Why Do Startup CEOs Still Make Sales Calls?
Some startup CEOs are used to putting themselves out there and taking risks to get their businesses going, but making sales calls is something they often shy away from. After all, in today’s digital landscape, why would a CEO of a tech-driven business still be making sales calls?
In this article, we’ll explore why startup CEOs are still making sales calls and why it’s such an important part of the industry today. From honing salesmanship skills to understanding the customer’s needs, we’ll explore why this is still a viable tactic for startups in the 21st century.
The Benefits of Cold Calling for Startups
Of course, the reason why most startup CEOs are still making sales calls is because of the potential benefits doing so can have. Here are some of the potential benefits of cold calling for startups.
- Get Instant Feedback
One of the biggest advantages of making sales calls is that you get to hear feedback from your customers in real time. Sure, you can get feedback through surveys and market research, but getting feedback directly from the customer provides an incomparable amount of insight.
You get to hear their questions, their objections, what they like and what they don’t like, so you can tweak and adjust your products and services to better match their needs.
- Build Salesmanship Skills
Another great benefit of cold calling is that it builds your salesmanship skills. Calling customers helps you develop a better sense of customer service and salesmanship, so that you can become a better all-around salesperson, which is a great asset for any founder.
- Personalize Your Pitch
Cold calling also allows you to personalize your pitch to the customer, based on their wants, needs and interests. You can really tailor your pitch to the customer, which gives you an upper hand and makes it easier to close the deal.
- Connect With Prospects
Finally, cold calling allows you to connect with prospects that you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. For example, if you don’t have a presence in a certain market, making sales calls will give you the opportunity to connect with people in that market and to make a sale.
The Challenges of Cold Calling for Startups
Even though there are numerous benefits to making sales calls, there are also some challenges that come along with it. Here are some of the challenges you can expect when making sales calls.
- Time Consuming
One of the biggest challenges of making sales calls is that it can be quite time-consuming. Not only do you have to find prospects to call, you also have to be prepared to deal with potential rejections or objections from customers. This can take up a lot of your time.
- Hard To Build Rapport
Another challenge is that it can be quite difficult to build a rapport with a customer over the phone. People don’t always feel as comfortable talking to someone on the phone compared to face-to-face.
This can make it hard to present yourself as a trusted and knowledgeable salesperson. You have to think about how you come across and how you phrase your questions and offers if you want to build trust over the phone.
- Difficulty Hearing Customer Objections
One of the key things you’re trying to do when making sales calls is to uncover customer objections. But it’s much more difficult to hear the objections people have when they’re over the phone compared to face-to-face. Even if you do manage to hear the objections, it can be tough to fully understand how they feel and how you can address them.
Tips For Making Cold Calls
Now that we’ve explored the benefits and challenges of making cold calls, let’s take a look at some tips to help you make a successful cold call.
- Do Your Research
One of the keys to making a successful cold call is to do your research. You need to understand who you’re calling and why, so that you have a better chance of making a sale. This means researching the customer’s business, their sector, and their industry.
The more you know about the customer, the better equipped you’ll be to make the most of the call.
- Focus On The Benefits
When you’re actually making the call, focus on the benefits rather than the features. People don’t want to hear about the features of your product; they want to find out how it can help them and solve their problems.
When making a sales call, focus on the benefits that your customer can get from working with you and be sure to demonstrate how your product or service can provide those benefits.
- Ask Thoughtful Questions
Another key to making successful cold calls is to ask thoughtful questions. Don’t just ask generic questions about the customer’s business and their needs; delve deeper and ask follow-up questions that shed more light on the situation.
This will help you gain better insight into what the customer needs and how you can offer a solution.
- Use The Right Process
Finally, make sure you’re using the right process when making your sales calls. A successful process should include the following steps:
• Qualifying the call and the customer.
• Presenting your product or service.
• Asking questions and hearing objections.
• Answering objections and building rapport.
• Negotiating the deal.
• Confirming the deal and following up.
At the end of the day, making sales calls is still as important a part of the startup industry as it ever was. It’s a great way to get instant feedback from customers, build better salesmanship skills, personalize your pitch, and connect with prospects.
To make sure that your calls are successful, focus on the benefits rather than the features, ask thoughtful questions, and follow a popular process to make sure you’re organized. With these tips, you can make cold calling part of your sales strategy and reap the benefits.
