Sales 101-A Forgotten Tool

Being in the online space for over ten years, there is one thing that confuses me: Why do people say cold calling is dead?

Before my career in the interactive space, I was in telecom for over ten years. We sold local, long distance, T'1's, DSL, etc. And we cold called. Not via email, or IM, but, rather, starting out with physically knocking on doors. From 10-4, I d be out of the office in the Bronx one day, midtown NYC the next, Westchester County, etc., knocking on doors of offices, in all weather, trying to introduce myself and get to the dm. When we got back to the office, we d put the company and dm information on index cards, and store them either for next day, or under a tab for that month, or days in the month. CRM tools were non existent. Then, we would spend time calling people, intrpducing ourselves, saying we spoke with "Judy," or whoever the receptionist was, and was told you were the person who handles these decisions. But this type of selling does not exist in the online space.

When I joined the space in 2002, I was introduced to a world of the CRM, salesforce. I was instantly smitten. So easy, so manageable, so effective. I was also introduced to sites like Hoovers, where we can get the dm's name. "Wow," I thought "this is awesome." And while I continued to chug away and embrace what was available to me, I never lost site of that phone.

Early in my career, in the online world, I was given the nickname The Hammer, since I made so many calls a day. But to me, the way I sell is more than that. Its being organized, aggressive, resilient, and personable. Its knowing between a gray, white and black, and setting the game plan up accordingly. Yet, when I see many sales people "cold calling,"it seems that in many cases it is nothing more than a carefully worded generic email that went out to 50 other people, with no call to action based on specific needs. How do I know when I get one? When people address me as Kevin Scott.

Cold calling in not dead. We have many wonderful tools at our disposal, from LInkedIn, Twitter, and many more. Plus, it seems like many people know this person through that person and send a "Hey, whats up" IM. No. To be effective you need to embrace the past and the present.

Past-phone calls. How many people pick up the phones to call prospects/suspects? How many people follow up with their clients to see how things are going, and suggest changes for the better of all? Cold calling via phone calls should be a part of every day of a sales persons day! Think about this, if you make 35 calls-not alot-a day, and, realistically, you reach 5 people, that means you had 30 no answers. So, how long did that take? Twenty seconds a call? So what are you doing with the rest of your day?

Adding new prospects/suspects should be a part of every day. LinkedIn, Hoovers, googling, etc., will all bring in new prospects. And since we have the contact information literally at our fingertips, reaching out should be a snap. I believe that a person should have at least 500 suspects/prospects in their pipe.

Think about this: If you have 150 suspects in your pipe, and you are calling 30 a day-or emailing, that would mean you are calling the same people every week! Not good, you need to add more.

Networking. I am flattered to be part of BWG Strategy's ongoing roundtable discussions, and in being able to be on calls with industry leaders of many different verticals. Just this week, Ill be moderating on a discussion about Tinder and Match! There is, of course, LinkedIn, and the many groups in LinkedIn to network. If you see a person you want to reach out to, and dont know them, ask a contact for an intro. If they dont do it then shame on them-they are not using LinkedIn the way it should be. I love when people say they dont have the contact info. Um, yeah you do, right under contact info if you are LinkedIn with them.

When a person is contacted via email, or call, what do you know about the call before making it? What happened on last call? Have you logged everything in your crm? As they say, a short list is better than a long memory, and your crm is your best friend in dictating the course of your day.

Finally, there's your boss. What is he/she doing to male you successful? Training you for half a day, then asking for your forecast weekly is not enough. Im in a situation where once a week our boss ask what we are working on, but never asks for details, or suggestions about whether the deal will work or not work or worth pursuing. Without direction, how does a salesperson know if the opportunity will do well or flame out? But it s not always the sales manager/VP(Oy!)''s fault. In many cases, we get people who have been in the industry six months who are being promoted to leadership roles with no clue what to do except ask for numbers. That needs to change, for the salesperson and with the manager. When I was in telecom, and ran my office, with 25 people reporting to me, to the time I was with Epic and had few people, I was always in trenches with them. When I cold called-via phone-with a rep-he looked at me like I had three heads. But leadership means teaching and being in on the process, not just being a numbers guy.

I look at the next opportunity for me to instill my leadership and skill set on others. I hope they embrace it, not for my benefit, but for their long term benefit. Because at the end of the day, cold calling is not nearly close to being dead; it s just evolved into something more manageable and effective for all that practice it.

If you think cold calling is dead, the reality is, unfortunately, you are embracing it because you don't want to do it.