Can you imagine what happens to people when you call them cold? Well, no surprise, they stiffen up. They get uncomfortable. And they wish they hadn’t answered the phone. So what options do you have. Uh . . . how about networking?
All across the world right now, people are dialing for dollars. Insurance salesmen, consultants, recruiters, packaging suppliers, SEO providers and hundreds of other types of folks looking for a new client.
Why? Because their boss told them to do it. “100 calls a day, please.” The numbers game.
But cold calls are bad for business. They are a bad use of time and aren’t a smart way to begin a new relationship. Oh, and nobody likes making these calls either.
And for those of you who want to disagree right away (maybe you’ve had some success blowing cold air on people), I don’t care. I’m sure there are exceptions to the “cold calls don’t work” argument I’m making. But I don’t care.
Because the world has changed so much. And the tools to meet people more effectively are plentiful. Here’s are 5 ways to connect with new people without them freezing up right away:
1. Start blogging
While establishing a blog takes significantly longer than making phone calls, it is a superior strategy for introducing you, your company and its products to others. You can learn about mistakes bloggers make and some tips for getting started with blogging. But once you get up and running, a blog makes your website more interesting to Google, more dynamic to get return visitors and (very important) helps you build relevant awareness and subject matter expertise. In other words, people get to know and trust you in advance of your first contact.
2. Use LinkedIn
This one seems awfully simple. You need to meet Mike (purchasing manager at target company x). Bill (your old coworker) used to work with Mike at a prior company. You go on to LinkedIn and learn this news. That the person you need to know already knows someone you know. Now what? Well, you ask Bill to introduce you to Mike. Sounds simple. But so few people do it. So many people are lazy on LinkedIn and don’t personally create and nurture LinkedIn connections. They just collect them like postage stamps. Don’t do that. You are smarter than this.
3. Join groups and attend events
There are industry groups aplenty, local community networking groups, and meetup.com groups all over. So there’s no excuse. You can develop your personal brand right now. In front of real people. They can see that you are a good person, that you are patient and have the needs of others on your mind as well. And if you are smart, you’ll find a group or two and sponsor them. Or get involved in their board. That’s good networking.
4. Use Twitter or Create a Facebook Page
Not everyone is comfortable on social media. And if you need help, ask me. Or hook up with a smart social media agency to help you establish a strategy and keep up a great, engaging relationship with new fans and followers. If you want to do it on your own, make sure to have a Facebook content calendar and learn the golden rules for new Twitter users. Oh, and if you are wondering whether it’s weird that sales people use Twitter, you’re wrong. Use these tools to create, establish and maintain a friendly and helpful relationship with current and potential customers.
5. Offer to speak or lead workshops
When you stand up in front of a group of people you get instant credibility. Until you screw up. But you probably won’t. Especially if you model your style after people like Thom Singer. He’s someone who can teach you how to speak with a purpose. You can learn how to engage an audience as a speaker. While its not a bed of roses (audience can be cold too), it is a great way to also build social credibility (credibility that lets people feel more comfortable with you). And the business will come in so much more quickly.
So try these ideas instead of cold calling.
Unlike a slow moving glacier, these “warming up” techniques will thaw the corporate ice cubes and create a fast moving stream of business to you and your company.
Thanks Michael Hodge for the great photo via Flickr
About the Author:
Tim Tyrell-Smith focuses on marketing, brand development and business strategy for emerging and established organizations. A veteran executive in consumer marketing, Tim is also available as a professional speaker on marketing, branding and the purposeful use of social networking. Tim started his marketing career with Nestle USA and has since worked in product management on premium brands including Nestle Quik, Tree Top Apple Juice, Mauna Loa Macadamias and Meguiar’s Car Wax. He was most recently Vice President of Marketing for a private equity owned food company in Southern California. He lives with his wife and three kids in Mission Viejo, California.
Tim Tyrell-Smith – who has written 52 posts on Fix, Build And Drive™.
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10 Cool Places To Write A Blog Post
Tell Your Story: 5 Elements Of A Great Home Page
4 Great Marketing Tools To Help Grow Your Business
5 Marketing Resources for Small Business Owners
How To Wake People Up With Your Marketing Communications
Ideas for Job Search, Career and Life
June 27, 2012 at 9:41 am
OK, guys – even though you don’t care – someone else might! Cold calling, researched and executed properly, can be one of the most effective sales tools in a B2B environment, and you can bank on that.
I wrote a book on effective cold calling (The Cold Call Bible) but I’ll get to the point as quickly as I can. Although I’m a native Dutch speaker, my English is fluent, my German is passable and my Hebrew is rusty. In Hebrew, however, they have a saying called “tachliss”. Basically, tachliss means ‘just get to the point – don’t waste my time on irrelevant details.” So, I’m going to be tachliss here:
Do your homework – know exactly whom you’re calling on and why BEFORE you call
Visualize your potential client
Match his voice patterns, style and pace – listen actively and genuinely
Never ask his permission to speak
Drive the conversation – do so respectfully, but never lose control
Use humor
Make sure your calls are QUALIFIED!
For more info and details, follow me on Twitter @coldcallcompany or give me a shout directly!
Daniel
June 27, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Thank you Daniel. Loved that you challenged this with me on Twitter. I appreciate the work that went into your philosophy. I just don’t like this as a business and relationship growth strategy. I’m sure there are examples of people kicking off great relationships via a lucky (or well-thought out!) phone call. But as I said earlier. I don’t care.
August 1, 2012 at 3:41 pm
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