Survey after report after study tell us that cold calling is dead. Those reports may be greatly exaggerated, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a monumental waste of your time.
It’s almost a rite of passage. Young sales team members or young leaders run the gauntlet — or the metaphorical walking on red-hot coals — of new business development. After the firm exhausts its return customers, contract renewals, and trusted referral network, everyone needs to pitch in a build some new business.
You’ve got an Excel spreadsheet. It has names and numbers on it. You reach for the telephone. Your mouth is dry. You start to sweat. Dialing for Dollars has now begun.
Maybe there are older, experienced sales professionals inside the company who pull up a chair next to those new leaders and “show them the ropes.” Sometimes the firm hires a gritty sales trainer. All of this is well intentioned and some can be quite good, but times have changed — radically — and new ways to win work are critical for success.
Think about it. When is the last time you actually purchased something — anything — from someone who cold-called you? Never? Once?
For the sake of the argument, let’s say you are successful with a cold call and that results in new business. Congratulations! But now let’s look at that new deal you landed. Most likely:
- It’s a smaller deal than usual because it’s all based on price.
- There isn’t a clear understanding of the client’s needs.
- There probably isn’t buy-in across the client’s organization that you are the best service provider.
- Your colleagues probably weren’t involved much in closing the deal, so there’s little support for the client internally; it’s tough to build a project team.
- It’s likely a one-and-done contract.
It’s nearly impossible to develop the right conditions for a quality, long-term, business relationship with a cold call. Does the prospect have a need? Do they have the right information and knowledge? Do they trust you?
Somebody out there — maybe you — is itching to tell me I’m all wrong. You’ve won new work with a cold call and a quick sale. Well, I bet you have. I have too, and all the above-mentioned issues manifested at some point. And whether we want to admit it or not, we both wasted too much time on a very inefficient way to build your business.
According to the Harvard Business Review, cold calling doesn’t work 90.9% of the time. Simply put, if a tactic does not work, it’s not a wise investment of your company’s time and resources. The vast majority of buyers don’t appreciate or respond to cold calls, which is a primary reason the tactic doesn’t work.
If there is one simple takeaway I’d like readers to understand, it’s that cold calling may work, but much, much less efficiently than your business can afford. And you can’t afford to waste your time.
There is a right time to pick up the telephone. Frankly, most business relationships can really benefit from a pleasant conversation. Just don’t think you’ll have much success on Day 1.