We've all been there, your phone rings and somebody starts pitching to you.
The ability to cold call, in the world and certainly in Europe is getting less and less for a number of reasons:-
1. Legislation - Because of GDPR first you need to have a legitimate reason to hold my data. Let's not forget that holding my data means you are responsible and accountable for that data and you are liable for fines of 4% of turnover. That salesman lost laptop could cost you dearly.
2. Sales is Pull not Push - In the past you could call me and call me and call me. GDPR stops you doing this as I can ask for the right to remain forgotten and back to those 4% fines. You can no longer push somebody down the sales funnel. Exactly the same with email.
3. Technology - Anybody who cold calls me I block using standard iphone functionality. The same with unsolicited emails. Back to GDPR and those 4% of turnover fines.
4. Desperation - I know why you are cold calling, you know why you are cold calling, the person you are calling knows why you are cold calling. Because you don't have enough leads and meetings. It's like hanging a large sign outside your company stating "we are crap at sales and marketing". You are actually announcing to the world you are crap at sales and your marketing department has no ideas. Amazing thing to continually want to admit to the outside world.
5. Common Sense - Receptionists and gate keepers are there to stop you getting through.
I'm not saying that cold calling isn't a prospecting method, I'm aware of people that use it to sell low value products, low down in the organisation. Which is fine, while many of this transaction selling will move to self service, there is still a new for transactional based selling. The 5. realities of cold calling above still apply.
In the world that I line which is B2B (Business to Business) Enterprise sales, cold calling died over two years ago, which is why there has been such a success with social selling across so many verticals.
Maybe it's time to investigate further?
We've all been there: Your phone rings. You pick it up. Before you even utter "Hello?" you're bombarded with a pitch. "It's your lucky day, because ... " You're hearing about a special discount. The person on the other end is talking fast and with confidence, but you can tell he has no interest whatsoever in what you actually need.
unknownx500
