Cold calling might be dead. If laws were passed to put it to rest how would we generate business from now on?
Individual opinions on this subject will alter a lot depending on the their background. The old-timers are watchful in their belief that the only way to succeed in selling is to make no less than fifty calls a day. This idea is frustrating to younger salespeople and they start seeking other ways to create business.
I was just reminded of how ingrained this cold calling belief is. I spoke with a friend who left a sales position with a major merchant processing bank only a few weeks after starting. The reason? He was required to make a minimum of 400 cold calls each and every week and to document his activity with business cards. He is highly experienced and knows how to generate business without knocking on 400 doors per week and decided to discuss the strategies that have worked for him in the past with his managers. Their response? This is how we've done it for forty years and we're 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.
The old idea of Interruption Marketing is becoming less cost-effective and more wasteful where as the concept of Permission Marketing is gaining a lot of popularity. As we move farther into the Information Age, cold calling has for numerous reasons become less effective. This destroys your status as a businesses equal. The qualified prospects are buying from your competition while you spend time with unqualified prospects. It is considered to be rude and disrespectful and annoys people. In some states it is illegal . This destroys salespeople's attitudes.
Where is the good news in all of this? Well, the great news is that if you begin using new, innovative, "Information Age" methods for prospecting, you'll be miles ahead of your competitors who are wasting their time annoying people with cold calls. In this age of the Internet and vast communication networks, why on earth would anyone knock on doors or make cold phone calls to look for business?
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.
Individual opinions on this subject will alter a lot depending on the their background. The old-timers are watchful in their belief that the only way to succeed in selling is to make no less than fifty calls a day. This idea is frustrating to younger salespeople and they start seeking other ways to create business.
I was just reminded of how ingrained this cold calling belief is. I spoke with a friend who left a sales position with a major merchant processing bank only a few weeks after starting. The reason? He was required to make a minimum of 400 cold calls each and every week and to document his activity with business cards. He is highly experienced and knows how to generate business without knocking on 400 doors per week and decided to discuss the strategies that have worked for him in the past with his managers. Their response? This is how we've done it for forty years and we're 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.
The old idea of Interruption Marketing is becoming less cost-effective and more wasteful where as the concept of Permission Marketing is gaining a lot of popularity. As we move farther into the Information Age, cold calling has for numerous reasons become less effective. This destroys your status as a businesses equal. The qualified prospects are buying from your competition while you spend time with unqualified prospects. It is considered to be rude and disrespectful and annoys people. In some states it is illegal . This destroys salespeople's attitudes.
Where is the good news in all of this? Well, the great news is that if you begin using new, innovative, "Information Age" methods for prospecting, you'll be miles ahead of your competitors who are wasting their time annoying people with cold calls. In this age of the Internet and vast communication networks, why on earth would anyone knock on doors or make cold phone calls to look for business?
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.
About the Author:
Frank Rumbauskus is the author of Cold Calling Is a Waste of Time: Sales Success in the info Age. He is the founder of FJR Advisors LLC, which publishes training materials about prospecting business without cold calling. He also has a nationwide insurance agency. For added information, please go to http:// http://www.nevercoldcallagain.com
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