There is a prevailing belief in the sales profession that the idea of cold calling should be retired, and turned out to pasture. Many modern-day teachers, and gurus are telling the industry that prospecting via the telephone should be discarded in favor of email and other modes of more indirect, and perhaps safer communication. However, these claims have yet to be proven valid.
It is important to understand that this article is not to put other modes of communication in a bad light. Rather, it is to highlight that older technologies should not be rejected as being unusable simply because they have been around longer than other technologies. For sales professionals to be truly successful, it is better to have the most diverse, and effective tools in their arsenal.
Let’s face it: making the sale is far from easy. There are many aspects that are hard, and cold calling is one of the worst. It takes the right training, a lot of practice, and an almost infinite amount of patience to develop the skills necessary to recognize the art that is cold calling. It is a skill that must be learned through training and practice, and the learning skill can become a lot more manageable with the right mentoring. Chances are, if you think that cold calling is a waste of time, you haven’t really been taught how to use this tool effectively.
Like it or not, prospecting is one of the most effective ways to bring new life into your business and win over prospective clients. Companies large and small use cold calls to prospect for new clients, and do so on a regular basis. Sometimes these leads will lead to other referrals, and still others will lead to advertising opportunities. The possibilities are truly formidable.