Cold Calling is outdated and does not work for the time involved

I agree with you 100% I am a big fan of seminar selling and lunch and leans and have used both extremely effectively...

I still cant walk away from the fact that you are doing what I would call intelligent cold calling. Your right picking up the phone book, chamber of commerce directory, or whatever else it is people use is not very effective, but unsolicited letters, marketing material and hand written notes backed up with research to someone you have never met is still a cold call. Its just a FAR more effective way of doing it.

I sincerely hope you are not feeling attacked... I am just trying to gain better understanding of your initial statement and see where you are coming from.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSalesWhisperer

I am a top sales expert and I know for a fact that the others who claim to be experts here do not cold call. They may claim they do to drive traffic to their sites but in reality they do not cold call because cold calling no longer works! The internet has changed all that. I hope the millienials will stop this outdated and abusive technique completely!

How has the Internet changed all that and what all has changed?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSalesWhisperer

Now, let's look at the top techniques for prospecting as verified by research. 1) Small Roundtables, Lunch and Learns, Small Events

2) Seminars

3) Speaking--It puts you in a position of Authority, Think Donald Trump, if he offered to speak to you for an hour without charging of course would you turn him down? No, because he is in a position of Authority.

4) Authorship

5) Referrals

These are the top 5
Number 15-- Cold Calling

Why do number 15 when there are 14 other ways is all I'm saying.

Would you post what 6-14 are please. I've never seen any research on this and would be very interested to see the other prospecting techniques. Thank you in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSalesWhisperer

One, I used to cold call and pound the phones with a minimum of a 120 calls a day. Of those 120, I probably only spoke with 5-7 people. Of those 5-7 people 4 would agree for an appointment. Of those 4, I would find out they were simply only willing to listen to me and most were not qualified.

How would you rate your skill level in cold calling Wes?

Whatever your reasons for saying cold calling is dead, I still believe that once you travelled those hundreds of miles to that neighbourhood, and you have time to spare, it wouldn't hurt to pay a visit to some businesses in that area if not just to pay a courtesy call and introduce yourself. If I have flown from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu (over the South China Sea and over 1,500 Km away), I'm sure to drop by a potential client's office and see whether I can drum up some business. If not at least to let him know of my presence. More often that not, he appreciates my taking the time to call on him, and business is subsequently generated.

But like a friend here said earlier, polish up on your cold calling skills first.

My sales prospects are scattered across the entire U.S. and they are definitely too busy to spend a day at a seminar. What now?
Pick up the phone and call 'em!
The notion that cold calls are a thing of the past is simply ludicrous. Telemarketing might be dead, but cold calls certainly aren't. You've got to start somewhere, people, and the phone is a useful tool.
As for your credentials, saleswhisperer, you might want to include something besides being a power seller on ebay. That dog won't hunt. Giving away free advice is very generous of you, but ebay and B2B selling are worlds apart, so making blanket statements about selling methods is going to leave you wide open for critics to start tearing your words apart. You've started a great discussion, I just happen to be on the opposing side of this subject.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSalesWhisperer

Let me now get into the fundamentals of why I made my original comment. One, I used to cold call and pound the phones with a minimum of a 120 calls a day. Of those 120, I probably only spoke with 5-7 people. Of those 5-7 people 4 would agree for an appointment. Of those 4, I would find out they were simply only willing to listen to me and most were not qualified. After a week of this I would have 2 qualified prospects and that is if I was really on.

I'm not a top sales expert but I do prospect over the telephone. If I was always getting the results you posted I'd quit cold calling too. What I've found is that many salespeople are not skilled in telephone prospecting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSalesWhisperer

I am a top sales expert and I know for a fact that the others who claim to be experts here do not cold call. They may claim they do to drive traffic to their sites but in reality they do not cold call because cold calling no longer works! The internet has changed all that. I hope the millienials will stop this outdated and abusive technique completely!

Someone once asked and I'll ask it here; are you saying that cold calling in general doesn't work or that YOUR cold calling doesn't work.

Working in real estate I can pick up the phone on any given day make twenty calls and secure one or more listing appointments with qualified sellers. Am I different from other top performers in the industry? Not at all.

I've seen a few so called "top sales experts" who claim that cold calling sucks or cold calling doesn't work but in reality cold calling does work for those who are skilled practitioners.

You used an example of single people looking for a date and romance. You're right... that is just like cold calling. You can walk into almost any bar on a Saturday night and individuals "unskilled" in the art of pick up crash and burn regularly. By the same token you can watch a "skilled" pick up artist in the same bar have his or her pick of the litter.

So I'll ask you again... are you saying that cold calling in general doesn't work or that YOUR cold calling doesn't work?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas

I'm not a top sales expert but I do prospect over the telephone. If I was always getting the results you posted I'd quit cold calling too. What I've found is that many salespeople are not skilled in telephone prospecting.

Agreed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houston

Someone once asked and I'll ask it here; are you saying that cold calling in general doesn't work or that YOUR cold calling doesn't work.

Working in real estate I can pick up the phone on any given day make twenty calls and secure one or more listing appointments with qualified sellers. Am I different from other top performers in the industry? Not at all.

I've seen a few so called "top sales experts" who claim that cold calling sucks or cold calling doesn't work but in reality cold calling does work for those who are skilled practitioners.

You used an example of single people looking for a date and romance. You're right... that is just like cold calling. You can walk into almost any bar on a Saturday night and individuals "unskilled" in the art of pick up crash and burn regularly. By the same token you can watch a "skilled" pick up artist in the same bar have his or her pick of the litter.

So I'll ask you again... are you saying that cold calling in general doesn't work or that YOUR cold calling doesn't work?

Excellent question!

The last week or so I've been field training a new hire and we've been focusing on cold calling FSBOs for listings. Today in less than two hours, using the scripts I provided, he secured three listing appointments for tomorrow with qualified sellers. You couldn't convince that agent that cold calling sucks or that cold calling doesn't work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZBroker

The last week or so I've been field training a new hire and we've been focusing on cold calling FSBOs for listings. Today in less than two hours, using the scripts I provided, he secured three listing appointments for tomorrow with qualified sellers. You couldn't convince that agent that cold calling sucks or that cold calling doesn't work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Houston

You used an example of single people looking for a date and romance. You're right... that is just like cold calling. You can walk into almost any bar on a Saturday night and individuals "unskilled" in the art of pick up crash and burn regularly. By the same token you can watch a "skilled" pick up artist in the same bar have his or her pick of the litter.

Spot on people.

Cold Calling is outdated and does not work for the time involved

Cold Calling Forum