Like the latest lead generation process in the sales and marketing sector, cold calling is one of the most important and effective methods. Although, it is an old-school method by the majority of sales companies tend to look for a person who can land successful cold calls. As per a recent study by Rain Group, 69% of customers accept a cold call in the last financial year.
As a sales job seeker, you need to prepare for each kind of task and if anything is not your cup of tea, you should work harder to cope up. This is because the sales job is full of possibilities and new challenges. And the company would appreciate an employee who can manage to take each kind of responsibility.
What sales jobs require Cold Calling skills?
Before you start preparing for this answer, you need to know the possibilities where this skill is required the most. So, check out the following list.
- Business Development Manager
- Account Manager
- Sales Manager
- Resource (Education & Training) Manager
- Business Development Representative / Executive
- Full-time Father / Part-time Twitch Affiliate
- Senior Account Executive
This is the potential list of positions for which cold calling skill is a must. However, for any position related to sales and marketing, you can be asked this interview question. The best strategy would be to develop this as an additional skill. It has two advantages as if you face this question, you have a positive answer and secondly, it would help you to stand out for an extra sales skill.
Also Check – 6 Phase Framework for powerful Cold Call Scripts, that make more prospects respond
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Why is the Interviewer asking “Are you comfortable making cold calls?”
A cold call is not an easy task at all and as the study reflects, 44% of the sales representative quit hearing a no in their first call. It is quite obvious that these rejections are depressive and demotivating.
Interviewers look for employees who are ready to take this challenge to meet higher sales targets. Based on your description of yourself and working experience, this question can be asked at any point in time.
There is a high chance of getting this as a counter-question as you share why you should be hired or talk about your experience.
This is one of the common interview questions asked for sales jobs, to measure your aptitude, positive attitude, and how willing you are to take up the sales job. You can also share if you have any experience in making cold calls before.
Skills required for the cold call:
You need to know the modern approach to apply the cold call method as an effective sales strategy. So, before you prepare for the answer, know the key skills required for this.
1. Quality Research
To land a potential call, you need to have a strong research background. The more you know about your prospect, the better you can prepare for the pitch. For B2C calls the research includes prospects buying habit, their requirement, general budget limit, etc. Then for B2B calls, it includes their requirement, plans and market goals. This information help to make a better pitch on the call.
You also need to know who can be your prospects to whom you can approach, who can be target customers and who would probably respond to the call.
2. Well-phrased pitch
All the difference lies between a well-written pitch with research, room for conversation, and a positive note. The pitch should contain a personalised conversation so it sounds like a problem-solving approach rather than marketing. Instead of pushing someone, you need to let them make decisions in your favour with persistent effort.
3. Calm and Positive Attitude
No matter how rude the prospect sound, it is your job to stay calm and talk in a humble tone. Under huge pressure, your calm can help you find a way. Staying positive for every dial plays an important role to sound enthusiasts and generate interest among the customers. It also helps to increase brand value and maintain healthy customer relationships.
4. Questioning
For better research to an engaging telephonic conversation, questioning is essential. Your questioning ability can bring new prospects, deliver brand value and lead to a successful cold call. You can use open-ended questions and a-typical sales questions as well to understand prospects need and their buying habit. It also helps to make follow-up calls via gatekeeper navigation or direct approach.
5. Flexible Situation handling
Objection handling or sudden unexpected question -you need to prepare and act in live calls. This skill is very important to deal with any kind of new situation to look like a reliable caller. Quick thinking ability would help t give the best response and gradually close a deal.
Also Check : What is the hardest thing in cold calling and how can you quickly overcome it?
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How to answer this question?
There are two options in front of you to answer this question. Either you can answer that you’re comfortable with and then mention your relevant skills and experience (if any). On the other hand, if you’re not comfortable making cold calls, you need to be honest and answer how you’re going to develop this skill.
But, you need to understand it’s important and it would be better if you can develop your skill before attending an interview. Manu organizations still consider cold calling as one of their biggest strategies. So, before applying you need to go through the job description and try to know about the company as well.
Sample Answers:
#1
In my last job, I was working as a sales representative and cold calling was a part of my responsibility. I tried to convince people according to their needs and never forced their decision. Cold calling is challenging but rewarding as well. I use my active communication skill in the cold call process and try to be positive even after multiple rejections.
#2
When I started my career in sales, I was not at all confident about cold calls. Every rejection or rude behaviour disturbed me a lot. Gradually, I learnt to deal with this and now the cold call is just like other sales responsibilities to me. I consider failures as room for improvement and I overcame the fear to communicate with an unknown person over call. I developed a positive attitude over difficult situations that helped and when I finally get a positive response, I get motivated.
Summary
You need to prepare well for any kind of unexpected questions like this where you have to showcase your potential skill and stand out among multiple candidates. It is always better to prepare relevant skills apart from the core ones and recruitment are based on versatile expertise now.