Generating new leads is a constant concern for any business. It is of particular importance for small and medium enterprises looking to grow their business towards the next phase of operations. While there are several tactics that take the longer route to connecting with leads, sometimes the best methods are the simplest.
We’re talking about cold outreach.
What is cold outreach?
Cold outreach is when you phone, email, or otherwise connect with potential customers without having an initial conversation. This could be reaching out to a company you want to work with or a company you know could benefit from your services. Regardless of what the initial aim is, cold outreach can be a highly effective way to source new leads for your business.
While it could sometimes result in no responses, cold outreach can have its role while growing a small business – and it can be as effective as networking within conferences or reaching out to warm leads.
Here’s a few ways to make cold outreach work for you and your business.
1. Do your research first.
It might sound like there’s not much difference between cold emailing and spam, but the truth is actually very different – provided you do your research first and you only reach out to prospects that you can actually offer something to. It might sound like a small thing, but taking time to do your research will lend your cold outreach a much-needed, and genuine, boost.
2. Your connection should be personal.
Nobody likes receiving unsolicited anything – and as people become ever more reliant on email and text as a communication medium, reaching out to someone out of the blue with a really good offer might not manage to cover the initial irritation of reaching out at all. Fortunately, you can mitigate this a little by making sure that you’ve done your research as stated above, and making sure that however you reach out, you make an effort to connect personally with your prospect.
This could be something simple as checking their LinkedIn profile while you’re drafting your email and including a reference to something they posted about.
3. Don’t take forever to get to the point.
Get to the point as quickly as possible. This grabs attention immediately and is respectful of the time of your readers. Make it clear what you’re offering and how you can help – and in plain language. Respecting your prospect’s time will leave a positive impression, even if the answer is ultimately no.
One of the inherent risks of cold outreach is that you can put a lot of effort into reaching out only to get a no in response – and that’s fine. You won’t always connect with the people you’re reaching out to every time, and this is an acceptable part of cold outreach.
Is cold outreach worth the time and effort?
Yes. Absolutely.
You might not ever meet your perfect client through networking or in-person connections – they could be located in another country, or they could simply be working with another company and you might have reached out at the wrong time.
With cold outreach, however, the numbers are on your side. If you do your research, the number of potential leads you can reach out to increases exponentially, and a few replies will definitely come your way.
Ultimately, cold outreach is a good way to connect with potential clients, whether or not they ultimately say yes. Making sure you have a good impression right at the outset will help keep you top of mind for when the client does need your help – and pass on your details to other clients who could potentially use your services.
