More people are answering their phones while at home. Be sure you are prepared to speak with them instead of leaving a voicemail.

While cold calling may not be your favorite activity, it is absolutely necessary in your sales efforts. You never know if your cold call can lead to a large contract or multiple referrals. It’s important that you learn how to effectively cold call prospects. Otherwise, you may not see any ROI on the time you invest in calling your list of prospects. By following these tips, you can help yourself sell more during the COVID-19 era.

Start With A Strong Opening

With less than 10 seconds to make an impression on your prospect, you need to have a strong opening statement. If you do not establish how you are worth your prospect’s time, they will not want to continue the conversation. Introduce yourself and begin with an anecdote that is relatively.

Listen More Than You Speak

Research has proven individuals only retain a small part of the conversation. In fact, your prospects may only retain up to 30 seconds of your 15 minute phone call. Try to speak in one one or two sentences at a time. This forces you to choose strong, actionable sentences and also allows you to listen to what your prospect has to say.

Ask Open Ended Questions

The quickest way to lose your prospects interest is to ask yes or no questions. Rather than being able to voice how they feel or provide relevant information, you limit them to responding with just one word. Ask “who”, “what”, “what”, “where”, “when”, “why”, and “how” questions to keep the conversation going and build a connection with your prospect.

Utilize Social Proof

The more relatable you appear, the more your prospects want to speak to you. They don’t want to just be sold on insurance. They want to connect with you. Utilize any social proof you have about your own experiences, close friends, or acquaintances you share in common with your prospect.

Capitalize On Trigger Events

When you allow prospects to lead the call, you may find out about news in their life that is considered a trigger event. Trigger events are those that nudge a prospect into taking actionable steps toward buying insurance. Whether they have a new child, buy a home, or simply wish to prepare for the future, it’s important to capitalize on these events while on the call.

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Your cold calling efforts can go a long way if you invest the time in developing a script and honing your phone conversation skills. If you allow your prospects to speak more than you and find out which of their needs your insurance can solve, you can begin to close more deals even during these trying times. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need assistance increasing the number of prospects and leads on your lists.