Like most business owners, I receive my share of cold calls (and cold emails). I do my best to be respectful of the callers, but franky, my patience for unrequested and cold solicitations is thin, and resistance is high to most people who inquire. In the past, this has made me to be something of a hypocrite, because my company’s sales representatives have certainly made their share of cold calls. But I’ve also learned from their experiences and failures and in fact when I see signs that our representatives are falling into the traps below, they may not be working with us much longer, as they are heading down the road to failure.
If you are cold calling to sell anything, go away.
Meaningful, lasting success occurs in this business because current and potential clients want to do business with us, not because we push stuff in their faces (canvassing) or ears (phoning). Selling stuff, cold, is demoralizing, frustrating, and draining, and I think only people with serious mental and relationship-building challenges are capable of doing this type of work. If you have a “pitch” and if you think you can “close” people over the phone, please take a hike and get some fresh air.
If you are cold calling from a list, with no knowledge or relationship with the person you are calling, forget it.
Of course, if you are calling to someone with whom you (or your company) has done business in the not-to-distant past, the call isn’t purely a cold call, or if your list is provided by someone with a relationship or referral point to the person you are calling, you can certainly communicate. But think twice before calling cold to a mass of names garnered from a public directory, list service, or other organization where you have absolutely no ties or connections with the people you are calling. Take a breath, and research and learn enough about the person you are calling to make it a one-on-one experience.
If you are calling with a canned script and programmed message, stop, take a breath, and think about what it feels like for the person receiving the call.
This is perhaps one of the biggest problems with any cold calling situation where you seek to communicate with several people in a short time span, with the same message. You undoubtedly will revert to scripted language and the person receiving your call will undoubtedly be wary and uncomfortable with the communication. The best answer to this almost inevitable process is to see if you can mix things up a bit, and most importantly, adapt your call with a message which shows humanity rather than robotic communication.
Cold calling, if you do it, should be focused on setting the stage for a positive and rewarding relationship, not trying to collect a quick buck. Generally, your best approach is marketing-focused; that is, setting the stage for the call with some fun and creative gives and warm-up communications. But you can pick up the phone (or send an email) to anyone you like to start the relationship, if you consider and avoid the follies above.
You can find some other opinions about cold calling by heading back to the “old” Construction Marketing Ideas blog and keying “cold calling within the blog’s search function.
