Cold calling is a waste of time

Originally Posted by Julian But I think these are supporting not alternatives to cold calling.

In your opinion what would be an alternative to cold calling?

IMHO I actually dont think that there is a viable alternative to cold calling in the sales arena.

Yes, sure you can "warm up" the leads by sending letters, emails etc., but at the end of the day nothing is going to be sold without some form of contact between two humans.

Now, I can already hear the cries of "what about online stores like amazon etc" no one cold calls there. Which is true. But what about the new book publisher or whatever who needs to get their titles stocked by Amazon? I bet there is a person to person call in there somewhere!

Cold Calling works. It cuts through the dross and helps companies develop their business. Yes there are other communication methods that can and should be used, but all of these, are as I said before, supportive and complementary to the cold calling effort.

Originally Posted by Julian Cold Calling works. It cuts through the dross and helps companies develop their business. Yes there are other communication methods that can and should be used, but all of these, are as I said before, supportive and complementary to the cold calling effort.

One of the guys here today said if you dropped him off in a new town where he knew nobody the first thing he would do is start cold calling.

Originally Posted by Thomas One of the guys here today said if you dropped him off in a new town where he knew nobody the first thing he would do is start cold calling.

That would be first step. Gaining referrals from your new contacts would be the second.

Originally Posted by BossMan That would be first step. Gaining referrals from your new contacts would be the second.

Very true. One of the most understated skills is getting refferals. Most salespeople never bother.