What Is B2B Cold Calling?

Are you struggling to find qualified leads for your business? If so, consider implementing a cold calling strategy as a part of your company’s overall marketing strategy.

For businesses, business-to-business or B2B cold calling is the process of contacting potential businesses you’ve never spoken with before over the phone in hopes of attracting interest in your business and eventually attaining a sale from them. An effective cold calling strategy can significantly increase sales and set your business up for future success.

However, cold calling can be difficult, and many small to medium-sized businesses do not have the proper training, staffing, or equipment for effectively launching a cold calling strategy, which can cause them to target the wrong businesses.

One of the best solutions is to outsource cold calling services to a third-party company such as Valve+Meter Performance Marketing. Our lead generation specialists are experts at implementing the most successful cold call strategies to prospect and qualify quality leads for your company. Essentially, our team of professional cold callers advocate as sales development representatives for your business. You can consider us an extension of your sales teams.

To learn more about our cold calling services or to schedule an appointment with our team, contact Valve+Meter today.

Let’s delve a little deeper into what B2B cold calls are and how effective strategy is structured. B2B cold calling is a sales technique where the sales rep makes unsolicited phone calls to potential clients to generate leads, create interest in your company’s services and products, and ultimately close deals. It’s a popular outreach method among sales organizations, and one that your company should be performing.

The goal of B2B cold calling is to build relationships with businesses and introduce key decision-makers within their company to your brand’s line of products and services. B2B cold calling is a great tool to reach large numbers of businesses and, hopefully, begin to develop personal relationships, which plays a crucial role in eventually converting leads into sales.

B2B cold calls are performed by trained sales professionals who are well prepared in advance of the calls and adhere to a script to engage with customers. They have a list of questions to ask and also a list of responses ready so they can effectively answer any questions a potential customer may have.

B2B cold calling can either be performed in-house or by outsourcing the duties to a third-party company such as Valve+Meter. Although it should be noted that the skills of a cold callers is unique compared to traditional sales representatives.

B2B cold calling and B2C (business-to-consumer) cold calling are radically different. Professional development is vastly different as well.

Customer Type

As we mentioned, B2B cold calling is directed toward businesses, while B2C cold calling targets individual consumers. Think of it this way: on a large scale, popular B2C clients are the Amazons and Walmarts of the world. These companies operate on the internet and sell products to customers online. B2C companies also include local coffee shops, clothing stores, and restaurants that sell their products to consumers. B2B companies, meanwhile, engage with other businesses to sell products and services. This might include heavy-equipment manufacturers or technology companies that are targeting their goods and services to other companies.

Purchasing Decision

B2B purchasing decisions are often made by a team of individuals while B2C purchases are typically made by individuals. An effective B2B cold calling strategy includes targeting the key decision-makers within the company who often have the final say on the products and services they purchase.

Sales Pitch

The sales pitch used in B2B cold calling is typically more complex and focused on the specific needs and requirements of the business. With B2B cold calling, you’re trying to convince an entire company why it needs to buy your products and services. You have to differentiate your business from the competition and prove why your products and services are a better fit and make your business operate more efficiently.

Deal Size

B2B deals are often larger and more complex and may take longer to close, while B2C deals are typically smaller and closed more quickly. Within B2B cold calling, strategy is far more complex. Cold calling uses multiple platforms including phone, email, social media, networking and other strategies to generate leads.

Decision-Making Process

B2B decision-making is typically a longer process that involves multiple individuals and departments, while B2C decision-making is often made by individuals on the spot. Because several people may have to agree on whether to buy your products or services, converting B2B leads can be a timely process. As well as strategy, B2B cold callers use patience and lead nurturing to guide prospects form the top of the bottom of the funnel.

Follow-up

B2B cold calling often requires multiple follow-up calls and touchpoints, while a B2C follow-up may only require a single sales call or email. B2B follow-up should be far more customized to the specific prospect and is part of a long-term strategy designed by a team of business development professionals.

Overall, B2B and B2C cold calling requires different approaches and strategies, and success in each type of cold calling requires a deep understanding of the target audience and their needs so cold calling professionals can put their skills to good use.

When you think of an effective cold calling strategy, it’s far from the vision of a call center filled with professionals making hundreds of phone calls a day. While this tactic can lead to a high call volume, it typically produces low conversion rates. These cold calling agents usually have very little knowledge in regards to your business’ goals, and, instead, are just working off a general cold calling script.

When you outsource your cold calling to Valve+Meter, we have a team of highly capable professionals who will learn the ins and outs of your company, including its goals, brand, products and services, competitors, and existing clients. All of this information will go into our strategy of finding the most probable prospects. Some of the benefits of outsourcing cold calling responsibilities to a third party such as Valve+Meter include:

Valve+Meter uses research and data to build an effective cold calling strategy for companies. We’re not robotic cold callers working in some distant warehouse; Valve+Meter is an extension of your sales team and passionate about your company’s success.

Valve+Meter will develop an effective cold calling strategy that includes the following steps:

• Target audience: We define the target audience and learn about their pain points.
• Preparation: We prepare a sales pitch highlighting your company’s services and products and how they address the target audience’s specific needs.
• Research: We thoroughly research the company and its decision-makers so we can personalize the sales pitch and address their pain points.
• Qualifying leads: Quickly qualify leads to determine if they genuinely need your company’s products or services.
• Building rapport: Establish a personal connection with the decision-maker to establish trust and credibility.
• Offer value: Position the product or service as a solution to their specific needs.
• Closing the deal: Close the deal by setting up a follow-up meeting or call to further discuss the product or service.
• Follow-up: Consistently follow up with leads to keep them engaged and move them toward a final decision.

It’s important to continuously evaluate and refine the B2B cold calling strategy to ensure its effectiveness and improve the chances of success.

Almost any company can benefit from outsourcing its cold calling services to a third-party company such as Valve+Meter. But it can be especially beneficial for small to medium-sized companies that don’t have the time, tools, or resources to make the calls themselves. If you’re considering outsourcing cold calling services, keep these questions in mind.

Companies can save significant money by outsourcing B2B cold calling to a company such as Valve+Meter. Outsourcing eliminates the need for in-house recruitment, training, and management of a sales team, reducing overall costs and increasing efficiency.

Outsourcing sales calls also eliminates the need for companies to invest in technology, software, and tools for cold outreach, as outsourcing companies often already have these resources in place. Companies also save money on salaries, benefits, and overhead costs associated with having an in-house sales team.