The Definition of Cold Calling
Learn what cold calling is and how you can become better at it.
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The Definition of Cold Calling
It seems that no one knows exactly how to define a cold call–not the experts, not sales professionals, not sales managers. Even training companies that teach cold calling techniques stumble when asked to provide a solid definition of a cold call. I find this troubling; and it certainly can be confusing to sales professionals who depend on cold calling to keep their sales pipelines full.
Do You Know What Cold Calling Is?
Think about it. How can you learn to do something well if no one can actually tell you what the thing is? So we end up with dozens of monikers for what is essentially the same thing:
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cold calls
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warm calls
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hot leads
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referrals
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drop-ins
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knocking on doors
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warming up the cold call
The list goes on. And because there are so many different ideas about what a cold call actually is, there are just as many ideas on how to go about cold calling. Unfortunately, many sales professionals who don’t really understand what cold calling is waste money on books, tapes, and trainings full of empty promises that they will “never have to cold call again.”
What Exactly Is Cold Calling?
The reality is that in most sales jobs if you don’t cold call, you will fail. Most experts, trainers, and sales managers can agree on that fact. Another fact: Cold calling is not this big scary complicated thing. It is actually quite simple.
You see a cold call simply means that you are interrupting a prospect’s day with an unscheduled call or visit. When you pick up the phone or walk in the door and interrupt the day of someone not currently in your sales pipeline, it is a cold call. You can argue the degrees–warm, hot, cold, or whatever. But the simple fact remains, you are interrupting their day to talk about something you want them to do or buy.
Some Cold Calls are Easier Than Others
When you look at thing this way you may instantly see that some cold calls (or interruptions) will be easier than others. If you just met a person at a conference, trade show, or event; if the person is a referral; or if you previously connected with someone on LinkedIn, Facebook, Sales Gravy, Plaxo or Twitter, you will often find you’ll get a warmer reception than if you randomly pulled a name out of the phone book or your CRM. That however does not change the fact that you are still calling your prospect, connection, or lead without a prior appointment. You are still interrupting their day.
How to Make Better Cold Calls
Try standing in your prospect’s shoes. Consider how you feel when your work day is interrupted by someone who calls you unannounced. It can make you feel irritated, angry, or resentful. And in many cases, the call comes right when you are in the middle of a task or project, or when you’re about to walk out of the door. Prospects are people–just like you–who resent having their day interrupted by an unscheduled caller.
Knowing that you’re interrupting someone’s day, your objective, then, is to make the call quick and to the point so that you achieve your objective–which is setting an appointment, getting information, or closing the sale. When you make your cold calls quick and to the point, it takes pressure off of you and off of the prospect. Being quick is respectful of your prospect’s time and it allows you to make more calls–which in turn keeps your pipeline full.
We’ll continue our series on cold calling next week with a discussion on the anatomy of a Cold Call. For an additional resource on cold calling I highly recommend the book The Real Secrets of the Top 20% – How to Double Your Income Over the Phone by Mike Brooks. This award winning book is one of the ever written on the subject.
This is Jeb Blount, the Sales Guy. If you have a sales question please send it to salesguy@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email.
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