Cold calling is a waste of time

I think that overall cold calling is a waste of time but some people have to do it. They may have to do it because their boss only believes in cold calling or this is the only form of lead generation they know.

I think overall several forms of marketing like referrals, public speaking, building an online presence for you customers and prospects to get to know you are way more effective than cold calling.

Chris

The trick is to choose the right tool for the job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by realtor

Mindset makes that big of a difference?

No I haven't done any roleplaying. Will that make a big diffence too?

Yes it makes a huge difference, I know people who bring in over a million dollars a year and have been in the business over ten years who role play daily. The trick is find someone who is the same or better than you so you can get better at it. I started off with people who where not as good as me and it took me a long time to see results, but when I switched roleplay partners to someone who was better than me and gave me a lot of pointers I saw leaps and bounds in my progress.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liberty

The trick is to choose the right tool for the job.

So true. Lead generations strategies should be customized for the target market. Cold calling might be the ticket for one industry and fail miserably in another. Choose your tools wisely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BossMan

So true. Lead generations strategies should be customized for the target market. Cold calling might be the ticket for one industry and fail miserably in another. Choose your tools wisely.

I would add - what worked for one person won't necessarily work for everyone. Many people don't understand this concept as demonstrated by the volume of "Does X (cold calling, direct mail, radio, etc.) work" type of questions being asked across the Internet.

I agree that it depends on the market and size of territory but I think overall if you want to build long term than your time would be better served by building relationships and getting referrals or recommendations. It tends in my point of view make the whole sales process go smoother.

But I would not say cold calling does not work at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrTs Friend

I agree that it depends on the market and size of territory but I think overall if you want to build long term than your time would be better served by building relationships and getting referrals or recommendations. It tends in my point of view make the whole sales process go smoother.

But I would not say cold calling does not work at all.

I can support those ideas.

So what are the alternatives?

The categories listed in the lead generation forum are good alternatives: pulic relations/PR, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, Internet marketing, referrals.

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Originally Posted by SpeedRacer

The categories listed in the lead generation forum are good alternatives: pulic relations/PR, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, Internet marketing, referrals.

OK I understand. But these are all "slow burn" activities and ones that can cost more money.

The great thing about using the telephone to prospect is that, if done well, it can give you a much faster route to market and when SUPPORTED by the techniques you list, can be really successful.

But I think these are supporting not alternatives to cold calling.

Cold calling is a waste of time

Cold Calling Forum