How I Turned Cold Calling into the Most Effective Activity for my Team
Cold calling is a difficult task that is not enjoyed by many salespeople.
Don't you think?
Having managed sales teams for almost 10 years, I have never seen a single salesperson who enjoys cold calling. Not one.
Additionally, receiving cold calls can also be challenging, as it often happens unexpectedly and can interrupt your day.
However, cold calling is a common practice in the sales world and it can be very effective.
During my career, I was fortunate enough to meet Rafa Blanes, the current SVP of Sales & Growth at Cloudbeds, a leading property management solution.
In 2018, I was leading the European sales team at Cloudbeds, where we faced the challenge of selling to independent hotels.
This was a difficult task, as decision-makers were often not at their desks, but walking and running around their properties. Independent hotel owners are indeed busy!
The email was not an effective way to reach out to owners, so Rafa decided to launch an outbound sales strategy, including cold calling.
But he didn’t set this up as a normal boring activity, giving out a list of mobile numbers and asking his team to do the thing.
To generate outbound demos, the market managers (also known as Account Executives) had a common moment called a "Sales Blitz".
A moment that changed completely the way I have seen cold calling.
Let me go through it.
What is a Sales Blitz?
A Sales Blitz is a focused and intense effort by a sales team to reach out to a list of prospects or customers in a given time.
The goal is to do one thing altogether in the same moment, in the same place.
First, understand what you want to achieve.
Boosting activities? Re-engage closed lost? Generate more leads? Pick 1 topic.
Prepare a list in advance, including:
Account Name
Name, Surname
Email
Phone number
Notes
Split the list among the sales reps, with each rep assigned more than 50 contacts (including all reps and managers).
Offer a special discount or reward for customers who express interest.
Allocate a half day (2-4 hours), create the meeting, and explain the ground rules before the meeting.
Then, get together and review the activities on your CRM. Take a screenshot before.
Aim to set the highest activity record.
To begin, make a few calls together to break the ice.
Your team will listen and debrief afterwards. If the call was funny, laugh together.
Most importantly, share takeaways, provide guidance, and seek feedback.
Encourage your team to engage.
Execution
Afterwards, break out into virtual rooms. (Breakout rooms are available on both Zoom and Gmeet).
Each person calls their list until it's finished.
The goal is to re-engage with those contacts and book demos.
As a manager, jump into virtual rooms to support and assist. You can also pair two people per room to keep each other engaged.
Keep going until time is up or all the contacts are exhausted.
Have your team take notes in the CRM throughout the process.
When finished, close all the breakout rooms and return to the main one.
Celebration
Check your sales dashboards. Show your team the before and after and gather feedback.
What did they achieve, and what blockers they encountered? Do it openly, altogether.
Have some symbolic gifts for the top activities smasher.
You can buy some Amazon vouchers or something small to give away to the top performers. Celebrate together, and gather insights about the worst and the best cold call.
Takeaways
I find these sessions incredibly useful for several reasons.
They help you create a new habit and learn something new. Even those who have never cold-called before can learn how to do it, and those who are already good at it can improve.
Doing this activity together will highlight all the flaws and mistakes in the process. You will easily spot multiple errors in the tools, ideal customer profile (ICP), and playbook.
These sessions can also help improve your sales culture. You'll get to laugh together, joke around, and celebrate success, building the foundation of your team.
Ultimately, these sessions will help you create a pipeline fast.
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Many salespeople and some leaders see cold calling as a waste of time. I don't blame them; I used to feel the same way.
However, since discovering sales blitz, I've seen how effective a call can be instead of an email.
It's more personal, effective, and you can solve problems right there at the moment.
Take a second and think about it.
You have a need right now that is bothering you and your company, and somebody is calling you in a consulting, elegant, and gentle way to help you solve it.
Wouldn't you be happy to receive that call?
