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Succession Bio works with life science/biotech companies to help drive sales, licensing, and partnership opportunities.

We do this through market research to identify the right companies and people, craft scientifically credible messages, and then perform the outbound sales and marketing tactics on your behalf to facilitate meetings with the right people at the right companies.

Succession

• Specializes in life sciences/biotech (it's all we do!)

• Provides market research, messaging, and outbound sales/marketing services

• Facilitates meetings and opportunities with the right people at the right companies for our clients

• Sales training for teams of 10+ who want to find and close more deals with biotech and pharma

Today we are going to talk about something close to my heart and something that will never be too far from the heart of any hardened salesperson. We are going to talk about cold calls.

Although they say the cold call is dying out in this day and age, I believe that as long as we still have humans in the loop making decisions and buying from other humans, the cold call will always be relevant. It can be a big game changer in moving the needle for your team, especially when the chips are down at quieter times during the year.

As much as Hollywood movies like Glengarry Glen Ross and Wolf of Wall Street like to romanticise cold calling, the truth is it can be hard work. But after this newsletter you will be equipped with the knowledge to start hammering those phones with a lot more confidence.

I want to touch on some basic cold calling tips as well as some different styles of cold call openers you can use to get your foot in the door and kick start those conversations.

Five Tips

1. Do Your Research

There is a big difference between calling up an absolute stranger and just throwing a Hail Mary hoping that they are free, in a good mood, and actually have a real life need for what you are selling, and calling up that exact same stranger with a pre-defined hypothesis in mind about why this person might actually want to listen to what you have to say.

So do your research. Mention something that you read or saw that indicates this person may have a need for your service and use that to open the door. Show that you cared enough to do five minutes of research and they might give you thirty seconds to say what you have to say, instead of telling you to shove your phone you know where.

For life science and biotech, think the same signals you would use in an email: a new IND filing, a Head of Biology being hired, movement into clinical stages, a new funding round, or a facility expansion. These are the things that tell you a company is moving and may have a growing need for what you offer.

2. Don't Worry, Be Happy

One of the most important skills to being successful on the phones is the simple but complicated art of not caring. Ultimately every now and again you are going to cold call someone and they are going to be mad. This most likely is not your fault.

Most people lead complex and full lives so sometimes that poorly timed cold call can be the final straw in ruining their day, ending up with them yelling, cursing, and every now and again threatening some innocent bystander of a sales person just trying to better their lives with a product offering.

So learn to laugh, share the anecdotes with your colleagues like battle scars, and no doubt you will have a long and happy life as a sales rep.

3. Timing

Like many things in life, timing is key. When it comes to cold calling it is no different. The obvious case first: if you are in Europe and calling into the US, do not start dialling in the morning your time. Most people are not nocturnal and your call will not be answered. Also make sure you know if someone is on the East or West Coast.

On a more precise level, use timing to your advantage. If you send an email in the morning, try calling in the afternoon and leave a voicemail that references your email. Coming back to point one, show that you have done your research and you are not just another cold caller. Show that you genuinely have a solution that can help this person.

4. Confidence and Open-Ended Questions

So we have finally managed to survive the first thirty seconds. The person has not told you to F off and they are open to hearing what you have to say. Be concise with what it is you offer and how it can help them. This is something you can practise before the call and have jotted down in your notes.

And then once you ask a question, make it an open-ended one that will not quickly kill the conversation and dismantle all your good work up until now. Ask something like:

• How are you currently handling X?

• Where do things normally slow down in the X process?

• What happens if X gets delayed?

Use the small amount of time you have on the phone to gently allow the person to realise they may have a problem that just maybe you can help them with. Ultimately the goal of a cold call is not to close any deals, it is merely to stir up enough interest in this stranger to sit down and have a proper 15 or 30 minute conversation with you at a later date. Once you have unearthed enough of a need for that, feel free to stop bothering this person and book a meeting for later that day or in the week.

5. Lock in the Details

Speaking of booking meetings, some important things to remember. Once you finally find someone who is actually interested and wants to learn more, send the meeting invite over the phone and ask if they can accept right then so they won't forget. You will most likely already have their email address so have that ready to paste into the calendar invite.

And just like that you have conquered the cold call final boss. Nothing can stop you.

3 Cold Call Openers

The hardest and most intimidating part of any cold call that actually gets answered, and also where most cold calls fail, is right at the very start. You don't even get a chance to share your well rehearsed elevator pitch. So to prevent that from happening, here are three tried and tested openers to help you actually have a conversation with the person on the other end of the phone.

Pattern Interrupt

This one may seem obvious but sometimes the most obvious advice is the most easily overlooked. When someone answers the phone do not jump straight into the pitch. Don't start firing off features and benefits before they even know who you are.

Instead open by asking permission and being upfront that this is a cold call. People appreciate the honesty, it lowers their guard, and they might just let you talk. Start with something simple like "Hey this is a cold call but there's a specific reason I reached out..." and then use your research to show you actually have something worth saying.

Problem-Led

Similar to the previous point but a bit more direct. Get quickly to what you have to say and lead with a question. It is not as polite and may work better in certain markets than others, but it can be very effective. After a quick opener like "Is now a good time to talk?" jump straight into something relevant based on your research. Think "How are you currently handling turnaround on X?" or "What type of issues are you seeing with X right now?"

This one won't work all the time but when it does it is a very efficient way to quickly assess whether this person actually has a problem you can solve.

Trigger-Based

This one I already touched on earlier. Use a recent signal and tie it back to how they may have a growing need for your product. Keep it simple:

• "Saw you're hiring a Head of CMC, congratulations on the growth."

• "Noticed you're heading into pre-clinical, that's a big milestone."

• "Saw the Series B announcement, looks like a big year ahead."

Use this to open up the conversation and ask about any new challenges they may be experiencing off the back of recent changes, good or bad, for the company.

Conclusion

I hope this helps you tackle the scary demon of cold calling and gives you the confidence to jump on the phones alongside whatever outreach you are already doing. Adding multiple channels to your prospecting motion increases the likelihood of converting that lead to a meeting, and that meeting into an actual deal.

At Succession we currently focus on email and LinkedIn outreach, so some of our clients let us do the heavy lifting there while they take care of running the calls themselves. If you are curious about how we support life science companies with the broader prospecting motion, feel free to book some time below.

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Episode 82: [Leadership] How to navigate different stages of growth and commercialization with Sonya Weigle

1. Lead Generation: We’ll build target lists, write scientifically relevant messaging, and send messages on your behalf to book qualified sales meetings with biotech and pharma companies.

2. Training for Teams: If you want to upskill your team around prospecting, driving to close, key account management, AI, or any other topic, we can put together a training plan specific to your organization’s needs.

3. Strategy Call: Need more than training? Want help implementing and executing your sales strategy? In a 30-minute call, we will assess your company’s current situation and identify growth opportunities.