No Need To Cold Call From Frank Rumbauskas
Cold calling might be dead. If laws were passed to put it to rest how would we generate business from now on?
Depending on the background of the individual opinions on this subject will vary greatly. Many of the old-timers are open-eyed in their belief that the only way to succeed in the world of selling is to make no less than 50 calls every day. Younger salespeople get frustrated with this idea fast and then start looking for other ways to generate business.
I was reminded how deep-seated cold calling is. A friend of mind had a sales employment a few weeks ago at a major merchant procession bank. He left right after he started. Why? Because he was expected to make four hundred cold calls each week and he was to document his activity with business cards. This man is highly experienced and certainly knows how to create business without knocking on four hundred door a week. He went to his managers and tried telling them his strategies that had worked for him in the past. They told him this is how it has been done for 40 years and they were not about to change.
That response, in my opinion, is the reason we’re seeing record business bankruptcies today. The world and our economy have changed and are breaking into bold, unchartered territory. But the management of most business organizations insists on doing things the old way, even though the old way produces less and less results as time goes on.
Interruption Marketing which is an old idea is becoming less economical and more wasteful. On the other hand, the concept of Permission Marketing is gaining a great deal of popularity. For numerous reasons, cold calling is becoming less effective as we move farther into the Information Age. This destroys your status as a businesses equal. While you spend time with unqualified prospects the competition is being bought by your competition. Cold calling is annoying and is considered rude and disrespectful. In some states it is illegal and it destroys salespeople’s attitude.
Can you find any good news in this? Yes, the good news is that you need to begin using new innovative, Information Age ways for prospecting. Doing this leaves you much farther ahead of your competitors who are still wasting their time frustrating people with cold calls. People are still knocking on doors or making cold calls to find business in this age of the Internet and communication networks.
There is power at the end of your fingertips because there are so many ways to use the Web and email to let the idea of Permission Marketing do its thing. Let the customers raise their hands and tell you they are interested. You need to be finding, implementing and reaping the benefits of this brave new Information Age. While you are excitedly taking orders your competitors will be in bankruptcy court telling about their do not call violations to the government.