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Without cold calling our company would not survive.  It is a vital role in our industry of overhead cranes and hoists for service.  We have a web site which has worked well for us.  But, the cold call is great.  Most are open to what I have to say and because they are dealing with another company already is not a deterent from me sending them information or a quote.  Some say it is old fashioned, but it's how you do it that works.  The fast pace of society today, I don't think works as well because it is all rushed.  You'd better hurry as offer ends...... or Mr. Smith is going to buy it before you (the good old fear factor).  People today want to be informed about their decision and want to see the value in what the sales person is selling.  The seasoned salesperson on a cold call is a fantastic way of gathering, nuturing new prospects.  You just have to learn how to hold your tongue right!

Jim - Great comments, and thanks for the friend invite.  Too many companies are putting warm bodies in the chairs to process internet "shopping cart" orders.  Their logic is that as margins get squeezed, they need to lower their cost per order.  I'm old school like you.  I have no problem cold-calling anyone, and I get frustrated with the companies who hide behind website registration tactics.  I do business with people.  I target my cold calls to prospects that make sense, and also try to make sure that I am getting all of the business from current customers.  do it right enough times, and your "cold calls" become "warm referrals".

I get a lot of referrals from some companies I cold call who don't need my services at that present time.  Which is great!  I do that too Barcode, I check out the company first to make sure they will need something I have.  I never do random cold calls. I always investigate first.

Snile - So you sell cranes.  I would guess that if a prospect has any need for your product, they already know it.  If you call them with the simple question of, "I understand you use cranes in your facility, is that correct?  They are going to say yes.  It is a product they need for a specific task.  The products I sell (barcode equipment) can be put off in favor of less automated or manual alternatives.  If the prospect does not see the value, return on investment, or just plain doesen't have the budget for it at the moment.  In your environment, as with most sales, they may not need a crane today, but odds are that they will need one sometime in the future.  Cold calling to prospects who NEED your product, is vastly different from cold calling to prospects who merely WANT it.  An example would be a partnership buyout insurance policy on the partners in a business, vs. someone buying insurance becasue they feel it is important and the right thing to do.  In the partnership agreement, they MUST buy the insurance.  If you do your prospecting correctly, every call you make should be to someone who has a need for your product.  There is no substitute, unless of course, you've seen some of the "creative" alternatives on the internet.

Cold calling is fun, but not always that productive.  Focus on current customers, and prospects in similar businesses to your current customers, but the one I like best is the customers of your worst competitor.  To force himself to cold-call, a former coworker of mine would duct tape the phone receiver to his head.  Once he was "set up", he made lots of calls, because it really hurt to take off the tape when he quit. 

Goose - I'm the guy who worked with the "duct tape" cold-caller.  You are right in your assertion that cold calling effectiveness is somewhat industry and product dependent.  What type of software do you sell?  I have spent a long time in the barcode industry (Selling both hardware and software).  The industry has matured and moved to an internet fulfillment model.  Visit our website. Fill your cart.  And if you require assistance, one of our (questionably) trained customer service "experts" will be glad to assist you.   That's not the way I sell.  It also leads to cold-calling that becomes pricing based, and a "race to the bottom."  BTW - I tried to send you an invite, but it would not go through. 

I believe cold calling is a way of life in sales.  Today you have to think outside the box also.  Emails, something small to set you a part from everyone else.  I always mailed a Herscheys Candy Bar with a smiley sticker on it to say "Thanks".  The sales climate is very rigid currently have to be creative.

   I believe that cold calling is vital part of any sales position. When I refer to cold calling I am talking about face to face contact. It may seem  time consuming but I feel that once you have made that once you have made that initial call things start to fall in place. It is not going to happen over night. Some of my most loyal customers took close to year to convince to give me a try. The truth of the matter is that ultimately  they buy from the individual not the company. My field is chemical sales and for the most part they can purchase what they need on the Internet. The thing that I have found that gives me the edge is the fact that they know who they are buying from. I find that because my competitors do not take the time initially it makes my job that much easier. In most cases I find that this also eliminates a lot of the price issues because they want to do business with some one they trust even if it costs a little more. 

goose says ...

 This is GREAT:

 To force himself to cold-call, a former coworker of mine would duct tape the phone receiver to his head.  Once he was "set up", he made lots of calls, because it really hurt to take off the tape when he quit. 

I think that it's highly dependent on the industry that you're in.  Cranes vs. insurance vs. enterprise software...they're all different.

I'm in software sales and I find that cold calling is inefficient.  The probability that I can get the right guy on the phone and that he's in a buying cycle is slim and the number of people that will call back from a voice mail is almost nil.  I call on a very large territory, so building relationships is difficult.  I look to marketing to find leads that have interest and then I do the "warm call" and move it ahead from there.

goose, thanks for your reply, your insight to your business offers an ability to understand the best use of time. In the survey, cold calls still have a huge advantage. I agree they may not be the most effective manner to build business but what if you get an additional sale per year, or per month through cold calls? Perhaps during some slow time it can still bea good activity for you.

mduerr says ...

It's the best way to build relationships. Face to face, eye ball to eyeball. I love it!. I sell an intangible, not insurance or financial services.  Clients love me. I love them.

 

Contact me sometime and we will talk. I'm in California, Norhtern and central

 

Marc

Marc, old school, look em in the eye, you make it fun and I bet generate some leads!