Transform Your Sales Calls: 10 Actionable Tips for Success

Sales calls are a crucial part of any business strategy, so it makes sense that you’ll want to perfect them.

And where better to look than this article on sales call tips?

Read on for expert tips for the most successful sales calls with the added help of modern tech.

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10 best sales call tips for closing more deals

1. Prepare thoroughly before the call

82% of salespeople say they’re unprepared for cold calls, leading to missed opportunities.

Prep is one of the most important parts of a cold calling strategy. It involves researching the prospect and gathering insights that will help you tailor your pitch.

Using a sales program can help you prepare before calling your prospects.

Data, especially, can improve your calls. It gives you a complete picture of your potential client and their business challenges, goals, and desires.

With this information, you can create a highly personalised pitch that will make a big impact.

Here’s a pre-call research checklist to help you get started:

Research the prospect’s company

Use tools to gather firmographics (company size, revenue, etc.), technographics (software in use), and the prospect’s role.

This helps you focus on the person’s pain points and goals.

Utilise social media

Platforms like LinkedIn offer a window into the prospect’s current professional focus, achievements, or pain points, allowing you to personalise your conversation.

Leverage CRM data

Sales programs and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems give you access to many valuable insights about your prospects. Such as:

• Firmographics: Crafting your pitch requires data on the company’s size, industry, location, and revenue. This intel will help you create a compelling proposal.
• Key decision-makers: Identifying who you need to speak with and their organisational role ensures you connect with the right person.
• Recent company news: Being aware of recent company milestones, such as new product launches, mergers, or expansions, allows you to reach out at the best time. Cognism provides sales triggers in its platform.
• Intent data: This data can help you identify the right timing for your proposal. It reveals when a prospect may be actively searching for solutions like yours.
• Technographics: Understanding the tools and technologies a prospect already uses enables you to position your offering to complement their current tech stack.

These insights help you go beyond a generic sales pitch and deliver a message that speaks directly to the prospect’s current situation.

For example:

If a company has recently expanded, you can highlight how your solution will support its ongoing transition.

Personalisation based on research

Sales reps often forget this tip:

Sales software insights can help you craft more personalised calls.

Tailoring your conversation to fit the prospect’s specific business needs isn’t just a trend in B2B sales but also helps build relationships.

Some strategies include:

• Address their pain points: If your research reveals common challenges in their industry, you can start the conversation by discussing how your solution directly addresses those issues.
• Highlight relevant success stories: Use case studies or examples from companies in similar industries or of similar size to create credibility and make your pitch more relatable.
• Relate to their technology ecosystem: If your software integrates with a tool they already use, highlight this! Position your product as a seamless addition.

Building credibility and trust

Your prospects will more likely accommodate your pitch once they see that you’ve studied their business and industry.

Leveraging sales data for pre-call research ensures you enter each conversation well-prepared, relevant, and informed.

This approach lays the foundation for a successful sales call that resonates with the prospect and moves them closer to a conversion.

2. Start with a strong opener

The first few moments of your call are critical. Prospects form opinions quickly, and how you open the conversation sets the tone for everything that follows.

Here are some tips for starting a sales call:

Personalised greeting

Acknowledge the prospect by name and introduce yourself and your company. Avoid generic sales scripts; instead, craft an opening that references the prospect’s business needs or recent developments.

State the purpose

Within the first 30 seconds, be clear about why you are calling. Mentioning specific pain points or challenges the prospect might face can grab their attention.

Focus on value

Instead of launching straight into a product pitch, frame the conversation around the value you can offer.

For example:

“I’ve noticed your company has been expanding rapidly. I’d love to discuss how we can help support your growth.”

One of the best ways to start a cold call is by offering to solve a problem. When you show you’re focused on helping a prospect, not just closing a sale, you build trust.

3. Ask the right questions

A successful sales call isn’t just about making a pitch; it’s about understanding your prospect’s needs. By asking open-ended questions, you can uncover their challenges and position your product as the solution.

These are some examples of effective sales questions:

• “What are the biggest challenges you currently face in your business?”
• “How have you been handling [specific issue] so far?”
• “What criteria are you using to evaluate potential solutions?”

They invite the prospect to open up and share more about their current situation.

Once you understand their needs, you can tailor your solution accordingly.

4. Listen more, talk less

One of the most common mistakes in sales is talking too much. Sales professionals often feel the need to dominate the conversation to make their point.

However, the best sales calls are those where the prospect does most of the talking.

Why does listening matter?

• Builds trust: Active listening shows you’re genuinely interested in solving the prospect’s problems.
• Uncovers key insights: By allowing the prospect to talk, you can pick up on subtle cues that reveal their concerns or needs.
• Improves personalisation: The more you listen, the more personalised your solution will be.

Gong suggests that top-performing salespeople talk only 43% of the time during calls, leaving the other 57% for listening; they call this the golden talk-to-listen ratio. 

5. Handle objections confidently

Handling objections is a natural part of any cold call. When a prospect raises concerns, it’s an opportunity to provide more information and demonstrate your product’s value.

Here are some common sales objections:

• Price: “Your product is too expensive.” Address this by focusing on the value and return on investment (ROI) your product delivers.
• Timing: “We’re not ready to make a decision yet.” Offer a flexible timeline or share why now is an optimal time to act.
• Competitors: “We’re considering a competitor.” Highlight your unique selling points and how your product can better meet their needs.

You can use sales intelligence tools to handle these objections effectively:

• Competitor comparisons: If a prospect mentions a competitor, you can immediately access relevant data about both products and highlight your solution’s advantages, whether pricing, features, or customer support.
• Industry trends: Real-time insights into market conditions and industry trends can help you frame your offering in the context of the prospect’s business environment. For instance, if their industry faces regulatory changes, you can position your product as a solution to ensure compliance.
• Previous interactions: By instantly accessing data from earlier communications, you can highlight key pain points they mentioned, reinforcing your solution’s value.

The key to handling objections is preparation. When you anticipate objections, you can have answers ready and steer the conversation back on track.

6. Use real-time insights

Today’s sales calls benefit enormously from technology, especially sales intelligence platforms that provide real-time data. 

Whether you’re responding to a question or handling an objection, these tools can offer insights that help keep the conversation flowing smoothly.

What are the benefits of real-time data for outbound sales calls?

• Immediate responses: When a prospect asks a tough question, real-time data can provide instant information, keeping you from stalling the conversation.
• Contextual clues: Sales software can alert you to the prospect’s engagement with your website or content, giving you clues about their interests.
• Buying signals: By tracking a prospect’s actions, such as downloading resources or visiting your pricing page, you can assess where they are in the customer journey.

Conversational intelligence

AI-powered sales tools record and analyse calls in real-time, offering prompts based on the conversation.

For example:

If a prospect brings up a competitor, these tools can instantly suggest talking points that differentiate your product or service. They also track how much time you spend talking versus listening, ensuring you maintain the right balance during the call.

Predictive analytics

Predictive analytics can identify potential objections or concerns a prospect might raise during the conversation based on previous interactions and customer data.

The sales software can help you give the best responses or offers to keep the prospect engaged. Predictive models can suggest which products or services to upsell based on the prospect’s industry or buying signals.

By incorporating these real-time insights into your calls, you can adapt your messaging as the conversation unfolds, making the prospect feel more understood and valued.

Buying signals and intent data

Sales programs provide real-time access to buying signals and intent data.

They let you time your pitch perfectly and respond to the prospect’s immediate needs. By tracking the prospect’s online behaviour, such as engagement with competitor content, recent product searches, or other digital activities, you can identify precisely what the prospect is looking for.

For example:

If your sales intelligence tool indicates that a prospect has been researching similar products, you can focus your cold calling script on how your offering meets their needs.

This proactive approach positions you as an expert who can help solve their problem when they need it most.

Guiding the conversation toward the desired outcome

With real-time insights, you can steer the conversation toward a specific goal, such as booking a demo, securing a follow-up meeting, or closing the sale.

For example:

Suppose the intent data shows that the prospect is nearing the end of their customer journey. In that case, you can offer them limited-time pricing or exclusive features, moving the conversation toward closing the deal.

If the prospect seems hesitant, focus on providing more value through additional resources and building trust. The ability to adapt in real-time during a call ensures that you can pivot and adjust your strategy based on the prospect’s responses.

Incorporating real-time insights during your calls allows you to stay ahead of the conversation, deliver more relevant information, and address the prospect’s concerns as they arise.

7. Wrap up the call with a clear next step

The end of a sales call is as important as the beginning. Leaving the prospect with a vague sense of what happens next can cause delays in the sales process.

Here are some sales techniques for closing a call:

• Summarise key points: Recap the main takeaways from your conversation, reaffirming the prospect’s needs and how your solution fits.
• Propose a next step: Whether it’s scheduling a demo, sending over more information, or setting a follow-up call, make sure there’s a clear action item.
• Thank the prospect: Always end with a courteous thank you, expressing your appreciation for their time.

8. Automate post-call follow-ups and workflows

A well-timed and thoughtful follow-up is critical to maintaining the relationship and keeping your solution top of mind.

Use project management software to streamline the process and ensure you reach out at the right time.

B2B sales intelligence software can streamline this process by automating post-call activities. Setting up automated workflows ensures your follow-ups happen at the optimal times.

Best practices for follow-ups

• Personalised follow-ups: Reference the specific issues or solutions discussed in the call. If the prospect isn’t ready to decide, use automated email sequences to nurture the relationship.
• Timely reminders: Schedule your follow-up conversations quickly so the prospect remains engaged.
• Provide additional value: Share relevant case studies, blog posts, or white papers that can reinforce the value of your solution.

Streamlining follow-ups with tech

Automation tools can automatically trigger personalised follow-up emails or messages.

For example:

• Email sequences: If the prospect expresses interest but isn’t ready to decide, the sales software can queue up a series of nurturing emails that provide additional information, case studies, or product demos. You can tailor them based on the specific insights gathered during the call.
• Meeting reminders: If you’ve scheduled a follow-up meeting, automated reminders can be sent to the prospect and the sales rep, ensuring they don’t miss the meeting and both parties are prepared.
• Content delivery: If the prospect requests additional resources, such as a product brochure or a whitepaper, the sales software can automatically deliver these materials via email, ensuring a seamless post-call customer experience.

By automating these tasks, your sales team can manage multiple leads without manually tracking each one, boosting efficiency and reducing the chance of human error.

Automating sales workflows

In addition to follow-ups, you can automate broader workflows to improve team coordination.

For example:

• Lead scoring: Automatically score and prioritise leads based on their behaviour and engagement level, as well as their fit with your ideal customer profile. This allows your sales team to focus on the most promising opportunities.
• Task assignment: Automatically assign tasks to team members based on call outcomes, ensuring that the right people follow up at the right time.
• CRM updates: Automate CRM updates to keep all relevant information about the prospect (such as call notes, email engagement, and buying signals) organised and accessible to the entire team. Automating this workflow creates a more efficient and responsive sales call process, allowing your team to focus on building relationships and closing deals.

9. Track and analyse call outcomes

B2B sales programs provide robust analytics for evaluating a sales call’s effectiveness.

After each call, the software can automatically log call outcomes, notes, and next steps in your CRM, giving you a clear picture of where each prospect stands in the sales funnel.

You can track metrics such as:

• Follow-up response rates: How many prospects engage with follow-up emails or take the desired action (e.g., booking a demo or signing a contract).
• Conversion rates: The percentage of follow-ups that lead to closed deals, helping you refine your approach over time.
• Pipeline velocity: How quickly prospects move through the sales funnel after initial contact, allowing you to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in your process.

With these insights, you can continuously improve your post-call strategies and make data-driven decisions to optimise future sales.

10. Invest in the best software

Choosing the right B2B sales intelligence platform for your team can greatly improve your call success, which is why it’s the most important sales call tip.

Look for a solution that offers tools for strategic prospecting. The platform should be able to capture real-time data insights. In addition to the essential features, review its scalability and integration capabilities.

Customising your outreach is crucial, so you must evaluate how the software can access firmographic data and identify key decision-makers. The best sales intelligence platforms provide detailed company profiles, intent data, and specific professional networks.

Ensuring the overall efficiency of your sales process is crucial. Check if the platform seamlessly integrates with your CRM. Your sales tool must be linked directly to your CRM to maintain high-quality prospect interactions.

Cognism is a sales intelligence tool that meets all of these requirements - take an interactive demo to see how the platform works 👇

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