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Cold Calling Gets Cold Shoulder:
Six Alternative Strategies That Work
By Paul Strikwerda
Voice Actor
©2010 Paul Strikwerda
 Is there a cure for the common cold call, or should we just let it rest in peace? Before you start reading, let’s do a quick experiment.
Below are four things. As soon as you see number one, simply label your very first response as either positive or negative and move on to the next word.
Are you ready? Here we go:
So, what’s your score?
LEAVES US COLD
Do you think your reaction is unique or universal?
I’ve subjected a few of my friends to this unscientific test and - surprise, surprise - the numbers 1 and 2 elicited a strong negative response.
Telemarketers are among the most hated professionals on the planet. Most people would rather have their wisdom teeth extracted without sedation, than make a couple of cold calls.
In essence, cold calling revolves around fear and loathing!
IS THAT TRUE?
Some commentators call cold calling "an abusive and masochistic process that damages your brand as well as your personal reputation."
Others still believe that playing the numbers game (100 calls leading to 10 appointments resulting in 3 sales) is a foolproof system for the thick-skinned. They claim that cold callers who tick people off, just aren’t very good at their job.
What do the experts think?
NAMES, NOT NUMBERS
Mahan Khalsa founded the Sales Performance Group of FranklinCovey.
He’s the co-author of Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play: Transforming the Buyer/Seller Relationship. He writes:
HOW SUCCESSFUL?
John Jantsch is a leading small business expert and author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine.
He heard Khalsa speak at a conference and shared the following statistic in his blog:
There you have it. As far as I’m concerned, Jantsch and Khalsa just killed Cold Calling.
I don’t think we’ll have too many mourners at the funeral, do you?
DRUMMING UP BUSINESS
As Jantsch points out, there are much more effective ways to find new customers.
I must warn you, though: the strategies I am about to share with you are neither for the passive nor for the aggressive.
They are not for the introvert, the modest, the lazy and the ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘wait and see’ types.
If you want to dig up potential clients, you have to become a miner. You most certainly will have to get your hands dirty and take the time to delve deeper.
Here are a few gold mines that are surprisingly close to home ...
1. CURRENT CLIENTS
Current clients are a phenomenal resource. So mine your own business!
Satisfied customers are your best credentials and walking billboards.
Please promise me to never conclude business without asking for:
HOW TO ASK
Tell your client:
Always ask:
People love buying stuff, but they tend to distrust salesmen and -women. They will, however, trust colleagues and friends.
That’s one of the reasons why under-the-radar Facebook marketing is so effective.
2. NETWORKING
Networking works, as long as you get off your butt.
Don’t expect people to come to you. Anywhere and everywhere that you can, meeting other businesspeople face-to-face is better than cold calling.
Local networking groups such as your Chamber of Commerce offer opportunities to meet and mingle.
WHAT TO DO
Here’s how to make the most of these meetings:
Then take the next step…
3. SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media offer a great way to follow up with your new contacts.
Connect on LinkedIn:
BUT DON'T SAY ...
Don’t just send someone the “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” message.
What is your new contact to make of such a lazy, robotic approach? Are you really interested in me, or do you just want to milk my network?
A network is often the result of years of careful relationship building. Do you think you can just tap into that treasure by sending me an automated message?
You can do better than that! Why don’t you buy yourself a mailing list for Christmas instead? That will teach you the value of business leads!
PERSONALIZE MESSAGE
Please personalize. Give me a reason to connect.
And have the decency to respond to someone who was kind enough to open up his/her network to you.
If you can’t take a minute or two to say “thank you,” what does that tell me about the way you usually do business?
OLD VERSUS NEW
In the old sales model, the focus was on closing a deal ASAP. The new paradigm is: “How can I help you?”
It’s not about getting. It is about giving.
Don’t expect to get any referrals if you’re not prepared to give any referrals. The old model was built on dialing rate and breaking through respondent resistance.
BE PATIENT
In the new world you would never force a relationship. Be patient. You can’t expect to reap the rewards if you’re not willing to sow the seeds and tend to your crop.
Yet, too much fertilizer is overkill. Use social media to get to know your contact as a person, not as a prospect.
Once you’re connected, they’ll get to know you too.
4. FREE PUBLICITY
Free publicity is a perfect way to introduce yourself to the community. Your neighborhood paper is starving for copy.
How often have you seen the headline:
Local author signs new novel at Barnes & Noble
How about:
Local voice talent lands gig on national TV
These stories don’t come out of a hat. You have to create that BUZZ.
How do you do that?
5. BECOME A KNOWN EXPERT
Become a known expert by offering free talks or by writing a blog or a column in your paper.
Get your name out. If people don’t know that you exist, they will never hire you.
A few pointers:
Make sure that what you have to say is relevant to your audience. Come up with a catchy title for your talk. Instead of “Creative Writing 101,” try “How to sell your first short story.”
6. PEOPLE YOU DO BUSINESS WITH
People you do business with don’t need to warm up to you.
Your car dealership, your accountant, your lawyer, that studio you work with, even your hairdresser, caterer and photographer, are all part of huge networks.
Why bother grooming a business in Baltimore when you have these resources in your back yard? Unless -of course- you live in Charm City.
Here’s the key: start sending these people some business today, but don’t do it because you expect something in return.
Do it because they deserve it.
PATIENCE, PLEASE
And remember: make sure the friends and colleagues you refer drop your name.
What if - at first- nothing happens? I’d say this to you: Delays are not denials. This is not instant oatmeal.
Besides, the old-fashioned type tastes better and it will give you more sustenance. You can’t manipulate people and turn them into your puppets.
What you can do is model certain behavior, hoping it will rub off. If you’re a parent or a teacher, you already know that this works.
And if nothing happens, nothing’s lost. You have gained valuable feedback that allows you to fine-tune your approach.
Focus on finding businesses that share your philosophy.
PROOF AND THE PUDDING
Old paradigms are like dragons: they are hard to kill. Once you cut off its head, a new one appears.
People who have bought into the presumed strength of one sales system aren’t easily sold on something they aren’t even willing to try.
I know for a fact that I can’t convince you of anything. I don’t even want to.
Make up your own mind, but do me one favor: don’t diss these strategies out of hand.
EXPERIMENT - WHAT WORKS?
Try them out. Experiment, knowing that no system in the world works one hundred percent, all the time.
Don’t even treat it as a system. Before you know it, a system becomes a formula, a procedure and a routine, taking us right back to square one.
Feel free to disagree. Contribute to the comment section below. Share what has worked for you and why.
The only knowledge that’s worth something, is knowledge that is shared and put into practice.
ABOUT PAUL ...
Paul Strikwerda is a 25-year veteran of the voice-over industry whose Nethervoice service features German and Dutch voice-overs, translation and evaluation services. Born in Holland, he has worked for Dutch national and international radio, the BBC and American Public Radio. Although 90% of his work is in English, Strikwerda also records in Dutch, German and French. Clients include Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and the Discovery Channel. He also publishes an informative and entertaining blog, Double Dutch.
Email: paul@nethervoice.com
Web: www.nethervoice.com
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Such a great article! Lots of good advice. I'll share a marketing tip that falls in line with your thinking: 'Today's brands are first made thru publicity. Not advertising.' So yeah, get out there and host an event, throw a contest, help a charity, write an article, perform a stunt. Do it because you love it, but by all means take credit for it!
Thanks again for the article. It's a keeper and a re-tweeter!
THANK YOU! Cold calling is hard work, reaps so little fruit and is not particularly satisfying. Like you, I prefer to cultivate relationships with people and watch the fruit ripen. However, when starting a new business it requires patience and a willingness to work on developing relationships.
Best Wishes,
Carl Bobb
Strasburg, CO
Best, Rebecca
LoveThatRebecca.com
I live in a college town. 100 thousand residents, and 60 thousand students. When I entered the VO world, I was told, by a veteran, that I already knew everyone that I needed to know. I, pretty much, followed your MAP, and created a community that accepted ME as the "expert". I have not had to do much marketing, because I already "knew everyone that I needed to know". I am the voice for my community, for a national investment company, and a world-wide authority in medical communications.
I am the proof that your strategy works. I am smiling, as I read your article, and nod with approval. YOU already know everyone that you need to know. Do I hear an "AMEN" sister? Linda