There is nothing wrong with a good old fashioned cold call...

How many times over the last few years have you heard things like "no more cold calls" or "cold calling is a waste of time" or my personal favorite "cold calling is obsolete". I have never heard anything more absurd! The last time I checked, not many of us need to hire new staff to handle a massive influx of customers wanting to buy our product without making a single sales call. We are all too often sucked into this "get new customers without lifting a finger" gimmick. I am sure that some of the tactics presented by the "no more cold calling" supporters work to some extent. Having said that, I would challenge any of them to face off against a good sales rep making cold calls. I know who would be left standing.

The benefit to a great cold calling effort is most obviously, revenue but let's look at some of the forgotten benefits... Increased brand recognition, great company exposure and residual income. Residual income??? Yeah, customers that have had a positive experience with you on the phone will remember you first when they need something. You may be thinking... "how is this a positive experience? Nobody likes getting sales calls..." Well, you're right and you're not. Nobody likes to get a scripted, robotic sales call. Nobody likes to get a product shoved down their throat. What people do like is someone genuinely interested in their business and their needs. Building relationships with your customers instead of trying to find new ways to avoid them.

We all know making sales calls is the best way to help us win business, gain exposure and build relationships. So why don't we just suck it up and make the calls? Well, because most of us would rather spend time fiddling with these fly by night strategies that produce far lower results. Let's get back to calling our potential customers instead of crossing our fingers and hoping they call us....