Cold calling it isn't exactly in every entrepreneurs top 7 of favorite things to do. Sound familiar? Even so, picking up the phone and making a call is still one of the best ways to find new customers and get more revenue!

Good preparation is the key to success, and can make the difference in securing a meeting with your prospect. The first and most important step for cold calling is to ask yourself the following 7 questions:

1. Why do I want my prospect to do business with me?
2. What is going on in my prospect's industry?
3. Do I have enough background information about my prospect?
4. Where can I get a good list of prospects?
5. Will I be sending a mailing in advance?
6. When will I call my prospect?
7. How many appointments do I want to make, and when do I want to make them?

Now that you've answered the 7 questions for yourself, I'll help you to secure that meeting with your prospect in 7 steps. Step-by-step, I'll explain the conversational structure. I will also show you how I conduct an acquisition phone call for my own business, Driven Sales and Support.

1. Greeting your contact person
The moment your prospect answers the phone, you open with a greeting: "hello Mrs. Smith, my name is Marie-Claire van Poelje, and I'm with Driven Sales and Support. Good afternoon!” Because you said "good afternoon" at the end of your introduction, you're inviting your prospects to start a conversation with you.

2. Checking if your contact person has power of decision
Before calling, you can use social media and the like to find out what your prospect’s responsibilities are. Every now and then, you will find that this information is no longer up-to-date. For that reason, make sure you always check this during the very first phone call, by asking a question like: "Are you the right person to talk to about customer acquisition?"

Because you asked a closed question, your prospect can only answer this question with YES or NO. In short: now you know whether or not to continue the conversation with this person.

3. Explaining why you're calling
This is the moment you tell your prospect why you're calling. For example, name a problem that this specific market or industry is currently facing. "Mrs. Smith, lots of entrepreneurs and salesmen hate cold calling. They experience it as difficult, scary and generally not something they enjoy doing. As a result, they don't do it at all. Is this something you recognize from your own experience, Mrs. Smith?"

By asking if Mrs. Smith recognizes the issue, you're inviting your prospect to explain the difficulties she's facing. This gives you a unique chance to offer your product/service and plan a meeting with your prospect.

4. Elevator pitch and making appointments.
Your prospect recognizes the issue and tells you she does need new customers. This allows you to explain how you can help your prospect. Your first step is to take away your prospect's difficulties. After that, you name your Unique Selling Points, the things that allow you to offer your prospect a solution to their problem. 

“Driven Sales and Support would love to take care of your company's cold calling. We will help you to make appointments with your prospects, keeping your sales pipeline filled, for guaranteed revenue. I'd love to schedule a noncommittal meeting in order to explain how Driven Sales and Support works for you, and to give you a number of ideas to keep your sales pipeline in optimal condition."

As you can see, I've explained the issue, mentioned my USP’s and told the prospect I'd like to schedule a noncommittal conversation including some free advice.

5. Making an appointment
Your prospect wants to meet you in person. Provide a number of options for the date of your meeting. Not only is this better for your diary management, you also provide your prospect with a choice of two dates. Try to set the meeting date for somewhere within the next three weeks.

"Looking at the upcoming month, which would be better for you: next Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon, August 14?"

6. Confirming the appointment
This is the moment you check whether or not you're meeting your prospect at their office. Don't forget to confirm the appointment by email.
"All right, Mrs. Smith. We’ll be meeting at your office.
I'll send you a confirmation by email. Where should I send it to?" Confirm the appointment with your prospect by email that same day.

7. Ending on a positive note
This is what you think your prospects for making appointments, and confirming the meeting again verbally.
"Thank you! Have a wonderful day, and I will see you next Thursday, August 14 at 2 PM!"

Good luck with approaching your prospects. And remember: Cold calling is not about closing a sale, but about making appointments with new customers!

This article first appeared in an e-book of Bytes & Business.

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