If your sales team is still in the business of cold calling, then the article recently posted in Martech Advisor might be up your street.  

However, I would hope like most sales leaders and marketeers  you acknowledge a different approach is needed to generate new opportunities and engage clients.

We used to run call out days, get some lists, bring everyone together, prizes for the top cold-caller.  Don't get me wrong they were "fun", pizzas, beer afterwards, and for the management, there is a tangible return on the day.  Sure, a few appointments were generated, but was it effective, sustainable or gave us the chance to go back to the person who had declined us the following day? 

We know vendors are spending a lot of time researching online before contacting with an organisation. They want to be better informed and, they want to deal with experts in the area they are making the investment in.

You could continue to spend the day cold calling hoping that one of your calls is timed perfectly to get the attention of just one of the ten people in the buying team that are now engaged in a procurement decision.

So what do you do?  How do you spend your time? 

One of the key traits of successful salespeople is their presence online.  

A demonstrable written record of their knowledge and expertise in the area they operate. B2B buyers are looking for sales people that understand their issues.  It is challenging to articulate that on a cold call, but in a blog, you have the time to position yourself as an expert in your field, differentiate from everyone else, and show the potential client that you understand their issues. 

I timed how long it took to write this post (35 minutes), and once published on Linkedin it can be viewed, shared and commented on 1000's of times..  Cold-calling will never generate this reach, in such a short period of time, and be available for consumption 24 hours a day. 

Every sales person can do this, you have content and stories at your fingertips but if you need some inspiration drop me request Linkedin.