EPISODE SUMMARY
For a lot of salespeople, cold calling feels like a monotonous task of simply dialing numbers and hoping prospects pick up. Some may even claim that cold calls are no longer effective due to the prevalence of spam calls. But did you know that you can now strategically call several people at the same time and make it so that they quickly fill up your pipeline?
Founder at Hopp Consulting Group and Chief Cold Caller at CallBlitz Kevin Hopp joins B2B SaaS Sales Coach and Host Matt Wolach in unraveling the makings of a successful outbound call. They also discuss guiding factors in the debates of outsourcing vs in-house and full cycle vs specialist sales reps. Watch so that you can turn your outbound conversations into an onslaught of conversions!
PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE
Podcast: SaaS-Story in the Making
Episode: Episode No. 239, “How to Cold Call Like the Expert – with Kevin Hopp”
Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS sales coach, Entrepreneur, and Investor
Guest: Kevin Hopp, Founder at Hopp Consulting Group and Chief Cold Caller at CallBlitz
TOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Optimize your Calling List
The best process when it comes to outbound calling is actually so simple according to Hopp. When making your calling list, make sure that it’s built specifically “based on the value of what you do for your prospects.” He reasons that cold calling is not the same as that email that you get to send to everybody in one go.
In order to execute this, Hopp explains that you essentially segment your leads. You make separate calling lists based on their profile like grouping all CEOs together and putting the VP of IT along with other VPs of IT. He explains that this is because you need to have the same type of conversation per list. This strategy ensures that the messages resonate and the call does not bounce.
Know When to Hire for Full Cycle
One of the classic arguments in sales is whether to hire a full cycle or all-in sales representative or to hire specialized sales agents. Hopp answers that there’s really no right or wrong answer as this is case by case basis but that he has specific parameters that guide his decision on this matter. He states that a full cycle is recommended for those that have less than 30 days of the sales cycle and $5000 in ARR as the complexity is usually low.
Matt on the other hand prefers to prioritize specialized sales representatives. He explains that full-cycle sales representatives tend to focus on closing deals. As a result, they end up neglecting the other aspects of sales like upfront sales, lead generation, and that people are actually moving through the pipeline. And so Matt employs specialized sales representatives in order to ensure that there is no gap in his sales motion.
Go Outbound to Nail Message and Market
For founders that are still in the stage of discovering product market fit, Hopp advises learning it through outsourcing outbound calling. He states that founders can adopt an experimental approach since outsourced callers can immediately implement your instructions. PMF can be determined based on the results after each set of instructions.
Hopp also explains that this is strategic because it is cost-effective. You get to figure out your PMF without spending so much capital on buying a sales tech stack and paying for a VP of sales. After all, these are the kind of steps you take when you are scaling the company. He also points out that being able to convert prospects into customers is your greatest indicator of PMF.
Simplify Outbound Calls with Dialer Tech
Hopp recommends outbound callers invest in dialer technology as it enables simultaneous calling. It makes the calls so much faster due to being able to call multiple at once in just one click. Note that it’s not the same as in zoom wherein everyone can hear everyone. It’s also not expensive because it gives you quick wins from leads that purchase.
Dialer Tech also helps you retain your employees because they no longer have to spend too much time on manual labor. Through the convenience of dialer tech, they get to move from one batch of prospects to the next. They are also able to dive right into conversations with prospects that do connect on the other line. It hits two birds with one stone by getting you a better conversion rate through an improved rate of reach and better employee experience.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Old School Cold Calling is Dead
As an expert at outbound calls, Hopp states that the antiquated version of outbound calls has become obsolete. Punching numbers and then waiting for the call to drop or someone to pick up should be left behind in the past. Not only is it extremely inefficient, you’re also likely to be ignored due to the increase in robocalls or spam calls. Unless you have a solid strategy that is able to call multiple people at once, old-style outbound will just lead you to dead ends instead of quality prospects.
Outsource for Short Term, In House for Long Term
Yet another classic business debate is whether it’s better to outsource outbound calls or hire an in-house team, Hopp advises that it depends on the needs of the company. If results are needed quickly or you have limited resources, then outsourcing the outbound calls will be fine. Keep in mind that this only sets up meetings. If you want to get insights, which are incredibly valuable in scaling your company, it would be better to set up an in-house team.
TOP QUOTES
Kevin Hopp
[3:01] “There are still ways to do the old-fashioned things in business in a very new school way.”
[13:10] “And it doesn’t matter if you’re selling a million dollar-a-year enterprise solution or if you’re selling a, you know, $150 a month widget. There’s probably a spot in there to set up a phone process where you’re getting the net new conversations with prospects.”
Matt Wolach
[3:20] “There’s a lot of people out there who, you know, don’t practice what they preach. They just say ‘Do this. Do this.’ But they’re not actually doing it or they’ve never done it and that’s disappointing.”
[16:02] “Every time I’ve tried in the past to have full cycle reps, they end up leaning towards more of the closing stuff… And so what ends up happening is you start to have a real gap in that top of the pipeline stuff and it’s– it gets pretty nasty. So for me, I like specializing
LEARN MORE
To learn more about Kevin Hopp and Hopp Consulting Group, visit: https://www.hoppconsultinggroup.com/
To learn more about Kevin Hopp and CallBlitz, visit:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/callblitz/
You can also find Kevin Hopp on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khopp/
For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/
