Which Proactive Prospecting Method is Best?
What is Business Development?
Cold calling, Warm calling, and Hot calling...
Which one is the best?
It depends...
An expert cold caller with highly effective script and efficient technology can out-perform Warm or Hot callers.
However, on average, here's how their conversion rates compare...
1. Cold Calling
“Interruption marketing” calls or messages to engage the prospect in hopes of quickly moving the prospect into the Activation Phase by booking a meeting.
In some cases, this tactic may even attempt to move the prospect into the Conversion Phase and close a sale, all in one call.
Contact Source: Based on Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) or persona
Prospect's Level of Intent: Unknown
Here are the stats:
ConnectAndSell, Inc study: .2% of all calls booked meetings
Harvard Business Review: 10% B2B decision-makers respond to cold outreach
5% of those conversations resulted in follow-on meetings.
Revenue.io study: 6% of calls booked meetings
Persistence pays...
Follow-up calls to cold called prospects increases meetings booked by 1.7X and number of meetings booked per total dials increased to 2.3X
Comparative Success Rate = LOW
2. Warm Calling
Contact and nurture prospects. Also called Social Selling, Conversational Prospecting, Conversational Selling, Conversational Marketing, or Community Marketing.
Contact Source: Uses ABM or CBM to detect and analyze prospect's intent
Prospect's Level of Intent: Perceived
Here are the stats:
LinkedIn: prospectors using social selling:
o Create 45% more opportunities than peers
o Are 51% more likely to reach quota
o Outsell 78% of their peers
Revenue.io study: 12% of calls booked meetings
Comparative Success Rate = MEDIUM
3. Hot Calling
Engages inbound leads self-navigated a lot of the Activation Phase, and they only need a little more information to declare intent.
Contact Source: They voluntarily contacted you or they were referred to you by partners, customers, competitors, employees, and even other prospects.
Prospect's Level of Intent: Confirmed
Here are the stats:
Depends on your response time...
Harvard Business Review study showed 47% of prospectors took 24+ hours or never responded to hot leads
Response to hot leads within 1 hour = 7X more likely to have a successful meeting and 60X more successful than those with 24+ hours response time.
Andrew Z. Brown recent book showed referalls have...
• 59% higher LTV
• 69% of companies shorten their sales cycles
• 71% of leads from referrals have higher PWIN
• 74% of companies say referrals are their cheapest BD tactic
Comparative Success Rate = HIGH
Tony Gray, BDP
Author of the Business Development Body of Knowledge
Get your copy on Amazon today!