Cold Calling (telephone) Pros and Cons

Lets build a list of the pros and cons of prospecting by telephone. I'll start with...

Pros:

Reach - Not limited geographically.
Volume - You can contact a large pool of prospects in a relatively short period of time.

Cons:

Easy to get rid of the caller by hanging up.
Do Not Call Registry.

Pro: If you have good scripts you can train other people to set appointments for you.

Con: A lot of people don't like telemarketing and don't give you a fair shake.

Pro:

Unlike advertising, mailshots, trade shows, etc, cold calling is the ONLY form of marketing that guarantees you a two-way conversation with target prospects YOU choose to go after.

Con:

Unless you do it right, that two-way conversation might only get you as far as "we're not interested" <click-brrrrrr>. And it's difficult, especially if it's not something you do on a regular basis. So you need a strong approach.

Mike

{Pro}
Active - You don't have to sit around passively waiting for the phone to ring you can go out and drum up your own business.

{Con}
Timing - You don't know if they are going to be home to take your call.
Screening - The prospect can screen your calls with an answering machine.

Here are some common problems associated with cold calling:

Call reluctance
Call to contact rates
Getting past the gatekeeper
Getting calls returned
Securing a qualified appointment
Hit and miss timing
Rejection rates

Con: It's hard to come up with a compelling opening (first sentence) to grab someone's attention so they want to keep listening.

Susan

IMHO Pros:

You can cover a lot of territory quickly
Sales process is quicker - no wasted time on unecessary meetings
You can find out what works for your market quickly - good feedback

Cons:
Cold call reluctance - Fear of failure/ rejection whatever
Some prospects prefer to meet to conclude a deal

Pros: Cost of contact compared to in-person or mail.

Cons: Negative associations about telemarketers.

Cold Calling (telephone) Pros and Cons

Cold Calling Forum