3 Keys to Cold Calling in the Creative Industry

In any agency it is important to reach out to new prospects and ensure you are bringing in new business. One method to use is cold calling and offering your services to clients. There are many steps you

can use to ensure that you are capitalizing on all your opportunities. The last thing anyone wants to do is burn through a list of possible leads and not see any return from the time used to reach out to these prospects. In this blog, I will discuss a few steps a creative agency can use to ensure they do not burn through their list of leads.

As well all know, when we are cold calling, we are known as solicitors and most of the time clients do not have the time to talk to us. So we have about 10-15 seconds to get their attention and close a possible prospect. There are things you can say and ways to say them to grasp the prospect’s attention.

Step #1 – Short and straight to the point with your introduction.

When you start cold calling, it is important to ensure that you have a solid introduction. Calling a prospect out of the blue, you must introduce who you are, what company you are calling from and why you are calling right away. I always believe that short and precise is the key. Just think about it when you get a telemarketer calling you, how long do you listen before you just hang up or say not interested? That said, you have to be quick and concise. Starting off with a quick introduction – “This is ____, I am calling from _____, The reason for my call is because….” – Using an introduction that is short and precise lets your prospect know who is calling and why you are calling almost right away. Most people appreciate this as everyone is super busy throughout their day and do not have time to chitchat.

Step #2 – Tell them what need your agency fulfills and why your solution is better, while keeping it short.

Most people will not buy anything over the phone, or listen to you, unless you can quickly express a pain point and how your company can offer a solution to that problem. In the creative industry, offering prospects a solution to their needs via a better price, faster service, or just a robust and streamlined process are a few things you can use to show how your agency can offer a better solution than any other. My favorite way to express this is using the analogy “paint a picture” – doing this can create a mental image in the prospects minds as to how much easier their life could be using your service rather another. If you can “paint a picture” and have that prospect visualize what you can do for them, then they are more likely to check out your service or even book a meeting to pursue a possible business connection.

Step #3 – ABC’s Of Sales – Always Be Closing.

Always Be Closing is probably the most important step when it comes to cold calling. You will never get a sale, or book a meeting if you do not ask for it. So something that has been literally beat into my head over the years is the ABC’s of sales – Always Be Closing. This means that after you introduce the company you are calling from and why you are calling and what you can do for them, go for the close. Ask them if they want to set up a meeting that gives them a chance to pursue this opportunity in greater detail. If you do not ask you will not close any new business.

Bonus – The best phrase to use when you cold call a prospect but are unable to reach the person you are looking for is to say “ It’s just a courtesy call” – using this phrase will ensure that no more questions are asked of you and you are able to move onto the next call quickly. We all know and hate it when you are asked “who is this…oh, we are not interested” – using the courtesy call, they will not ask any more questions and just say ok thanks. Giving you an opportunity to call again at a later time without it looking like the same person is constantly calling.

Hope these steps and tricks will bring your agency the opportunity to reach out to new prospects. I would love to hear what works for your agency and what works for you. So please leave a comment for me, as we can always learn more when it comes to cold calls.