Customer Success

Is Cold Calling Heating Up Again?

July 30, 2012

With the rise of inbound marketing and sales 2.0, is cold calling still a viable sales technique? Some experts say it might be time rethink the deep freeze on cold calls.

In “This Week in Sales,” the web series from Inside Sales Recruiting founder and CEO Kevin Gaither, guest Mike Brooks discusses cold calling and its relevancy in today’s dynamic sales environment.

While Gaither and Brooks agree that inbound marketing and other sources provide plenty of leads for businesses, cold calling is still a necessary part of any sales strategy. Brooks suggests reframing “the term ‘cold calling,’ because even if you get a warm lead, even with all the networking sites, all sales 2.0, that’s all great…but at the end of the day, you have to pick up the phone and make a connection with someone.”

Brooks provides quick rules for anchoring cold calls with customer connections before making an introduction with a prospective lead. After the introduction, don’t get too focused on any one lead – move on to the next, Brooks says. Companies with the highest closing percentages often also have with the smallest number of lead prospects. Those companies avoid focusing too narrowly on any one big fish and keep moving to the next lead.

Director of Analytics and Search

Matthew is the Director of Analytics and Search at <a href="http://www.stringautomotive.com">String Automotive</a>. Previously he was a Web Content Specialist at OpenView.