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What is call / What is calling? How to schedule a call?

Do you know what a call is or, as some prefer, what is calling?

With the advancement of technology, however, “making a call” has practically become synonymous with making a video call, a virtual meeting.

The pandemic has turned broadcasts into something common and, in the business world, practically an obligation.

First of all, let’s just make a parenthesis: in this article, do not confuse “what is calling” in the sense of video or telephone call, with “what is call” in the sense that it is used in transactions on the Stock Exchange Values. These are the same terms, but with very different meanings.

Our purpose here is very practical. Let’s present this sales method, which can be used with good return for transactions between companies (B2B). For this, we will show what a call is, some of its techniques and ways to make a calling to close deals.

If you need help structuring a good call in your company, count on the help of Protagnst’s sales consultancy.

Cold Call

If you work in marketing or sales, you’ve certainly heard of cold calling or cold calling. Incidentally, it is likely that you have already made use of this strategy or have already been approached by someone who used it.

Cold calling is an old sales technique. It is when the person in charge of this task comes into contact with a consumer or person responsible for the purchasing area of a company to present its product or service.

The issue here is that the person receiving the call often does not even know about the existence of such a product or company – or even that he was a potential customer for it. And that’s precisely where the name of the strategy comes from: it’s a cold call, in which the potential customer is approached without him having expressed interest. It’s an active prospecting for you to find your ideal customer profile.

Like all sales strategies, cold calling has strengths and weaknesses. Among the disadvantages, one of the main ones is the possibility that the person receiving the call will consider the approach inconvenient – and this has a strong potential to make the company offering the business opportunity equally inconvenient.

On the other hand, if done with expertise by the seller or the sales consultant, cold calling has some benefits.

One of them is the possibility of having immediate feedback from potential customers. The conversation between the two parties makes it possible to get to know the needs and solutions, clarify doubts and, fundamentally, establish a relationship of trust.

Also, with a good dose of persuasion, it is possible to close a deal right then and there. If you want to understand about persuasion and mental triggers for sales, access this article.

Another advantage is that a cold call allows you to collect information from what you consider to be a potential customer, which will facilitate future negotiations. After all, knowing him makes it easier to establish strategies and offer a product or service in a more personalized way.

Cold call 2.0

Cold calling 2.0 is an evolution of cold calling, but it should be noted right away that it has many differences. And all this by sticking to more advanced methods and strategies.

In a traditional cold calling, the salesperson contacts a list of people and initiates a negotiation with the main purpose of scheduling a meeting to present the product or service that the company offers.

As we said, one of the disadvantages is that whoever receives the call may find it inconvenient. Another is that the seller can spend hours connecting with people who have no interest, which is a waste of time and money.

A cold call 2.0, on the other hand, is more strategic. A specialized sales team first establishes the ideal group to take calls from. Also called ICP (Ideal Customer Profile). Thus, the chance of closing a deal is greater, since you have defined which public is most adherent to your sales solution.

In addition, because they are made by a specialized team, the approach is more personalized and the focus is first on developing a relationship of trust. She will be the one to initiate the process that will result in the closing of the deal.

In terms of sales strategy, cold calling 2.0 measures results differently. It considers converting leads, not immediate sales. After all, the idea is to create a good relationship and have a permanent customer.

Perhaps it is the most used customer prospecting strategy these days and therefore should not be trivialized. It must be built with focus and purpose.

Another point to consider is that, by not necessarily seeking an immediate sale, cold calls 2.0 allow for less invasive approaches. Phone calls, emails or WhatsApp messages are shorter and more friendly and encourage interaction.

Another big difference is that in traditional cold calling, contact is made to the company’s main number, without having much information about the decision maker. In Cold Call 2.0, the process is initiated mainly through corporate e-mail, which makes the approach much less invasive.

Sending an email to a person who holds the ideal position within the company of the size and segment we want to reach is much more assertive than making a call to speak with the secretary and then trying to pass it on to the decision maker.

In practical terms, cold calling 2.0 is usually more effective in Business to Business (B2B) business environments, while the use of “traditional” cold calling is more frequent in Business to Consumer (B2C) relationships.

Video Conferencing or Video Calling

Futuristic and sci-fi movies from the 1980s and 1990s often featured scenes in which characters communicated through video conversations. For the popularization of webcams in the first decade of this millennium turned what filmmakers saw as something otherworldly into something commonplace.

From there, technology advanced even faster and video calling became commonplace. And, with the pandemic and the need for social distancing, they have become a simple everyday action.

Currently, videoconferencing is already considered traditional and essential for business.

They have many advantages, the most attractive of which is the possibility of talking to a large number of people, wherever they are, and at an extremely low cost. And all this in a matter of minutes.

Before, business meetings demanded a large and comfortable physical space. They had to be scheduled well in advance to allow everyone involved to attend. If any of them were from another city or state – something very common in sales – there was still a need for transportation, accommodation and food.

All this, as you can see, represented considerable expense. And often without delivering the expected results.

A videoconference only requires a computer with an attached camera and internet access. By the way, even a smartphone is capable of holding a group video call.

There is yet another effect: it enables the integration of an even greater number of employees in a company. If before travel expenses limited the involvement of some professionals in decision-making, today videoconferencing put an end to that.

Inside Sales Meeting

One of the great benefits that the popularization of videoconferencing has brought to the sales area is the expansion of inside sales. Protagnst is an inside sales consultancy that can help you structure your commercial process.

Inside sales have become even more efficient with video calls. This is because, as we said earlier, they allow the immediate participation of a greater number of people who are dedicated to this – including those who work with external sales, which can be a differential when closing a negotiation.

Due to the nature of the work, inside sales professionals tend to be more specialized. Add to this the possibility of having several sales meetings in the same day through videoconferences and the financial result has everything to improve.

For this, however, it is necessary to have good preparation and structure. Having a well-trained sales team or having the help of specialists in the field, such as Protagnst consultants, can be the turning point from a successful negotiation to a frustrated one.

Video conferences for inside sales meetings also require adequate technical structure. It is necessary to make sure that the internet is of good quality, as well as the computers and other equipment that will be used to make presentations.

How about starting your B2B prospecting? We help you hire and structure teams of Sales Development Representatives and BDRs (Business Development Representatives). Find out how we can help you.

Imagine, for example, you only have 30 minutes to make a video call sales presentation with the financial manager of a large company. It is a real possibility of a good sale coming true.

But, if a good part of this time is lost due to a bad connection or failures in the presentation of graphs and reports, the business may not be successful.

Therefore, making sure you have a well-trained team and the right means is essential.

How to schedule a call? What’s the best way to efficiently schedule a call?

Organizing an online meeting is a simple task – after all, what is a call if not a quick and effective way to put several people in the same environment?

Soon, we will show that there are several applications that allow video calls. They have their peculiarities, but most of them only require opening a virtual room and sending the link to those who want to participate.

Thus, scheduling a call only requires establishing the best time and defining the best means.

If the intention is to make a sales call to a potential new client, the suggestion is to maintain prior contact, define the best time and send a Zoom or Google Meets link, which allow prior scheduling and even notice of the appointment.

To efficiently schedule a call, remember to send an email invitation to the person attending the meeting, call or email before the call or on the day of the meeting to confirm. It may seem a bit obvious, but 70% of companies that work with active prospecting and consultative sales do not do this.

Top Calling Apps

There are a number of applications for making videoconferences. All of them are useful for sales calls, but each of them has its own peculiarities. Thus, it is worth researching its features when choosing, especially if the idea is to gather a large number of people.

Next, we will present the most famous ones.

Skype

One of the pioneers and preferred among companies in the past decade. Among its advantages is the fact that it is available to everyone and free of charge. More than that, one can use Skype without even downloading the application. Just access your browser version.

In addition, Skype allows you to make calls with up to 50 people at the same time. It also allows recording meetings and screen sharing.

The downside is that access to it requires prior registration. And this can become inconvenient for potential customers who have never used the platform.

Zoom

Zoom has become the darling for video calling since the start of the pandemic. In the free version, it allows you to gather up to 100 people in a single call – there is also a paid version.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that, in the free version, videoconferences with more than three people are limited to 40 minutes. But this can even be an advantage: it ensures that meetings are quick and focused on what you need.

As with Skype, Zoom calls allow you to share screens and record the transmission. They can also be done from any computer or smartphone, with or without installing an app.

The great advantage is that it does not require any kind of prior registration from the participants.

Google Meet

This tool was paid a while ago, but now it is available for free.

Google Meet allows 60-minute calls with up to 100 participants. Access is done simply by sending a link created by the person who organized the video call.

An interesting advantage is that, integrated with Gmail, it allows participants to receive reminders about the virtual meeting.

Microsoft Teams

Simply called Teams, the Microsoft application was also paid until recently, but now it has free access.

Despite being one of the least popular, it is one of the most efficient. Teams allows you to make calls with up to 250 participants at once – and without a time limit, which is the biggest differentiator compared to other apps.

It also allows, in addition to screen sharing, the collaborative editing of documents. This can be especially interesting for sales calls, as it allows both parties to jointly outline what they need and what they offer.

Final Considerations

As you can see, using video call apps is an interesting method with enormous potential to update classic sales strategies. Therefore, understanding what a call is – or what calling is – and its importance for business opens up one more way to increase sales.

It’s worth thinking about. And, if you want to further increase your potential for attracting business, count on the help of Protagnst!

 

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