Cold calls are dead long live the “cold” call
Cold calls are dead long live the “cold” call 
Just this past week I received one of the worst cold calls – ever. The caller, who I believe called me from an outsourced meat grinding call center, immediately asked me for my e-mail address because he wanted to mail me “a great white paper”. About what? He had no idea. When asked what this would help me do better he could not answer that question either. “Just give me your mail address and read the white paper, it’s totally free and you will find it helpful”, he said upon which I asked how it adds any value to me. Still nothing.
After 2 more minutes of our bantering he finally gave up and said his goodbyes without getting my mail address. This was truly a cold call. Ice cold in fact. Folks like this waste our and their time. Why do they call in the first place?
Then there are calls I get where the folks engage in a total different cold call: They may not know you, but they call very well prepared.
- They do their web research of you and the company you work for.
- They figure out how their stuff helps add value to you.
- They have a compelling message.
- They are totally transparent, cordial, and overall are just nice people.
No I will start listening. While the cold call as such is an outdated and obsolete sales and marketing tool, there is a way to connect with people whom you do not know. Such “cold” calls are only cold because the caller may never have spoken with the person on the other side of the phone. Calls in which the caller prepares as per the four points above typically turn to hot sales potential. Cold calls are dead, long live the cold call. Just check out Chuck Piola’s “Going in cold” book.
Ralf
