HARDISON’S TIPS – OCTOBER 6, 2021 – As a Sales Strategy, Cold Calling Hasn’t Worked in a Long Time
Remember 15 years ago when you used to get calls at home or at work soliciting business? You didn’t like those calls then, and you probably like them even less now. Cold calls are impersonal, if not lazy. They’re also hugely irritating as we simply don’t have time to deal with them. With the business world in its present state, I really don’t see how salespeople, sales managers, and sales organizations can afford to keep wasting their time on old ideas that are obsolete. Why would we be successful calling someone we have no relationship with, that we’ve never called on before, and ask them for their business? Consider these two scenarios:
1) You are in the midst of your day when a doctor calls and says, “Hi, this is Dr. Smith. I am calling today to find out when you might be available to come in for an appointment for the purpose of treating any illness we may find that you have at this time.”
2) You are busy and someone walks right into your office and says, “Hi, I’m with Fred’s Auto Shop. We would like to set up a time for you to bring your car into our shop so we can take a look at it and determine if there might be any reason for you to become our customer.”
I know this sounds funny, but stop and think about it – is it really that different than what you are doing when you engage in cold calling?
There is simply no point calling on someone who is not interested in what you have to offer. As a sales strategy, cold calling forces you to spend your valuable, productive selling time tyring to coerce uninterested people. Have you ever heard of the adage, “Sales is a numbers game?” That “numbers game” should refer to the number of rejections we experience when making cold calls. Those people who do listen to your canned pitch often listen just so you will soon go away.
Have you ever noticed the same companies that ask their sales people to make cold calls, often post “No Soliciting” signs on their building? Hmmm . . . If they think people are so receptive to this approach, why not allow salespeople to drop in on them?
There are many effective sales strategies to reach key decision makers. We live in an environment where volumes of information is at our fingertips. In addition to implementing effective sales and marketing strategies, concentrate on utilizing your network to gain referrals to the people you want to meet.
