Cold calling can certainly help with lead generation campaigns, when executed with skill and backed by a solid strategy. But it isn’t for everyone.
Cold calling often comes with a high rate of rejection. Your sales team will have to deal with being ignored, cut off or perhaps even more hostile reactions from prospects annoyed at having their day interrupted. Different clients require different strategies after all, and it’s up to you to choose the one most likely to hook a prospect’s interest.
Thankfully, there are countless other ways to generate leads without having to make those dreaded cold calls. Let’s take a look at just a few…
Create a Strategic Cold Emailing Campaign
If cold calling isn’t for you, why not try cold emailing instead? When used alongside or instead of telemarketing, this can help you reach those prospects who simply hate receiving unsolicited calls.
An effective email campaign gives you a direct line of communication to the prospect, just like with cold calling. You can craft and tailor the email to appeal to each recipient, using automation and list segmentation tools to speed things up.
Remember that a good email campaign is backed by a strategy and a clear timeline for following up. Make sure you include a strong call to action, and test out your emails using A/B testing to find the most dynamic and engaging subject lines.
Lastly, make sure your mailing list is accurate and up-to-date. Neglect regular data cleansing, and you could be wasting time emailing people who’ve since left their roles. Or worse, having your emails bounce and your address blacklisted.
Engage with Leads Online
A more organic way to generate leads rather than cold calling is by engaging them on social media. This is an essential part of any integrated marketing strategy.
Find out where your target audience likes to spend its time, and focus on these key platforms. Join conversations and groups, post-discussion-starting content, and respond to queries – all with the aim of building your brand’s online and social presence.
Keep an eye on what people are searching for in relation to your industry or your products, and jump in with helpful content or advice.
The tactics above are geared around reaching out to prospects. But rather than actively selling, how about putting a juicy piece of bait out there and waiting for the leads to come to you? This is where content marketing comes in.
A great place to start is with helpful, informative blogs and other content, all designed to solve your prospect’s problems. This builds your credibility, offers value to the reader and hopefully, triggers a steady stream of inbound leads.
You can also try:
• Referral or word-of-mouth marketing – encouraging your happy customers to tell everyone they know about your brilliant product or service
• Reinvigorating lapsed customers or old contacts
• Making connections in person, by attending industry and networking events.
Need help with lead generation, or simply can’t face cold calling? Get in touch with our telemarketing and B2B lead generation specialists here at IT Focus.
