Warm Calling

What does warm calling mean?

Warm calling is the solicitation of a potential customer with whom a sales rep or the company has had prior contact. Unlike cold calling which entails reaching out to brand new prospects without any prior contact, warm calling involves emails, calls or sales visits that follow a prior contact. The prior contact could be via a meeting at an event, a direct email campaign or through a referrer. Warm calling scores over cold calling in many ways, since it is: 

• Personalized which helps break the ice between the prospect and the rep 
• Effective and efficient since known contacts are warmer to sales outreach than unknown ones 
• Targeted since the prospect matches the audience profile of your ideal customer 

Now that you understand the broad meaning of warm calling, let’s move into its best practices.   

How to do warm calling effectively 

To make the most of your warm calls, ensure that you: 

Research and prepare well: Learn about your prospect’s pain points and needs beforehand so you can offer them tailored solutions and close the deal quickly. 

Make it brief: After a quick introduction, move to the agenda of the call. Respect your prospect’s time and lead your pitch with benefits and outcomes. 

Use open-ended questions: To learn more about your prospect, sprinkle the conversation with open-ended questions. Do not lead them or manipulate their answers if you want authentic insights. 

Handle objections masterfully: Objections are common during warm calls. Avoid taking them personally and overcome them with compelling testimonials and success stories. 

Follow up rigorously: The game of sales hinges on follow-ups. Be persistent with your follow-ups and provide real-time updates if any.