Why Cold Calling Isn’t Dead – and Other Myths Debunked!

Myth Number One: Cold Calling is Dead

A few years ago, when social media and social selling came out (sales 2.0 they called it), there was an almost euphoric sense that spread among the sales community because everyone suddenly hoped (and, some still hold out the hope), that the worse part of their job was now a thing of the past – cold calling.

With the thousands of potential connections and message boards, and leadership groups, etc. available, it was prophesized that no more would you have to dial endlessly to find the right person, and that by just joining the right group, you would instantly have the key to the corporate suite.

Suddenly, sales gurus came out with elaborate systems and programs that showed you how you could eliminate the dreaded cold call from your daily life and how, by just crafting the right marketing campaigns or emails, or voice mails or posts, you could generate hundreds of qualified leads who would actually reach out to you.  Life would be grand!

Unfortunately, anyone still in sales can tell you that while social selling has changed things, one thing it hasn’t changed is the need to still pick up the phone and have a conversation with a prospect.  O.K., just to show all the sales trainers and blogs, and companies that I’m not still in the dark ages, while many of the outbound calls you have to make may not be completely cold (you may not still be calling from the yellow pages – remember those?), what IS true is that you still have to make calls to people who either don’t know you, or don’t necessarily want to be sold to.

So, let’s reframe the term cold calling and call it something else.  Since you still have to make outbound calls to sales prospects, you can now call them: Warm Calls, or Introduction Calls, or Follow Up Calls, or Exploratory Calls, or Call Backs, etc..

The bottom line is that if you don’t already have an established relationship with someone, and you have to pick up the phone and qualify and set up a demo or presentation of your product or service, then you have to make a, a…cold call!

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the most effective way of making those calls.  Since you still need to 1) Get past the gatekeeper, 2) Find a way to instantly build rapport and not sound like everyone else calling your prospect, 3) Qualify your prospect so you’re not wasting your time, 4) Set up a successful demo, etc…

Myth Number Two: Nobody Returns Emails Anymore

It may seem as if getting a response from an email is as impossible as getting a response from a voice mail, but that’s not true, IF you know how to use the New Rules of email.

If you’d like a guaranteed email to get over 65% of prospects who haven’t been getting back to you to finally respond to your email, then use this proven email technique:

Subject line: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

Dear _________,

I haven’t heard back from you and that tells me one of three things:

1) You’ve filled the position or you’ve already chosen another company for this.

2) You’re still interested but haven’t had the time to get back to me yet.

3) You’ve fallen and can’t get up, and in that case please let me know and I’ll call 911 for you…

Please let me know which one it is because I’m starting to worry.

Honestly, all kidding aside, I understand you’re a very busy individual and the last thing I want to do is be pain in the neck once a week. Whether you’ve just been busy or you’ve gone another direction, I would appreciate it if you would take a second to let me know so I can follow up accordingly.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Kind Regards,
(Your Signature Here)

If this made you smile, then it’ll make your prospects smile, too.  But don’t take my word for how effective this is!  Adjust it to fit your product or service and see for yourself…

Myth Number Three: LinkedIn is Just a Glorified Place to Put a Resume

Question for you: How many deals, actual sales, have you gotten from LinkedIn?  If your answer is, “Not many,” then you are probably making the mistakes MOST of your competition is making.

For example: If you’re trying to join groups and participate like everyone else, then you’ll get lost just like everyone else.  If you’re building your profile like a resume, then it will get treated like a resume (thrown away!).

Myth Number Four: Webinars are for Big Companies Only

Social Media is all about putting you in front of your target audience and positioning you as a subject matter expert.  And webinars are one of the best ways to do this.  So, the question is: How many webinars have you, as a sales professional, put together and successfully run?  Once again, if your answer is, “Not many,” then once again, I’ve got good news for you!

Once you learn the right technology (easy, fast and inexpensive), you can create what is known as “evergreen” webinars that run on demand and still have the look and feel of a new and live webinar.  This means you can be in front of hundreds of potential clients 24/7 without having to do anything (except creating it to begin with).