Cold calling has been a staple of sales and marketing for decades, but with the rise of new business technologies and changing consumer attitudes, it's no longer as effective as it once was.

While cold calling can still be a great way to generate leads and close sales, with generational shifts in our workforce, it's become harder than ever to get through to potential clients using this method alone. That's where sales automation comes in. By combining cold calling with sales automation, salespeople can reach more B2B clients and close even more deals.

Lets start with sales automation benefits:

Sales automation can be a game-changer for salespeople who want to combine the benefits of cold calling with the efficiency of automation, and one of the most popular features is automated lead generation: Sales automation tools, such as Ignite, will help to identify and generate leads automatically via LinkedIn and email, saving time and effort for salespeople. This allows B2B sales teams to win back moreof their working week (some tell us they can save 80 hours a month in outreach) and re-focus their efforts on the most promising prospects.

Rather than manually dialing phone numbers, sales automation tools can automate the dialing process, saving time and making it easier for salespeople to make more calls. This can help to increase the volume of calls made, which in turn increases the chances of reaching a decision-maker.

Following up with potential clients is key to closing deals, but it can be time-consuming and challenging to stay on top of all the follow-up activities. Ignite allows sales people to build in automated follow up and workflow tools which will automate follow-up emails, reminders, and even schedule follow-up calls, freeing up time for salespeople to focus on other activities.

Sales automation tools can help salespeople to craft more personalized messaging that resonates with potential clients. By using data analytics and other tools, salespeople can automate personalised messaging and craft a message that is tailored to the specific needs and pain points of the potential client, which can increase the chances of a successful sale.

Can you combine cold calling with sales automation?

Yes, this is a great combination and helps salespeople reach more B2B managers and close more deals. Try these three steps to up your outreach game and become the envy of your office.

1. Use Sales Automation to Identify Potential Clients: Start with a sales automation tool, such as Ignite, to identify potential clients on LinkedIn who are a good fit for their product or service. Some othet tools allow you to use machine learning algorithms to analyze data from social media, email campaigns, and other sources, which will also help identify potential clients who are more likely to be interested in the product or service being sold.

2. Use Cold Calling to Make the Initial Connection: Once potential clients have been identified, use a targeted cold call to make the initial connection. Ignite will let you send a templated (yet customised) request for a contact number or you can use online tools such as RocketReach to find a reliable number to call. You may even want to combinethe benefits of personalized messaging with automated dialing to increase the chances of getting through to the decision-maker and making a successful sale.

3. Use Sales Automation to Follow-Up and Close the Sale: Following up with potential clients is key to closing deals, and tools like Ignite can help salespeople to automate this process. By using automated follow-up messages, emails, reminders, and even scheduling follow-up calls, salespeople can increase their chances of closing the sale.

There is no doubt that cold calling may not be as effective as it once was, and the clients have the ability to screen and dodge those calls better than ever before. However your job as a sales person is to get the upper hand, which means utilising what ever technology you can to be able to secure those important conversations.

By combining sales automation outreach with cold calls, you really do get the best of both worlds as you can reach more B2B clients more often, and ultimately, close more deals. Some of the worlds best B2B sales people rely on automated lead generation and dialing along with well structured calls and follow-up activities, allowing them to re-focus their time and energy on other activities that can help to grow the business. Cold calling still has a place in today's frantic sales worlds, however please don't rely on it alone, instead, add in some automation and start winning back time whilst you reach more clients in a more productive way.