Replacing the cold call with . . . ANYTHING!

There may indeed be greater time-wasters in the sales world—but I can’t think of any.

I am sick of the argument that cold calling still has a valuable place in selling. Someone PLEASE show me the value: Cold-calling generates a rejection rate of 98 percent or more—and a 100 percent rate of interruption of the prospect. Virtually everyone you contact already has what you’re selling or knows what you’re selling.

Cold calling is a sign that you are wholly unprepared to talk about your customer’s needs, and it requires you to be manipulative just to get through to the decision maker.

The fact is, most sales managers could not succeed at what they ask their salespeople to do, and the inevitable rejection is the biggest cause of sales personnel turnover. Ask any sales professional if they’d rather have 100 cold calls or a single referral.

So knowing all of that, why do sales managers insist on, even measure, cold-call numbers? Answer: I have no earthly idea.

Herewith, some real-world strategies to eliminate cold calling. These are ideas and strategies that require smart, hard-working people to turn the strategies into money:

1. Build relationships and earn referrals. Visit existing customers. Offer ideas and help.

2. Use LinkedIn to make new connections. Use the keyword search feature to uncover prospects you never knew existed. Then connect without using the standard wording. Be original.

3. Ask your informal network of connections to recommend customers. Building local and industry-specific relationships—and maintaining them—is critical to building your success. Pinpoint people who respect and admire your ability, the same way you respect and admire theirs.

4. Network face-to-face, at the highest level possible. Not at cocktail parties; join high-level executive groups and get involved.

5. Join a business association—not a leads club. Some place where owners gather.

6. Speak in public. All civic groups are eager to get a speaker for their weekly meetings. Be the speaker. If you give a value talk, a memorable talk, every member of the audience will want to connect. You’ll have the potential to gain 50 “cold call” connections each time you speak—without cold calling.

7. Speak at trade shows. Why not get praise for the great speech you gave at the conference every time someone walks by your booth, instead of trying to get them to putt a ball into a plastic cup?

8. Write an article. Nothing breeds attraction like the written word. I am a living example of what writing can do to change a career. Get in front of people who can say yes to you and become known as an expert.

9. Write an industry white paper. CEOs want to create great reputations, keep customers loyal, keep employees loyal, have no problems, maintain safety, and make a profit. Write about how your industry does that and everyone will want to read it (and meet with you). White paper, or brochure? You tell me … which one gets you invited in the door? Which one earns you respect? Which one builds your reputation? And the ouch question: Which one are you using?

10. Give referrals. Yes, give referrals. What better way to gain respect, cosmic debt, word-of-mouth advertising, and reputation? Warning: This will require hard work.

11. Send a once-a-week, value-based message to existing and prospective customers. For the past decade, my weekly e-mail magazine, Sales Caffeine, has been a major source of value to my customers and revenue to me. Where’s yours?

12. Contact current customers who aren’t using 100 percent of your product line, but could be. You might have gold in your own back yard. No cold call needed. Call existing customers and get more of their business.

13. Reconnect with lost customers. This little-used strategy will net you more results than any cold-call campaign on the planet. It takes courage to connect, but once you discover why you lost them, you can create strategies to recover the account—often more than 50 percent of the time.

Cold call time challenge: What is your real use of time making futile cold calls? That’s a number you do not want to see. And how much of your use of time is a waste of time? You don’t want to see that number, either.

Gotta make cold calls? Boss making you cold call? Here’s the strategy for making a transition: Allocate your time. If you have to make 50 cold calls a week, allocate enough time to connect with 50 existing or lost customers in the same week. And ask your boss to do both with you. Let him or her see the futility of making cold calls. Ask them to make 50 cold calls. My bet? They won’t—or can’t.

The reality is, you can double your quota, double your sales numbers using the strategies above, and your bosses won’t care one lick if you ever make another cold call. In fact, they’ll be asking you how you did it.

Return to Ingram's June 2012

Jeffrey Gitomer is author of The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.
P     | 704.333.1112
E     | salesman@gitomer.com