I have read article after article on how cold calling is dead. There’s a wildly successful book on it. All types of supposed “sales gurus” have written articles on it. It’s their new mantra. Disappointing.

A couple of questions for these folks that say there’s no room for cold calling… When is the last time you actually cold called? Have you ever cold called? Where’s your credibility? I am pretty sure in most cases they haven’t or did so briefly with bad direction. Then why is their non-credible misinformation so popular? That’s pretty easy. Cold calling is hard! Why? What other prospecting tool can you get so many negative responses in such a short span. Who likes turn-downs? Who likes pain? Sales gurus know this and are making a lot of money on telling you to not cold call.

“Fear about cold calling is just temporary especially when your making calls for the very first time. In time and with practice fear gets replaced with incremental success.”

Please don’t misunderstand me… I’m not advocating to only cold call. If you’ve been following my articles you know I fully support social media, foot-blitzing , and networking as well. But I also support cold calling as an integral part of your sales prospecting tools. Why?

Cold Calling and Timing

“How did my competition get in the deal on the 11th hour?” While there are many reasons this could happen… many times it’s just timing, a cold call. Timing is everything in sales. If you don’t understand what I just said then you’re either not in sales or haven’t been for very long. Let me give you an example.

Successful one man sales shop uses cold calling.

I have a friend that runs a very successful communications business. His sales prowess has helped him sell as much or more than much larger organizations. How can a one man sales organization do this? I can sum it up in two words. Cold calling. He has three telemarketers that do nothing but “dial for dollars”. Efficient and highly effective. His competition is always complaining about him getting into deals on the 11th hour. “Do we have moles”? He’ll tell you it’s all about timing.

“Anytime you do something out-of-the-box, something different, your prospects will remember you every single time that you call!”

Consider this… The Phone is Critical to Your Success.

Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com says there are five reasons the phone is still the best way to start and to grow a business, especially during tough times:

(1) Calls are cheaper to make and to take than ever before. Unlimited dialing plans enable all of us to reach out & sell nearly anyone, anywhere for pennies.

(2) Calls are the fastest way to test your product or service. A frosty reception is a signal that you need to heat-up your offer, and fast. As he came to learn, when you hit the right note, prospects will “sing” back to you, signaling their genuine interest.

(3) Calls are highly interpersonal, unlike emails and Internet browsing. We get to hear each other’s words, tones, and as I mentioned, reactions, and shape our conversation to appeal to the specific needs and wants of individuals.

(4) Calls can be multiplied once you have discovered the magic formula. You can achieve one of the first and most important functions of good management: delegation to others, so you can grow your business.

(5) Calls can be made or received practically anywhere. You can live and work anywhere.

“When I experience cold call frustration I now know it’s time to re-invent myself and how I do business.”

Here are a couple of items to think about as well…

At the very least cold calling keeps your sales objection abilities sharp. You will have your remarkable message perfected. So when you do physically meet a potential customer you will be on your “A” game.

I know this is bad news for most sales professionals as they really don’t want to cold call. They want to email, twitter, and attend network meetings but not cold call. However, it is always important to understand what truly works for sales success. Don’t be duped by trendy ideas and quick success schemes or advice from non-credible resources. Sales success is about hard work and will always be. Ultimately it’s about interfacing live with a potential client. Include cold calling as part of your prospecting.

Chris Lott

Chris has over 15 year’s Sales Management experience including Business Ownership, Product Management and Web Design/Marketing. He’s a national sales team strategist and trainer. Chris is the designer of the popular totallysales™ sales playbook with thousands of copies downloaded. He’s a nationally syndicated author with his articles on SalesBlog! rated as a “top must-read” on consultative selling.