Battle-Tested CXO Contact Strategy
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This document provides strategies for cold contacting CXO-level executives, including: - Calling each target 6 times over 10 days, leaving voicemails and sending emails. - Research shows calling 6 times is 94% more effective than calling once. - The best days to call are Wednesdays through Thursdays between 8-9am or 4-5pm. It also outlines tactics like: presenting yourself as an equal; doing background research; using direct lines when possible; and following up with different formats to stay top of mind. The goal is to secure in-person meetings which have close rates of 20% or better, ultimately closing multi-million dollar deals.
Battle-Tested CXO Contact Strategy
- 2. TheNuts& Bolts ofMaking Cold Contact Attempts and the Impact ofPersistence TheBig Questions: How many calls should I make? How many voicemails should I leave? How many emails should I send? A minimumof 50-60calls, emails directed to designated primary CXO, SVP targets daily. This is in addition to Broadcast Email, Established Contact Pursuit, Social Media, and othervarious lead development efforts. Tactics & Strategy in Landing $1MM+ Consulting Engagements
- 3. ResearchValidated Call Protocol: You should call each target on your list about six times. This is what it takes to reach a busy decision-maker. Day1:Call with voicemail, send email Day 3:Call Day 5:Call with voicemail Day 6:Call with email Day 8:Call Day 10:Call with voicemail, send email If unsuccessful reschedule out 1to 6 months depending on priority.
- 5. Below is a contact probability arc created using sales data on persistence. It shows the correlation between makinganothercall and the probability of makingcontact. Thechartabove yields some interesting insights: Calling threetimes is 68%more effective thancalling once Calling six times is 94%better calling once This same research also reveals that leads contacted after thethe 6th call are45% less likely to convert thanleads contacted prior to that point.
- 6. Thefield is most crowded at the outset but then thins considerably leaving a verywide opportunity for the companies that are persistent. Be Persistent in Your Follow-Up. Tenacity PaysHuge Dividends. Thegood news is that as the odds of makingcontact go up with each additional call, theodds of agents actually makinganothercall are also going down.
- 7. Writing an Email: Keep your subject line simple and professional. o (50 charactersorless.) Content should be relevant and tailored to thetarget. o (70%+ purchasetosolvea problem.) Keep the body of your first email brief. o (50%+ arereadingona mobiledevice.) Makesure thereis a call-to-action inyour message. Leaving Voicemails: Breakthe mold: Most voicemails are a little over a minutelong. Make yourvoicemail shorter. Explain thereason for yourcall. Givethem a call-to-action (CTA). CTAscan include: Askfor a callback Askto schedule time for a meeting. Askfor a reply to e-mail. Askto forward VM, EM to right person. Inviteto attend/watch webinar/live event. Askto download/request this content piece.
- 8. PresentYourselfas an Equal: Youmust present yourself as someone of the same stature (similar title) for a senior executive to takeyou seriously or sometimes even respond. Do YourHomework: Armingyourself with a little backgroundinformation on yourprospect will help youkeepyourprospect engaged andon the phone. By identifying three key points and cutting your research time down tothree minutes - youare not only avoiding analysis paralysis but youare makingmoretime to call more prospects. Best Days and Times to Callor Email: A 2014study of over 30,000appointments spanning multiple industries pinpointed the best days and times to call the decision maker. Theresearchshowed that the bestdaytocall is Thursday and thebest time is between 4 and 5 pm. Generally Wednesdays and Thursdaysare the bestdaysof the week for contacting leads. Tuesdaysare the worst. The best times to call a lead are between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. or 4 p.m.and 5 p.m. Best time toemail is in the afternoon. The worst time of daytoattempt contact is during the lunch hour.
- 10. 30,000 Foot Perspective: To succeed with senior executives youmust adopt a strategic, big-picture mentality in what youpresent and how youpresent it. 30 Second Window: Onceyouget a senior executiveon the phone you have 30 seconds toget his/her attention and earn the right to continuethe call. Double Dial: If you double dial you will reach 18percent more of your list. Call a prospect. If they don’t pick up, immediately call them back.Thesecond timethephone rings, it will pique theircuriosity. “Thismustbe important.They’recallingback.” WheninDoubt - FAX: If you are beginning todoubt whether you will be able to get through toa prospect, tryasking for a direct fax numberand fax a letterhead copy of your introductorye-mail asking for a meeting. Ask the assistant if she will put it on thetarget’s desk and follow up with a phone call the next day. Sometimes old is new!
- 11. UseDirect Lines: A 2014Vorsight study showed that a salesperson could triple the effectiveness of a cold call by simply doubling the amount of direct lineshe/she had on his/hercall list. Thecold caller was 146 percent morelikely to connectwith a VP or C level exec whencalling the direct line ratherthan calling throughthe switchboard. PaperMessages: In lieu of leaving avoicemail, ask the assistant totake apink padmessage stating “I havesome important information re some work we havedone at xxx companythat heshould beaware of. I am traveling but please ask him to call me Friday when I am back in my office.” Always Be Closing: Once youhaveelicited interest orfound commonground close for the meeting, skillfullyand often. Local Presence: Technologies like LocalPresence haveincreased the effectiveness of sales teams. Ifyou’recalling a lead in New Yorkfrom San Jose, LocalPresence will display a New Yorkarea code on yourlead’s Caller ID. Displaying a local number increases the oddsof getting your calls answered by57.8percent
- 12. 9 Ways to Radically Improve Your Follow-Up Results: Use a follow-up schedule Use different contact formats Time your follow-up formaximum impact Leverage email templates Trackactual contact attempts Always get agreement on next steps Use content toexpand the range of potential touchpoints Trackemail opens and click-throughs Configure and execute effective drip email campaigns
- 13. Usea Follow-Up Schedule: Create a follow upschedule that outlines whencalls and email follow-ups should behappening. UseDifferent Contact Formats: Thegoal is to touch prospects in different ways in orderto stay top of mind and stand out from the competition.
- 14. Time YourFollow-Up forMaximum Impact: As mentioned previously, some days of theweek and times of the day are simply better for makingsureyouconnect with prospects. Leverage Email Templates: Email templates can be one of yourmost effective tools. Equip yourteam with well-crafted emails that are tested and proven to beeffective at moving prospects toward the sale. TrackActual Contact Attempts: There'sno substitute for real data about sales activities. Automatically trackingcalls andemails is incrediblyeasy. Always Get Agreementon Next Steps: By askingfor permission to follow up youlower yourodds of being an annoyanceand havesolid footing in thefuture.
- 15. UseContent to Expand the RangeofPotential Touchpoints: Stand out by creating significant valuefor prospects with relevant marketing/industrymaterials before asking for the sale. Themoreyougive, the moreeffective yourask. TrackEmail Opensand Click-Throughs: Trackingemail opens and click-throughsgives youa huge level of additional insight into which prospects areinterested and how they'reinteracting with theemails you'vesent them. Configureand Execute Effective Email Drip Campaigns: Drip email campaigns are anadvanced tool that is great at generating mindsharebut require good content and execution in a non-spammyway.
- 16. Open-Ended Questions Guide S: SituationQuestions How’sbusiness? Tellmeabout yourcompanyandyourrole. What areyourprimaryissuesandchallenges? What areyourkeyinitiatives forthenext 18months? What areyourexpectations forthenext 3-5 years? Otherthanyou, whoarethekey decisionmakers? P: ProblemQuestions What areyourpointsof pain? What is yoursinglegreatest challenge? What wouldyou liketo fix? What kindof obstacles areyou facing? I:ImplicationQuestions Howdoes thisimpactyour companyinfinancialterms? What wouldbetheimpactof an unsuccessfulimplementation? Howcouldeffectively managingthisprojectimpactyourcareer? What istheimpacton companyperformance? What aretheopportunitiesandrisks? What happenswhenthisis noton timeornot successful? Howlongdoes it take? N:Need/Pay-off Questions Howwouldthishelp? Why is thisimportant? Why wouldthisbeeffectiveat meetingyourneeds? Would itbeusefulto improveefficiencyinoperations by 10%? Isthereanyother waythiscouldhelpyou? Doyou see thevalueinthis? Howcouldyou see yourselfusingthis solution? Ifwecouldimproveprocess&behavioral effectiveness, wouldthathelpyou?
- 17. ConversionExpectations & Metrics: Senior Executive Targets - Standards: ColdCalls– 100 touches =1contact ColdContact Meeting Close Rate =80% SetMeeting (F2F CXO) HoldRate =80% HeldMeeting Conversion Rate =20% Quarterly 1st Meeting HeldMinimum =30 Quarterly Second+Meetings Held=6 Quarterly Assessment Close Rate =1 Assessment Conversion Rate =75% Transformation ($1MM+) Close Rate=3 perannum