Cold calling is a lot of work. It’s time consuming, inefficient, and often ineffective. But it’s still something that many people do, even if they don’t want to.
But what if…
- There was a better way to get qualified sales leads without cold calling.
- Leads were chasing to work with you (rather than you chasing them).
- You could automate most of the work.
In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to get qualified sales calls without cold calling.
The best cold calling alternative
Many clients generated most of their leads before working with me through cold calling, referrals, word of mouth, seminars or networking events.
For example, one business owner I recently spoke to won 90% of their new business by having a sales rep cold call prospects from LinkedIn or other business databases (they were in a b2b lead generation niche).
It worked (sort of).
But it was extremely time-intensive, expensive and inefficient.
And the results were getting worse each year…
They started working with me because they wanted a NEW and better (more automated & profitable) way to generate new clients.
And that’s exactly what they did!
How?
By
creating an automated appointment setting funnel.
In just a few months of implementing this new sales funnel, they won more new clients than they did through traditional cold calling.
And it was easier, more profitable and less time-consuming!
This is just one of many examples of clients who have stopped cold calling and replaced it with an automated appointment funnel.
What is an automated appointment funnel?
This specific marketing & sales funnel takes someone from a stranger to a paying client (step by step).
How does it work?
It involves 5 simple landing pages:
- Opt-in landing page
- Video page
- Schedule call page
- Application page
- Call confirmation page
The idea is that you have an educational business video presentation that you use to both generate leads and convert leads into clients.
This allows you to:
One: Get MORE leads without cold calling. People are more inclined to say ‘Yes’ to watch a short video on the first-touch point. Then they can schedule a call if they like what they hear on the video.
Two: Get higher quality leads without cold calling. People who schedule a call after watching a video presentation will be more likely to schedule a call because they WANT to work with you.
An automated appointment lead generation funnel is a much more effective marketing campaign than cold calling or other traditional marketing strategies.
Tip: You can build a lead generation funnel using all-in-one sales funnel software.
How can you create an automated appointment funnel?
I show you exactly what you need to do step-by-step in this video here.
This video will explain the sales process to:
- Create an educational business video presentation
- Create an automated appointment funnel for your presentation
- Get warm leads to go into the sales funnel
- Automate the whole lead generation process
- And more!
Once again, click here to watch the video to see how it all works in more detail.
Generate leads online
You can replace a cold-calling strategy with an automated online lead generation strategy to generate inbound leads in your business.
How?
Once you’ve created an automated appointment funnel (as seen above), you can use various lead generation strategies to attract leads.
Remember: The more leads that go into the funnel, the more appointments and clients you’ll get each month. So it’s in your best interest to get as many leads as possible in the funnel.
You can do this through online lead generation services.
Best ways to generate leads without cold calling
- LinkedIn outreach
- Write content on your blog
- Create YouTube videos
- Run retargeting ads
- Email marketing
- Paid advertising
- Buy leads
- Use inbound & content marketing
- Reactivate old leads
- Networking events (e.g. BNI)
- Social media platforms
Here’s more information on how you can implement each of these strategies in more detail:
1. LinkedIn outreach
On LinkedIn, you can find people who are your ideal clients.
When you reach out to them, do not message them a sales pitch!
A lot of people pitch to prospects on LinkedIn straight away and it rarely ever gets good results.
So what do you do instead?
Ask LinkedIn prospects if they want to watch a video you’ve recorded that solves a problem they likely have.
This is a much better Linkedin lead generation strategy to get more leads and better quality leads.
Potential clients will be much more likely to say “Yes” to watch a video.
Then if they like what they hear on the video, they can schedule a call to learn more.
See also: How to automate your LinkedIn lead generation
2. Write content on your blog
Content marketing is a great alternative to cold calling. To do content marketing the right way, it’s best to focus on answering your potential clients’ questions.
You can do this by answering questions people ask on your website blog.
The more questions you answer, the more likely you will be to rank higher on Google for different questions.
This is because the more content you create, the better you establish yourself as an authority (in Google’s eyes) on that topic.
3. Create YouTube videos
Answering questions your potential customers ask with a YouTube video is an excellent alternative to cold calling.
Yes, creating videos does require hard work.
But the good thing about creating videos is that you only do the work ONCE.
Once you’ve created a video on a question your potential customers ask, you can get new leads and clients from that content for many years into the future.
Another advantage of video is that it’s much easier to build trust. People who watch a video about how you can help them are more likely to trust you compared to reading written content on its own.
4. Run retargeting ads
Retargeting ads is a very cost-effective lead generation strategy. Chances are you already have potential clients visiting your website, but most don’t convert. You can retarget these website visitors on Facebook, Google YouTube and Adroll.
Retargeting ads only typically cost $5-15/day (depending on how much traffic your website gets).
It’s a great way to get leads instead of cold calling.
5. Email marketing
When it comes to email marketing, I do NOT recommend cold emailing. Yes, the results for cold emails are much better than cold calling… And with cold email software, most of the hard work can be automated!
… But it’s still not the best way to generate leads.
Instead I recommend generating leads by using a lead magnet (such as a video presentation, video sales letter, webinar, etc). Then you need to follow up with these leads automatically with email marketing software.
What do you say in the email follow-ups?
Don’t spam or sell to them all the time! Instead, provide value to them. You can provide value in emails to leads by answering questions that potential clients ask. Answer questions that discuss a prospect’s pain points.
Explain how you are the best solution to solve these problems.
In each email, it’s a good idea to include a call to action where potential clients can schedule a call with you to learn more.
6. Paid Advertising
Another way to generate leads without cold calling is to use paid advertising channels such as Facebook ads. This method requires some monetary investment, but it is a great way to start generating leads quickly and on demand.
With paid advertising, you pay per lead and decide how many leads you want each month.
After spending about $1,000 to $2,000 on paid ads, you’ll know your average cost per lead for your audience and ad combination.
With split testing, you can also reduce the cost per lead over time.
7. Buy leads without cold calling
Some lead generation companies will sell you leads on-demand and deliver them straight to your email inbox.
The advantage of this strategy is that you don’t have to do any marketing to generate leads.
The disadvantage is that the lead quality from many of these lead gen companies is often low.
Also, buying leads can be expensive.
Keep in mind that buying leads from a 3rd party means that they are selling leads to you with a mark-up on top.
Buying leads can be a good temporary marketing strategy. But for best results in the long-term, it’s often better and cheaper to get your own leads.
8. Use inbound marketing or content marketing
This is where you create content on your website and explain how you can help potential clients. When potential clients find this content, they reach out to you to learn more about how you can help them. This is inbound & content marketing.
The best kind of leads are those who already want to work with you. Content marketing allows you to find those kinds of leads.
Tip: Don’t create content for nothing! It’s super important that all the content you create sends people to your marketing and sales funnel. Watch this video to learn how to do this effectively.
9. Reactive old leads
If you already have a database of leads, rather than cold-calling all of them, you can reactivate them by sending them helpful educational content.
The key benefits of this strategy are:
- Quick results
- Quick wins
- It’s very cost-effective
All you or someone on your sales team needs to do is send everyone on that list an email (or multiple emails) with helpful educational content.
10. Go to networking events
Networking events are not the most efficient way to bring in new leads. Generating leads online is a lot better. But it works and is still better than cold calling if it’s the right event.
I don’t recommend relying on networking events as a long-term sales strategy for your sales team.
11. Social media platforms
Wherever your potential clients hang out, you can use social media networks to find them.
One way to do this is by using “Social Selling”.
With social selling you can find people posting about problems they have. If your solution solves this problem, you can reach out to these potential buyers.
Quick case study: We worked with a business that needed to fund hundreds of thousands of dollars on Indiegogo for a new extra strong iPhone charger they developed. Using social listening tools, we helped them find customers on various social media channels that had broken iPhone chargers. The client was able to reach out to them and show them how their new iPhone solution was better. This resulted in over $200K in investment funding on Indiegogo!
To think about: Where is your target audience hanging out on social media?
Focus your time on using the social media channels your buyer persona is most likely using.
Is warm calling better than cold calling?
Many people say that instead of cold calling, you can do “warm calling.” Warm calling is when you call someone who has expressed interest in what you do and provided you with their phone number.
However, the problem with warm calling is that this person is still not expecting your phone call.
It’s still a lot more effective to get appointments directly in your calendar. Getting booked appointments in your calendar through an automated appointment funnel is better than cold calling or warm calling.
FAQs
What’s the difference between a sales lead and a prospect?
A sales lead has expressed interest in buying your product or service, but a prospect has not yet.
What’s the best way to generate sales leads?
The best way to generate sales leads is through digital marketing. You should be looking for people already interested in your product or service. With a powerful digital marketing strategy, sales funnel and lead generation strategy, you can get leads without cold emailing a list of prospects.
What can I do instead of cold calling?
Instead of cold-calling, you can generate leads online with an automated appointment funnel. This is a more profitable and effective way to win new business without cold-calling.
How do you get seller leads without cold calling?
To get seller leads without cold calling, generate leads online with LinkedIn, Google SEO, YouTube SEO or Facebook ads instead. It’s a good idea to automate your lead generation for even better results.
Does cold calling generate leads?
Cold calling can generate leads, but it is very time consuming. There are much better ways to generate leads without making any cold calls.
How do I get insurance clients without cold calling?
If you looking to get financial advisor or insurance leads without making any cold calls, it’s a good idea to first set up an automated appointment funnel with a video sales letter. Then send people into the funnel various digital marketing channels where financial advisor clients are likely to hang out. Google SEO tends to work very well for financial advisors because you can target people who are actively searching for your services.
Cold calls vs Online Lead Generation
Cold calling is typically more expensive, time-consuming and less effective than online lead generation. To generate leads online successfully, it’s important you have the right digital marketing strategy. Click here to watch a video that explains what strategy works well.
If you need help with lead generation, check out our lead generation packages.
Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, Ash has been helping business owners get high-quality leads, appointments, and clients each month. He has extensive experience working with B2B & B2C industries in finance, insurance, marketing, sales and beyond. Learn more about the author here.