Marketing and Sales are closely related departments that directly affect the success of an animation business. Besides being the driving force behind income, these departments are also the first points of communication between an animation company and its clients.
This means that by fine-tuning your marketing and sales techniques, you come as close as possible to ensuring your animation business’ success. Now although there are many techniques available to you, not many prove to be as effective as Cold Calling.
In this blog, we will explore the concept of cold calling and analyze the great benefits it could bring to your animation career. Put your doubts aside, connect that headset and enjoy all the warm benefits that cold calling could provide.
Cold Calling For Animators
Cold Calling has proven to be a valuable tool in many companies’ marketing toolboxes. This is no different in the animation industry. By using cold calling in your animation business, you open yourself up to a wealth of revenue-increasing opportunities.
As an animator, you want potential clients to know about your service and how much it could benefit them. Now although posters and adverts carry valuable information, cold calling enables you to engage clients in a unique way different from other marketing techniques.
Other Marketing Techniques For Animators
As valuable as cold calling could prove to be for your animation business, it is important not to overlook other valuable marketing techniques. Here are a few other techniques that add great value to your marketing department:
What Is Cold Calling for Animators?
Have you ever received a call from a telemarketer that feels so natural that you forget that you were not expecting it? Even though you might not have taken the product or service, you are now informed of what they offer and this is cold calling’s claim to fame.
Cold calling is a marketing and sales technique that entails calling prospective clients or your leads without having had any prior communication with them. This technique can be used to source new animation clients and market new or existing services.
Where Do I Get Numbers To Call?
A very important part of cold calling is keeping your dialer running. You don't want to be in a position where you’re calling the same clients over and over again. This is where ‘leads’ come in. Leads are valuable contact details of prospective animation clients.
Here are 3 of the most popular ways you can grow your animation leads:
- Lead Generation Tools
- Buying Contact Lists
- Social Media Lead Campaigns (eg. Linkedin Lead Program)
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Benefits Of Cold Calling In Animation
Cold calling, when done correctly, provides a host of benefits that could positively impact both an animation business’ income and its client relations. Here are a few more benefits you could receive when you unlock this technique's potential:
- Get Your Animation Name Out There - Cold calling connects your animation business with new clients who could later become paying clients!
- Identify Your Target Market - Engaging new clients helps you understand your target market. Having experience with clients helps you increase the quality of your client engagement.
- Increase Your Animation Revenue! - Not all cold calls should be ‘sale centric. You will find that some calls are as simple as leading your clients to the till. Perfect your pitch, wait for the right moment and connect your clients to their animation needs.
- Develop Your Animation Niche - By engaging your animation clients on a regular basis, you will develop a clear idea of your animation niche. This is the animation skillset best suited to help you make your mark as an animator in the industry.
7 Tips On How To Cold Call Animation Clients
Cold calling might seem as simple as dialing a phone number, but creating successful engagements with your clients will require some technique. Mastering these sales call techniques will have you ready to impress anyone on that dialer!
Approaching your prospective animation clients with the perfect cold call could seem challenging but we’ve got you covered. Here are our 7 tips on how to cold call your animation clients.
1) Timing Is Everything
Your animation services could be the best thing since sliced bread, but calling your prospective client at the wrong time could leave a stale taste in their mouth. You want to reach your clients in the correct space of mind so make sure to call at the right time!
2) You’ve Got A Minute To Win It!
The first few moments of your cold call are the most important. This is where you grab the attention of your client and set the tone for the call. Be sure to make a great first impression as this could be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful cold call.
3) Know Your Script And Expect The Unexpected
When cold calling your animation clients, preparation is key! You will be speaking to different people with their unique personalities. This means that you must be mentally prepared to match your client in order to establish a connection.
There are many ways of getting ready for your cold call, but not many carry as much weight as knowing your script. Having a clear understanding of what you want to say on your call, gives you a good basis to start from.
Knowing your script doesn’t mean memorizing it from start to finish though. Look at your script as your ‘play-book’. Different plays (parts of your script) are effective in different scenarios (parts of your call) and it is important to know how to use them appropriately.
Here are a few extra tips to help you prepare:
- Be confident in your knowledge of your offerings.
- Practice common objections and solutions scenarios.
- Approach each call with a fresh and motivated mindset.
GIF by davey wavey via Tenor
4) Confidence Is Key
Showing confidence is a great way to grab your clients’ attention. On a cold call, your clients could have no prior knowledge of your animation business. This means that you have a few moments to get your clients to trust your brand. Your confidence will translate as credibility.
5) Every Call Is A New Opportunity
When cold calling in animation, it might take a few calls to find the right client. Approach each client as if they’re your first call of the day. Unsuccessful calls can be draining but don't let this discourage you. Every unsuccessful call is one step closer to a successful one!
6) Avoid Ending Failed Calls With A Negative Tone
Cold calls won't always go the way that you intended, but this should not affect your behavior. By maintaining a pleasant and polite tone, your success might end up being delayed instead of denied. Unsuccessful calls with pleasant endings keep the doors open to future potential business!
7) Never Try To Sell On Your First Call
Although there will be calls where a sale comes naturally, your client should never feel as if the sale was the only reason for the call. Remember, you want to emphasize that you want to add value to the lives of your clients as your sole focus.
Attempt to establish a relationship with your client and demonstrate how you are able to provide solutions to their animation needs. Focusing on how you can add value will play a big role in getting repeat clients
8) Keep Your Eyes On The Prize
You could be fully prepared for your cold call, and still hit a dead end… Just make a u-turn! A change in direction is a change in the destination so make sure that you just keep on driving. Push through the difficult calls and be ready to connect as soon as you get the right one.
How Effective Is Cold Calling?
Now that you are ready to start your cold calling campaign, let's take a look at how effective it could prove to be. Cold calling has become an important tool for many businesses and its effectiveness is well documented in many detailed studies.
Through analyzing the data, it becomes increasingly clear why cold calling should be seen as a marketing necessity in your animation business rather than just an option. Cold calling boosts your client engagement, client relations, and client reach.
Here are a few statistics collected by RAIN that show how cold calling does this:
- Client engagement - 82% of buyers take meetings with salespeople that reach out to them first.
- Client relation - Over 60% of buyers say they’d prefer a seller to reach out when they’re trying to solve a business problem.
- Client reach - Just under 70% of buyers have taken calls from new companies in the past year alone.
GIF by davey wavey via Tenor
3 Other Industries That Use Cold Calling
There are many industries that use cold calling for various reasons. Whether it be to drive sales, inform potential clients of new services or touch base with target markets, the following industries all make use of cold calling for industry-specific reasons.
Real Estate
Real estate agents often target specific residential/commercial areas through cold calling. This opens a line of communication between agents and potential clients. Communication that enables them to inform them of possible offers and valuations.
Insurance
Insurance companies are known to use cold calling to bring in new sales. They target clients with specific qualifying criteria and use sales tactics to bring across the value of their policies.
Fitness
Fitness trainers, gyms, that and other members of the fitness industry all use cold calling for many reasons. Establishing new connections with prospective clients makes it easier for them to market their services and create an increase in subscriptions.
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Cold Calling - B2C vs B2B
B2C (Business-to-Client) and B2B (Business-to-Business) companies have unique approaches to cold calling. The reason for the difference is down to the fact that their target markets are fundamentally different and require their own specific cold calling techniques.
B2C (Business-to-Client)
Business-to-client companies focus their cold calling projects primarily on creating a need for your animation services in their prospective clients. This means that their ‘cold callers’ offer services that bring ‘value’ to the lives of their clients after the sale has been made.
B2B (Business-to-Business)
Business-to-business companies, on the other hand, use cold calling techniques for many purposes. B2B companies use cold calling to establish relationships with other companies while making them aware of the products or services they provide.
B2C And B2B In The Animation Industry
Cold calling provides similar benefits across both business-to-client animation businesses and business-to-business ones. How these benefits impact you depend on the type of animator role you play in your project.
Freelance Animator
If you decide to freelance your animation services, you become your own boss. You decide the amount of work you take on and whether you want to provide your skills to individual clients, businesses, or both.
Inhouse Animator
Animators that work for animation businesses as part of in-house staff often don’t have much say in the direction of the business. Animation companies often provide both B2C and B2B facilities but this will be entirely dependent on the nature of their animation services.
Animation Business - How To Start Cold Calling
Incorporating new marketing and sales techniques in your animation business might seem like a daunting experience but don't let this be the reason you turn a cold shoulder to cold calling. The process might not be simple, but starting is easier than you think.
To start a successful cold calling operation in your animation business, there are a few things you need to have in your locker. Here is a checklist containing the basics needed to start cold calling:
- Clear and concise pitch or direction for your call.
- Telecommunications equipment and software to use for physically placing calls.
- Leads or prospective clients.
- A relentless mindset that never gives up!
Cold Calling For Animators: No More Broken Telephones!
Mastering cold calling will bring a host of benefits to your animation business. It enables you to market and sells your services directly to your target market. Although cold calling may get you through the door, your animation skills will keep you in the building.
Perfect your animation skill set today by completing our FREE online masterclass and downloading a FREE copy of our marketing handbook. Back up your cold calls with great animation work and start making your mark on the animation industry.
Ring, Ring, Ring. It's your future successful animation business on the phone!
