There are lots of things that can go wrong on a cold call. If you’ve never made one before, it’s actually fun (sometimes) because you never know what’s coming next.
What you can control, though, are these basic moron-grade mistakes.
1. Not Doing Your Homework: Calling without knowing a thing about the business you’re contacting is like walking into a test without studying. Check their site, check their socials. Boom, easy. Do more research if you’re into it.
2. Sounding Like a Robot: Think making cold calls is about reading verbatim from a script? You sound like an idiot. Leads can smell a bad script a mile away. Have key points to cover and a clear plan from “Hello” to “Would you like to book a call with the team?”, but don’t be too rigid.
3. Using Too Much Jargon: Remember, you’re in a bubble. If you’re talking to SEO professionals all day, you won’t think twice talking about SERPs. If you’re calling local plumbers trying to sniff out leads, do you think they know what SERPs are? Of course they don’t. Go easy on jargon.
4. Talking Non-Stop: A cold call isn’t a monologue and you aren’t a standup comedian. If you’re not pausing to listen, you’re missing out on understanding what the client actually needs.
5. Ignoring Objections: 99.999% of leads will give you a “No” before you get a “Yes”. When they say no, you have to try and dig into the WHY and address their concerns.
6. Forgetting to Follow Up: Thinking one call is enough is naïve. Follow-up is where the magic happens, but don’t pester. There’s a fine line between being persistent and being annoying.
7. No CTA: What do you actually want them to do? Talk to the team? Sign up for something? Have a clear idea of what you want and how you’re going to ask them before you go in.
8. Every Pitch the Same: Treating every business the same is a sure-fire way to fail. Tailor your pitch to address the specific challenges and goals of each prospect. You can do that through a) researching and b) listening.
9. Skipping the Small Talk: Yes, you want to have a clear goal in mind. Yes, you want to be moving towards that goal throughout the call. But if the lead is open to building rapport, don’t ignore them. Play along. Be a person for a minute instead of a cold, hard, selling machine.
10. Not Taking Notes: Not jotting down key points during the call can make follow-ups awkward. You don’t want to ask the same questions again or forget important details.
