A few weeks ago a reader posted a comment in response to my post, The Aggie Network.  He raised some good points and I thought I would share my thoughts.

I remember while working in commercial printing that the biggest threat to the industry at the time was the explosion of the Internet and digital media and the increasing desire among corporations to distribute marketing and other business materials via CD.  I think printing veterans would agree that, while some things did change, printed materials are still very popular.

I believe the same holds true for the cold call and sales in general.  Sure, new media comes along that changes the way we contact each other.  The telephone made it possible to contact your customers and prospects without leaving your office.  Email replaced the phone as an easier way to make and respond to that contact.  Today, social media outlets provide a means for organizations of all sizes to share their message in a variety of ways.  Some are more passive than others and some you can choose to receive or sign up for.  Still, in sales, especially if you are selling professional services like I do, a face-to-face discussion is best and the telephone remains a critical tool for securing those meetings.  Nothing beats word of mouth marketing, but when you approach a prospect cold the phone is still tops in my opinion.

The author of the comment asks if I, “call people willy-nilly, or do you know before picking up the phone that people have a need for your products and services or are likely to have such a need?”  I happen to be one of those people that occasionally suffers from paralysis by analysis, meaning that I will research a prospect to the point that I have spent far too much time doing research instead of gathering a little critical information and then just picking up the darn phone and dialing.  Having said that, I never just call willy-nilly, which makes a negative reply from my prospect all the more difficult to swallow.  By the time I dial the phone I know that the person I am targeting needs the type of services I offer, is likely to engage an organization like mine fairly often and believe that they would truly benefit from a business relationship with my firm and me.  If I have done my homework then I have put myself in a much better position to get a positive response and have increased my odds of securing a meeting.  If I don’t get a meeting then I figure my delivery was flawed.

Sometimes, though, you just happen to contact somebody that has a long standing relationship with someone else, doesn’t have the need currently or flat out doesn’t want to talk to one more salesperson no matter how beneficial their service or product may be.  The best way to sniff out those things is by having an actual conversation with your prospect, listening to their comments and concerns, and asking relevant questions. 

Harder to do than write about some days.