Every business that has utilized cold calling knows how time-consuming it is. But more than that, what’s really hard about this customer outreach strategy is the number of no’s you’ll receive before finally securing an appointment.
Fortunately, there are alternatives to cold calling that are not as time-consuming yet can attract more prospects. Curious about them? Read further, as we will discuss each one concisely in this article.
If you’re already using cold calling as a sales tactic, here’s a list of the best cold calling opening lines to help you gain more prospects!
Alternatives to Cold Calling
Let’s face it – no one likes receiving calls from strangers. So, instead of getting clients, companies that utilize cold calling often receive a “no” from them.
Not only are the consistent “no’s” demotivating, but they also waste the time cold callers spend researching and drafting a pitch for every call they make.
Here are some of the B2B alternatives to cold calling to make the most of your time:
1. Write a Blog
One of the best ways to reach out to a prospect already interested in your product or service is through blogs. Relevant and informative articles help you build credibility while promoting your offer.
For blogs to be effective, you must know your target audience. You also need to incorporate relevant keywords and SEO. So, when a person looking for the product you offer searches the web, there’s a good chance that your blogs will appear.
2. Ask Customers for Referrals
There is no better way to reach out to sales leads than testimonials from people who have already tried your product.
When someone tells your prospects about their first-hand experience using your product, it gives them the confidence to purchase. Testimonials also build your credibility, thus increasing your prospects’ trust.
To advertise your product through word-of-mouth, reach out to your customers and ask whether they know someone who will benefit from your product like them.
If they say yes, convert those people into warm leads by contacting them and informing them where you got their contact information.
Alternatively, you can entice your existing customers with referral programs. For instance, you can give them a free sample of your product or a free service trial when they successfully refer you to potential customers.
In sales, warm leads are people who have already shown interest in your product. For instance, they may have visited your website or subscribed to your newsletter.
3. Take Advantage of Social Media
Your prospects are undoubtedly on social media. Take advantage of this to build your presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Social media, blogs, newsletters, and free consultations can be used to promote your product or service. It’s a great way to make yourself visible, build your presence, and connect with sales leads.
Once you’re on social media, make sure your posts are engaging to catch your potential customers’ attention. In addition, always engage with comments and leave comments on posts relevant to your offer.
Forbes has an in-depth guide on generating leads through social media.
4. Monitor Your Website Visitors
Your website is one of the most potent lead-generation tools you can use. So, another effective alternative to cold calling is to monitor user behavior on your website.
Once you know how prospects spend time on your website, email them about that behavior. For instance, if someone adds your product to their cart, send them additional content about its benefits and why it’s worth buying.
This sales strategy effectively generates warm leads because it targets prospects who are already considering buying your product.
5. Offer Free Short Consultations
People want to know everything about the product or service they plan to purchase. They will have questions and will look for someone credible to answer them. They will also want to see how your product works. A free consultation can give them exactly what they want.
A 15 to 30-minute free consultation will give you enough time to showcase your product or service’s benefits.
You can also start a conversation with them by asking about their pain points and how your offer can resolve them. Ensure you can answer their questions in detail so they’ll consider purchasing from you.
6. Prioritize Prospect Engagement
Engagement is crucial for a sales process. So, even if a prospect did not purchase from you, you should still engage with them occasionally.
This B2B alternative to cold calling lets you build relationships with people who were once interested in your product or service. And since you already know who you are talking to, you can personalize your pitch better.
Such prospects are more receptive to your offer, so persuading and converting them into customers is more manageable.
And even if they still don’t buy from you, you can understand why they chose your competitor. You can ask them to answer a short survey about why they did not purchase from you so you can get an idea of what approach you need to improve.
7. Utilize LinkedIn
Many business owners are on LinkedIn. So, utilizing this app to generate warm leads is an excellent way of prospecting without cold calling.
To use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool, look for posts related to your industry. Then, share your input by commenting on these posts. You can also create your posts about trending, relevant topics. Use hashtags and keywords to get them into people’s timelines.
In addition, make replying to comments on your posts a habit. You can even add calls to action that lead them to your website or a blog highlighting your product.
What makes LinkedIn an ideal cold-calling alternative is that it’s primarily made for professionals. For this reason, users of this platform are more open to receiving messages from businesses advertising their products or services.
8. Check Forum Conversations
People often go to forums if they have questions about a product. A single post can gather many decision-makers interested in your offer, making it easier to acquire warm leads.
When you check forum conversations, there’s a high chance that you will find inquiries related to your industry. Engage with pre-qualified leads by answering these questions informatively. Then, find a way to introduce your product or service as something from which they can benefit.
Your answer should provide value to the conversation. This way, people will trust that you are an expert in the subject matter they need to know about.
Engaging with forum conversations is also known as forum marketing. Learn more about this lead generation strategy on LinkedIn.
9. Send Out Informative Emails
You should try sending cold emails if you want a less disruptive alternative to cold calling. Cold emails are more scalable than cold calls, as you can send identical messages to many prospects.
You can also include as much information as needed in your email without your prospect cutting your spiel. Your message can consist of the value of your offer and relevant data like testimonials to support your claim.
Above all, cold emails are a good way of prospecting without cold calling because they don’t pressure your leads to decide immediately. Instead, they can take as much time as they need to think about your offer before giving you a response.
LinkedIn has a list of cold email examples that guarantee prospect response.
10. Build Connections
Businesses often hold networking events. Take advantage of these events and ask your sales representatives to attend.
While virtual events can help you build connections, face-to-face ones offer better advantages. As your sales reps mingle with the crowd, they can meet industry leaders and let them know about your products. They can even turn those industry leaders into warm leads and increase your sales potential.
Another benefit of in-person networking events is that you and your sales reps can learn from others. When industry leaders share their experiences selling a product or service, take notes and apply what you learn to your next lead generation strategy.
11. Join Online Groups
Online groups are filled with people whom you can turn into warm leads. Aside from building a social media presence, joining online groups lets you start conversations about your product.
Sharing content related to your industry can make you an expert, letting you gain your target audience’s trust.
As you build your presence and get the community’s trust, you increase your success in generating leads who can eventually become loyal customers.
12. Host Webinars
If you are wondering what sales tactic is better than cold calling, you should try hosting webinars. This allows you to promote your product to people who might be interested in it and discuss its value and features.
Webinars are a great way to engage with prospects. Unlike time-consuming cold calls, you can interact with a large audience group at once. This gives you more time to address the attendees’ pain points and questions while posing your product as a solution.
In addition, webinars are ideal for lead generation because registration forms allow you to obtain the attendees’ contact information. Once the webinar ends, you can send them follow-up emails to convince them to schedule a call with you.
13. Conduct Warm Calls
True enough, warm calling is almost the same as cold calling. However, what sets these two sales tactics apart is that you are a stranger to your prospects when you cold call.
On the other hand, warm calling means calling target audiences who already know who you are. In this sales strategy, your prospects can be people who once emailed you, were referred by someone, or downloaded something from your website.
Since warm call prospects already know who you are, they are more prepared to receive your call.
In addition, the fact that they interacted with you in some way means they’re interested in your product. For this reason, it’s easier to turn them into customers.
Discover more about the differences between warm and cold calling on LinkedIn.
Take a More Effective Approach to Lead Generation
As much as cold calls require effort from the sales representative, not many leads appreciate them. They are disruptive and intrusive, leading decision-makers to say “no” to your offer even if they need it.
For this reason, you should take a different sales approach and use alternatives to cold calling. The abovementioned options are more efficient as you don’t have to contact prospects individually.
Whatever sales approach you use, make sure your offer is valuable so your target audience will be interested.
