Unbelievably, 82% of customers agree to meetings with vendors that initiate contact. Although it is considered by most as an outdated strategy, cold calling remains a vital strategy in sales and marketing.
One of the essential aspects of cold calling is locating, finding, and discovering phone numbers. This process, however, is easier said than done. There are various factors in finding a prospect’s contact information, conventional approaches that you need to perform, including ethical considerations and innovative utilization of technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This blog will uncover the best and most ethical ways of finding phone numbers, including the use of AI technologies for this pursuit.
The Art and Science of Cold Calling
Cold calling is a process where a Sales Development Representative (SDR) introduces the service and product of a business to a prospective client who — despite not showing direct interest in the particular goods or services the business is offering — are within the demographic that may require said service or product.
This is one of the best ways for the sales team to identify if a prospect is likely to purchase the product, they undergo the psychological process of understanding the prospect’s needs and wants, creating an opportunity to make a sale.
Depending on the level of the prospect’s interest, the entire sales pitch and process can be extremely subjective; despite having the best cold-calling strategy, sales conversion is not a guarantee. In fact, cold calling has an average success rate of 2%, considering various factors such as:
- Budget,
- Time, and
- Availability
Besides understanding the client’s budget and identifying the best time to contact them, sourcing valid phone numbers remains a constant challenge for the sales team. Outdated or irrelevant contact lists lead to wasted efforts and eliminate the chances of successful closing of deals. Therefore, ensuring the accuracy and relevance of these contact details is critical for effective cold calling.
Want to know more? Read also – Cold Calling Conversion Rates: Success % with Benchmark
Seven Ways to Find Phone Numbers
Utilizing Social Media Platforms
Social networking sites are a great way to locate professional contact information. Sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook have various users with updated contact details. You can use them as follows:
- LinkedIn: Identify profiles of prospects relevant to your industry. You can also use the LinkedIn Sales Navigator to acquire more detailed contact information access and improve your search capabilities.
- Twitter— or X — and Facebook: Some businesses provide links to their websites, or contact information to their Twitter bio or Facebook page.
Using the search features of these social media sites, and actively connecting to the relevant industry of your target audience can help you compile a list of possible contacts that can develop your cold calling campaigns.
Business Directories and Websites
Some businesses may appear on online directors, or they may have already created a website. These strategies are one of the best ways to find a business’s contact information.
- Company Websites: Go to the company’s official website, then locate their “Contact Us” page. Most businesses include phone numbers, and email addresses of the important employees that you can transact with.
- Business Directories: Directories such as Yellow Pages, and Manta have a dedicated webpage that provides detailed contact information of different companies. If you have the business’ name, or location you use these directories to find their contact information.
These tools allow you to assemble a list of phone numbers and maybe useful contacts that are pertinent to your marketing and sales initiatives, besides on cold calling.
Networking Events and Conferences
One of the most traditional and yet effective ways to establish a strong contact list for cold calling is attending conferences and events and establishing connections with the audience that is most likely to purchase your product.
- Attend Relevant Events. Go to networking events, trade exhibitions, and industry conferences where possible clients are going to attend
- Have Your Business Card Ready. Establish a connection and at the right moment, trade your business cards.
- Follow Up Email or Calls. Give someone a call or send a customized email following the event. This solidifies your relationship with a potential client and guarantees that your new connections will recall you when you get in touch with them.
Engaging in these activities, and following up are strategic necessities to help you acquire valuable relationships that increase the chances of cold calling success.
Purchasing Access to Professional Databases
Subscription services that provide verified contact lists are a reliable source for quality leads. Here’s how to effectively use these services:
- Choose the Right Service. Select a database like Anybiz which is known for its extensive and accurate business databases.
- Subscription Access. Subscribe to the service that fits your budget and needs. Most of these platforms offer tiered pricing depending on the depth of information and number of contacts you require.
- Utilize Search Features. Use the advanced search features to filter contacts by industry, role, location, and other criteria relevant to your target audience.
By using these databases, you can access a wide array of verified phone numbers and contact details that are regularly updated, enhancing your cold calling success.
Using Public Records and Online Databases
Online databases and public documents are verifiable sources when it comes to locating contact details of decision makers and company owners. Using these for your cold calling strategy can amplify your reach and develop sales success.
- Find Related Databases. Start with public and government data sources. Verified and registered businesses have their records filed in their local state, National securities, and Exchange Commission, which offers their complete contact information.
- Investigate Niche Databases. Depending entirely on your industry, there are specialized web databases that can supply detailed contact information of the business you are trying to locate.
- Using the search features offered by these databases. Locate companies and their owners. You can filter your search according to the size, location, and industry.
Discover direct contact details by searching these public and specialized databases. However, it is important to consider ethical practices when trying to access these information.
Referrals from Existing Contacts
Cold calling should not be limited to outsourcing, you can utilize referrals from current customers, or business partners. Since there is an established connection between you and the client, not only does this make an effective strategy to expand your cold calling list, but it can generate a higher percentage of closing a sale.
- Incentivize Referrals. Offer affiliate programs to customers who refer new prospects to you. This could be discounts, free services, or other benefits.
- Ask Directly. During or after interactions, ask customers if they know anyone else who might benefit from your services.
- Network Follow-Up. When you receive referrals, reach out promptly with a personalized introduction that mentions your mutual contact.
This approach not only helps in getting reliable contact numbers but also increases the likelihood of a warm reception from potential leads.
Cold Calling Automation Tools
Cold calling automation tools streamline the process of finding and managing leads. However, you should also conduct proper consideration of how you choose these tools. Besides having the general capabilities of initiating efficient cold calling operations, you should also have the ability to devise specific criteria to leverage these tools effectively.
- Select a Tool. Choose a tool like Anybiz. Its multichannel outreach capabilities (email, Linkedin and AI cold calls) and a database of 400 million prospects makes it an excellent tool in cold calling operations.
- Set Criteria. Configure the tool to target specific industries, roles, or geographic areas that align with your business goals.
- Automate and Monitor. Anybiz has dashboards and metrics that provide you with all the activities performed by the AI agent from LinkedIn posts created to emails sent, giving you the ability to monitor the effectiveness of the tool.
AI cold calling is relatively new, but has undoubtedly transformed prospecting, outreach, and overall sales process compared to traditional systems.
Interested in details? Check out our article – How AI Cold Calling is Better Than Human: Tools + Tips
The Risks of Buying Phone Number Lists
Buying pre-made phone number lists for cold calling purposes has the potential to jeopardize your marketing effort both legally and ethically.
Regulations such as the GDPR in the EU and the TCPA in the US undergo strict consent and privacy procedures. Violating or non-compliance of these regulations have severe repercussions, that can result in fines and may damage your brand reputation and credibility.
Furthermore, purchasing these lists are often stuffed with outdated, incorrect, or irrelevant contact information, decreasing your chances of acquiring a successful sale. And since the recipients from these lists often chose not to be contacted, your business may face harassment accusations.
Phone Number Management and How To Do Cold Calling Effectively
It takes careful organization and management of your phone numbers to do cold calling well. Best practices include the following:
- Arrangement of Your Contacts. Make an organised database in which contacts are classified according to pertinent factors as industry, degree of interest, possible deal size, or past contacts.
- To keep your database current and trustworthy. Update it regularly to reflect changes in contact information or engagement status.
- Sort Your Calls. Sort contacts according to prospective value or engagement readiness so you may concentrate your efforts where they will be most effective.
Personalization of Phone Conversations can Increase Success Rates:
- Tailor Your Approach. Using information from previous research or conversations, tailor your call script to cover particulars about the contact of their company.
- Use Names and Details. To show that you are interested in and pay attention to detail, address them by name and bring up particulars of their company.
- Adapt Based on Feedback. Pay close attention to the contact’s comments and prepare to modify your pitch, or method to ideally fit their needs and interests.
How AI Enhances Phone Number Acquisition
AI technologies have the ability to perform cross-referencing from multiple sources (social media and websites) that ensures the contact information you obtained are accurate and updated. Some systems such as CRM, and other data enrichment tools leverage AI to improve their contact search capabilities.
CRMs and Data Enrichment Tools on Using AI:
- AI-Capable CRMs: Systems like Salesforce or HubSpot use AI to automatically enhance and update contact data.
- Data Enrichment Tools: Users of platforms like Lusha or ZoomInfo can obtain verified phone numbers and other relevant information by leveraging AI to search the internet and compile comprehensive contact details.
In addition to saving time, these AI technologies also enhance the accuracy and reliability of the data used in cold calling campaigns.
Revolutionizing Lead Generation. Embrace the Power of AnyBiz for Multi-Channel Marketing Success
With its database of over 400 million prospects, Anybiz is the go-to for many cold callers, B2B lead generation companies, and SaaS companies when it comes to finding the right prospect.
Anybiz leverages the most advanced Large Language Model (LLM), and uses this large database to contact up to 8,000 new prospects monthly via multiple channels such as email, Linkedin and AI cold calling.
It provides tons of features that not only improve your cold calling, and outreaching, but can transform your overall entire sales process.
Summary of the Features of AnyBiz
- AI Sales Agents. Automation of sales processes, crafts unique outreach sequences, and replaces traditional SDR roles.
- CRM Integration: Seamless integration with CRM systems, such as Hubspot.
- Continuous Operation. Operates 24/7 across all time zones to maintain continuous engagement with prospects.
- Smart Decision-Making. Makes strategic outreach decisions, analyzing over 10,000 data points per hour.
- Personalization and Multi-Channel Engagement. Personalizes every message using a vast database of prospects and multiple communication channels.
- Automated Email Classification and Response. Automatically classifies and responds to client emails, maintaining personalized engagement.
- Dashboard and Metrics. Provides metrics tracking for brand awareness, opportunities, and more.
- Integration and Calendar Management. Calendly connector for scheduling.
Find The Right Numbers
The digital age provides us with tons of resources that make finding a specific person easier. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, X (Twitter) and Linkedin are tools that we can leverage for this pursuit. However, only those with the correct strategy can use it effectively.
Finding the right numbers, therefore, requires a highly meticulous process that involves the use of traditional strategies and employment of advanced technologies.
The integration of AI, particularly in platforms like AnyBiz, transforms cold calling by automating data collection and outreach, ensuring personalized and timely interactions with prospects. This shift not only streamlines the process but also significantly boosts the effectiveness and efficiency of cold calling campaigns.
So if you want to improve your outreach and cold calling process try out Anybiz and enjoy its 7-day free trial.
Related article:
- B2B Sales Cold Calling Script Examples with Pro Tips
- B2B Cold Calling: Killing 20 Techniques & AI Tools
- Cold Calling: Best Day & Time Chosen by AI
FAQ
What are the top ways to find phone numbers for cold calling?
- Utilizing social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
- Searching business directories and company websites.
- Collecting business cards at networking events and conferences.
- Purchasing access to professional databases.
- Exploring public records and online databases.
- Getting referrals from existing contacts.
- Using cold calling automation tools.
How can AI enhance the process of finding phone numbers for cold calling?
Artificial intelligence can automate phone number extraction and verification, saving labor and raising precision. AnyBiz and other tools employ artificial intelligence to examine data and offer verified contact details.
What are the risks associated with buying phone number lists?
Buying phone number lists can lead to legal issues if the contacts have not consented to be contacted, and the data might be outdated or inaccurate.
How does AI impact the efficiency of cold calling?
AI optimizes call timing and personalizes the conversation based on data-driven insights, significantly increasing the success rates of cold calling campaigns.
Can AI directly help in making cold calls?
Yes, upcoming AI functions in tools like AnyBiz will automate the entire cold calling process, including dialing numbers and interacting with prospects, enhancing both efficiency and effectiveness.
