There is a huge tug-of-war and discussions flying around between sales experts citing cold calling is dying or better yet dead.
For decades, cold calling has been the new business catalyst for salespeople all around the world. Heck, tenured salespeople can write novel’s with cold calling stories as they reminisce about the good ole days.
Granted the good ole days are behind us. Times have changed and so has cold calling. Cold calling is not dead it is just different now. Why is this happening? Simply stated the buyers’ journey has changed the way they interact with salespeople.
By 2018, 20% of B2B sales teams will go “virtual,” resulting in improved pipeline conversion rates. Buyers won’t talk to sales until late in the game…Enter the “virtual” sales rep. (IDC, December 2014)
67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally. (SiriusDecisions, July 2013)
In 2007 it took an average of 3.68 cold call attempts to reach a prospect. Today it takes 8 attempts. (TeleNet and Ovation Sales Group)
Only 2% of cold calls result in an appointment. Find new ways to reach decision-makers. (LeapJob)
Lets face it, in today’s marketplace cold calling is tough and counterproductive. Incorporating modern prospecting methods is a must in order for salespeople to keep their sales pipelines full. The answer…. Transition from a cold call to a warm call.
There are so many avenues to explore in order to move a cold call to a warm call. You can learn about a company via internet searches to gather:
1. Company background
2. Press releases and annual reports
3. Something significant about their business which helps to break the ice
4. Executive Bio’s
In my opinion, the game changer is LinkedIn. Gaining a complete understanding of the power behind LinkedIn takes time. LinkedIn is revolutionizing gathering sales intelligence. You all have heard the saying, “It is not what you know it is who you know.” This saying resonates within LinkedIn. Within minutes you can obtain countless bits of information to help you turn the call into a warm call.
On the flip-side, LinkedIn provides the platform for salespeople to bring their personal brand to the marketplace to parallel their business brand. LinkedIn is a sales professional’s personal website. How you promote yourself on LinkedIn determines your success in the business world today.
Just as you are doing research on your prospects, your prospects are doing research on you. Ask yourself these three questions:
1. Am I building trust with my prospects and clients based upon what is currently on my LinkedIn profile?
2. Am I building credibility with my prospects and clients based upon what is currently on my LinkedIn profile?
3. Am I eliminating risk with my prospects and clients based upon what is currently on my LinkedIn profile?
We need to create the mindsets as salespeople to work smarter not harder. I encourage sales managers and business executives to foster a culture of social selling.
The times have changed and so should our approach to business development.
About Larry Levine, I transform and coach copier sales professionals to grow their net new business by helping them tell their story on LinkedIn. I provide marketing services to help independent office technology dealers thrive in a changing marketplace. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, www.dealermarketing.net/what-we-do/linkedin, www.dealermarketing.net and www.p4photel.com
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