The Sooner You Stop the Cold Calling is Dead Delusion and Accept Reality, the Sooner You May Close More Great Accounts.
Fact: “Cold Calling is Dead” is a lie.
Mail is dead. Books are dead. Email is dead. The internet is dead. Cold calling is dead. Newspapers are dead. Those that believe such things are denying themselves powerful tools that can be component parts of a very powerful business development system.
Does Cold Calling Work? Do Bears….
… well, you know.
Let me share one trait that very successful business developers share. The ability to accept reality.
Accepting reality is key to exposing the cold calling is dead lie.
Truth #1: Practically all that sell higher ticket or longer sales process items, most that seek to close more strategic accounts and higher value work, those that know they have a superior service offering for yet unaware qualified future accounts, use some form of cold calling. How is that for a cold calling is dead factoid.
Truth #2: Many of those that use successful cold calling techniques for great personal profit… don’t like to do it. Yours truly among them. I smiled and dialed my way to setting more than 2,000 B2B sales appointments in diverse industries and it took discipline and stupid mind tricks to keep doing the right things consistently. Even now I have to take a deep breath before starting a phone session.
Use Cold Calling Techniques that Work and You Will Scoff at the Cold Calling is Dead Crowd
Not liking cold calling, not wanting to do it, preferring to eat glass rather than cold call, all understandable. But that doesn’t make the cold calling is dead lie true, nor does it make this potentially very effective business development tactic less valuable as part of your overall effective new business development process.
The foundation for “cold calling is dead” beliefs are very weak. Frankly, I believe that many of the core beliefs of the cold calling is dead crowd are silly.
Before I get to the grand daddy whopper of the cold calling is dead lie, lets review some cold calling tips silliness
Inbound is better. Hopefully, that is true for you and receiving more qualified inbound inquiries at an acceptable cost should be a part of everybody’s plan. It is certainly easier to close a qualified prospect that comes to you. But, if your inbound volume is insufficient, or attracting losers and tire-kickers, then you might want to peel off your cold calling is dead bumper sticker. If you need more leads and can identify qualified suspects that would benefit from your offering, call them. Cold call them as part of an overall effective process and use cold calling techniques that work.
Social Media has replaced it. How many top producing sales people do you know that credit their superior success to tweets and facebook posts? I don’t know any. Do cold calling is dead believers really think that key decision-makers within desired future accounts will find their online posts and call them…. and in sufficient quantity to meet sales growth goals. Not happening.
Linkedin has replace cold calling. Linkedin is a tremendous tool and proper use of it is an invaluable cold calling technique. It helps you to find high value qualified targets and identify key decision-makers within them. Lets pop another cold calling is dead fantasy. These people don’t know you. When you contact them it is a cold call. Freezing.
Before we get to the grand daddy of all cold calling is dead lies, one more…
There are “new rules.” This piece of cold calling is dead propaganda typically expounds that “new rules” have made previous methods of cold calling obsolete and that new cold calling version 2.72 has replaced it. Funny thing though, when you scrape the coating off this one (use gloves, it’s messy) and get to what is underneath you will typically read things like “only call the best ones,” “say things meaningful to your prospects” and “don’t waste their time.” These revelatory game changing cold calling tips sound an awful like the key components of cold calling in the old days. Are there new resources and technologies being used by effective sales prospectors today? Yes. But the core principles of what got you a meeting, a phone appointment or a webinar meeting in the “old” days have not substantially changed and should not be abandoned.
The grand daddy of the cold calling is dead fantasy machine… drum roll please…
That by sending an email or letter, that you have transformed your cold call into a warm call. That when you follow up you are building an existing relationship or somehow continuing a conversation. David Copperfield could not pull that one off. The only way you continue that conversation is by talking to a mirror. Not only is this ludicrous, but it is very dangerous advice to sales prospecting. This is the real world. 99.5 % of those that get such emails or letters never see them and if they do see them, forget them immediately. On a meter ranging from stone cold calling to welcomed trusted adviser, you haven’t even moved the needle. To think you have is delusional.
Why the cold calling is dead lie costs many a lot of money.
I am not suggesting that cold calling is superior to other tactics and should be used by everyone.
I am not assuming that cold calling is right for you or your company.
I am suggesting that you be objective about evaluating whether cold calling can be part, part, of your overall effective business development plan.
If it is, do it right and use cold calling techniques that work and have been proven.
Like any stage of a sales process, there are techniques appropriate for that stage. Execute them well or you lose.
When seeking to earn a “next step” with someone who doesn’t know you, there are specific techniques proven to get you to that next step and closer to a close.
The cold calling is dead thinking is dangerous as it encourages you to make believe that cold is warm and use techniques not appropriate for that stage of the sales process. The cold calling is dead lie discourages you from using proven cold calling techniques most appropriate for your real world situation.
Like Dorothy said, the cold calling is dead lie is not merely dead, it is really most sincerely dead.
Smile when you dial.
copyright 2014 scott channell
