
Every small business’s prospecting process will look different. But, there are two outreach methods that you should absolutely consider including in your customer acquisition efforts: cold calling and cold emailing.
That’s right — both of these strategies have a place in your prospecting mix. Today, we’re going to show you how to get the most out of every phone call made and email sent.
Proven ways to improve your cold calling and cold emailing response rates
Cold calling and cold emailing aren’t just about making a random phone call or sending a one-off email. Without a thoughtful strategy, the busy professionals you’re trying to reach will simply ignore your messages.
Here’s what you should do instead:
- Create a (narrow) list of prospects. There’s not enough time in the day to contact everyone, so develop a list of contacts that includes your target audience. You can do this yourself, or enlist the help of someone else, like a virtual assistant (more on that later.)
- Research your prospects. A list of email addresses and phone numbers isn’t enough. To be effective on the phone or via email, you need to understand your prospect’s problems and needs. Armed with that information, you can then explain how your products or services will solve their problems.
- When cold calling, be mindful of timing. Don’t call someone first thing in the morning or during lunch. According to research from Phoneburner, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. is ideal, with a break between 12 to 1 p.m.
- Use templates and scripts. Sales prospecting is time-consuming, but email templates and call scripts can make the process much easier. Create a few for different scenarios, see how they perform, and then tweak as needed.
- But also, personalize. Generic sales messages won’t get results. Use your email template or call script as the foundation for any outreach, then personalize the message to the recipient.
Additionally, remember that you can use emails to support calls, and vice versa. One common technique is to make a cold call and mention that you’ll be sending a follow-up email in your voicemail message.
How Canada’s anti-spam legislation will impact your cold emailing efforts
Before you send your first email, it’s vitally important to understand Canada's federal anti-spam legislation. The penalties for non-compliance are steep, with individual fines of up to $1 million and up to $10 million for corporations.
Canada’s anti-spam law (aka CASL) is “intended to reduce the amount of undesirable commercial emails Canadians receive.”
Essentially, the law is designed to prevent commercial electronic messages (CEMs) from being sent without prior consent from the recipient. According to the law, a CEM is “any electronic message (email, text, etc.) that encourages participation in a commercial activity, regardless of whether there is an expectation of profit.”
It’s a complicated topic, and you should spend some time learning more about the do’s and don'ts.
For example, you can send an email to someone who has published their email address online… as long as they don’t specifically state that they do not wish to receive CEMs. The message must also be “relevant to the person’s business role, functions or duties, and include an unsubscribe mechanism and your contact information.”
If you’d like to learn more about your obligations under CASL, this is an excellent resource.
Make prospecting for new clients easier with the help of a virtual assistant
Finding new customers takes a lot of work. Fortunately, there are ways to make the process easier.
At Intelligent Office, many of our small business owner members utilize the services of virtual assistants to take the pain out of prospecting for new clients. A virtual assistant can research individuals, companies, and industries to contact. They can schedule calls, track email performance, and so much more.
The best part? Their support costs a fraction of what it would cost to hire a full- or part-time assistant.
If that sounds like something that could help your company level up, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today.
