This is very much a topical issue at the moment and one that I cannot ignore. I’ve been reading and viewing Jeffrey Gittomer’s blog regarding this very same subject and here’s my take on this.
Jeffrey’s views are that the cold call is dead. I think we’ll agree to disagree.
The cold call isn’t dead, but as your only sales strategy it certainly is.
Cold calling is and should only ever be one of your sales strategies. Reliance on this strategy only or indeed only one strategy is quite simply crazy.
What exactly is a cold call anyway? Well here’s the dictionary definition to “make an unsolicited call on (someone), by telephone or in person, in an attempt to sell goods or services”
Ouch! Sounds pretty intimidating doesn’t it.
Well this is the primary problem with the definition as I see it. You never try to sell something over the phone. Full stop. If you do, you will fail.
The only purpose of your call is to get an appointment. Then and only then can you really sell your product or service.
We built a €20m business previously with this basic strategy. The call was purely to get the opportunity to get the appointment. Needless to say we did a huge amount of research first to ensure that the businesses we were calling were the right kind of businesses, and we worked hard to determine whether they had a genuine need, before we would meet anyone.
You know what, it still works. While many of you are out there networking every hour god gives you, you are ignoring a very effective strategy that can build your business quickly.
Going back to my original point though. Only having this as your strategy is crazy. You need to have a number of marketing/sales strategies in operation at all times. Furthermore you need to measure their effectiveness continuously to determine their return on investment in time and money.
Ultimately getting referrals, networking, web marketing, direct mail, advertising, speaking, writing all can be very effective, so they should all be part of your sales and marketing mix.
Delivering excellent service and products, generates referrals and referrals are always the most effective way to generate new business.
In building the business we used referral marketing strategies, networking, some local advertising, direct mail, cold calling/telesales and cold calling/ hot knocking . Individually they all contributed something but collectively they were a very effective way to grow our business quickly and generate a sustainable pipeline of new business.
In summary the cold call for me is still alive and well, but only as one strategy in a basket of strategies. It delivers quick and measurable results (in fact it is the easiest to measure). However don’t try to sell on the phone. Try to have a conversation with a view to getting an appointment.
Actions,
Assess your sales strategies and ensure that you have several that are measurable. Run them in tandem with each other to maximise the effectiveness. Seriously assess the value cold calling can bring to your business and integrate it in to your sales and marketing strategies.
The cold call isn’t dead, long live the cold call…
Best of luck Ronan
Contact me on www.ronankilroy.ie and arrange a FREE 90 minute coaching session.
It’s really a great and useful piece of info. I am glad that you simply shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.