Cold calling vs warm calling

Cold calling vs warm calling – what’s the difference and which one’s better? As with all sales techniques, both of these have their advantages and disadvantages. The key is knowing when and how to use each of them and how to do it well. You know that lead engagement software can help you boost your online sales and improve user experience. So, it’s always a good idea to implement it in your business. But how do you make a choice between cold calling and warm calling? Some agents will swear on the benefits of one while others will strongly advocate the other. In this article, we aim to give you a clear picture of both and help you make the best choice on your own.

What is cold calling?

Now, when boosting website sales is your goal, you’ll engage your audience using many resources. Marketing, UX software, blog posts, tutorials, polls, and surveys – all of these help you build a relationship and create a community. However, with cold calls, you don’t have this advantage.

On the contrary, cold calling is when a sales rep calls a prospect without having any interaction before. In fact, the prospect hasn’t expressed any interest and may not even be familiar with your brand. Therefore, they’re not likely to expect your call and you’ll probably have to rely on a predetermined script. Seems like a bad start, doesn’t it? Not necessarily, but more on that later.

What is warm calling?

On the other hand, we have warm calls. Warm calling refers to a situation when a sales rep has had some communication with the prospect before the call. It doesn’t have to be a meaningful conversation or something significant. For example, they might have attended one of your promotions and left their contact information. Or, you’ve called before and they asked you to call them at another time and date.

Either way, there was some initial contact and the prospect expressed some interest in what you have to offer. They’re familiar with your brand and more likely to react positively to your call. In other words, they’re already moving through your sales funnel.

What are the main differences when it comes to cold calling vs warm calling?

The key difference between cold and warm calling is the prior engagement with the prospect. When it comes to cold calls, there’s no previous connection, and attracting your prospect’s attention from the get-go may seem daunting. It’s certainly challenging and can be discouraging depending on the prospects’ responses. On the other hand, warm calls mean that you know there’s a ‘spark’ and greater potential for closing the deal eventually. That will boost your confidence and also provide you with good opening lines.

When do cold calls work?

However, do not dismiss cold calling too soon. While it does have a lower success rate, it can still be effective, especially at a large scale. For it to work and bring results, it’s not enough to call ten numbers at random and call it a day. On the contrary, there is much you can do to increase your chances of getting through. A well-structured cold call is an age-old tactic for a reason. Here’s how you can make your cold calls effective:

Discover your ideal customer

Even if the prospect didn’t show interest previously, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t if they knew about you. But you need to target the right audience for your product. So, consider what kind of customer would benefit from what your company offers. Take into account their age, gender, profession, location, values, and all other relevant data.

Do your research

Once you know what type of prospect you need, go and find them. You can use the Internet or any other resources; before you make a call, find out more about your specific prospect. For example, if it’s another company, learn more about what they struggle with, their new successes, projects in progress, etc. You can use all of this to start the call.

Make a lot of calls

Lack of prior connection will lower your chances, but you can cast your net wide and be persistent. This is a common strategy for small or new businesses because they don’t have a lot of connections and are fairly unknown in the field. Cold calls are a good starting point that allows you to build your network and develop relationships over time.

Grow thick skin

You’ll still get a lot of rejections, so you need to be mentally and emotionally prepared. It can get discouraging at times, but keep in mind that it’s not personal. Analyze your sales intro and work on improving it.

ConvertMore offers a list of cold calling improvement tips that you can test out and let us know how they worked for you.

What are the benefits of warm calls?

The main benefit of warm calling is that it has a higher success rate. Of course, not all warm calls are created equal. One thing they have in common is that the prospect has shown some interest. But, did they only click on the ad or read a blog post? Maybe, they signed up for your newsletter? Or, did they express direct interest by signing up for a demo? Obviously, some of these calls will be ‘hotter’ than others. However, you have your starting point to lead you further into the conversation and down the sales funnel.

How to best engage with leads before warm calling?

Now, if you can turn your cold call into the warm one, don’t miss the opportunity. If someone visits your website but wants to leave soon, you can use the ConvertMore callback widget to lure them back. However, to have that opportunity, you need to provide a chance for potential prospects to find you first and then make a connection. In this case, it’s having a high-quality website with interesting content and ideally high Google ranking. Here’s how you can achieve that with cold calls:

• use ABM (account-based marketing) campaigns to engage decision-makers across multiple platforms
• utilize the power of social media – engage potential prospects on Twitter or LinkedIn before you make the call
• provide high-value content – promote your content through blog posts, webinars, etc. to reach the right audience
• introduce your company and offer something of value via cold emails first; if the prospect engages in a positive way, you have a basis for a warm call
• mention your mutual contacts or big companies you’ve worked with before – yes, it’s still a cold call, but it’s more likely to be received warmly

Cold calling vs warm calling: which one should you choose?

So, the cold calling vs warm calling debate is still on. However, a wise and resourceful rep can still use both. The key is to know the differences and pros and cons of both approaches. That way you can choose which one is better in different situations and utilize both cold and warm calls effectively.