Recently, we blogged about the right way to approach cold calling when you’re trying to secure a mobile app sales appointment. Today, we want to offer some further tips to help resellers continue developing. Successful cold calling takes a lot of practice and thoughtful preparation. But if you put the right amount of energy into it, your next sale will only ever be a few calls away.

Preparation is key

It all starts with initial research. The more you do, the better off you are. Of course, it isn’t worth it to deeply research each person and company that you call, but it’s essential to have a basic idea of what the company does. Even better, browse the company website for a few minutes, and see if you can spot any business lines or other opportunities that might match up well with apps.

The more you know, the more fluid the conversation will be. It also can impress a prospect if you already have an understanding of what their business does. It shows that your business is detail oriented, and it also helps a bond begin to grow between your companies.

The bottom line is that a couple of minutes of research could have a meaningful impact on your conversion rate. Why spend that time calling and getting rejected when you could do your homework and break through the insta-rejection filter more often?

It’s worth it!

How to grab attention quickly

People are used to filtering out sales calls, so you need to catch your prospect a little off guard, and pique their interest. You can do this with a figure (“Our average customer sees a __% increase in sales after publishing an app” or “Over half of Internet activity is on mobile devices now, and businesses with traditional websites are starting to lose out”) or you can get creative.

Think of what would stop the business owner in their tracks. Maybe a competitor issued an app and has 2,000 local downloads? Maybe you went to their site on your mobile device and you got errors everywhere? You need to give them a reason to keep talking to you, and it can’t be about you.

It needs to be about them.

Focusing on core rewards

Apps and mobile websites can offer a lot of benefits, but it’s often most effective to focus on one or two. During your conversation with the decision-maker, try to learn what problems are occupying his or her mind the most. Then, find the benefits that speak to those needs. Don’t overwhelm the prospect with all the bells and whistles. If they’re worried about increasing sales, focus on how they can boost promotions with push notifications, or offer an online store through their app for direct ordering.

That way, you’re the solution to their biggest problem. And that puts you in a great position to earn a new customer.

Stay committed

“No” is not necessarily a final answer. Sometimes, you can call back an interested person who wasn’t ready to move forward, and things will be different. Don’t harass people. Just mark them for follow up in Bizness CRM (free to use for our resellers). If they say, “No” more than a few times, however, leave it alone.

We’re sure you’re having interesting experiences out there with cold calling – share them in the comment section below!