Does cold calling work?

I was reading a business blog today and I came across a well written article asking about the success of cold calling in business today. I decided to post an answer and I thought that my readers might appreciate my thoughts on this matter… 

As someone who works with many different companies I have seen many examples of cold calling having phenomenal results. I have also seen it fail spectacularly!

There seems to be a current trend to label all cold calling as pointless. This is a popular myth and one that I believe people are keen to buy into as they never liked cold calling in the first place.

I have read some of these solutions which say that cold calling doesn’t work and I can say that not only would they be ineffective in many markets but also that many of the techniques would not be allowed to be used by individual salespeople within a company in any case.

Cold calling can be very effective however certain conditions need to be in place. Here are 5 conditions for cold calling to make more sales or appointments…

1. The cold caller needs to be knowledgeable in their products, the market place and the benefits that their solution can provide for the client.
2. The cold caller needs to be positive about cold calling. No-one likes cold calls from someone who doesn’t want to be there!
3. The cold call needs to be targeted and specific to that individual. This requires a system wihch effectively warms up the cold call. This would mean a cold call becoming a tepid call, a tepid call becoming a warm call, a warm call becoming a hot call and a hot call becoming a sizzling call.
4. The cold caller needs to be well trained and coached so that they project a credible business persona and can deliver valuable business benefits for clients.
5. The call needs to be respectful and allow the client to "choose" whether the cold call adds value or not.

Finally, no business should be a one-trick pony. If cold calling is your only method of winning business your business is flawed. Every business should utilise and leverage different ways of prospecting for new clients. As a salesperson your job is to leverage the most effective of these for growing your business.

In summary, well thought out and targeted cold calling strategies which are implemented by well trained and credible sales professionals can be a powerful and important addition to your client acquistion strategies. In many industries they will be the most effective and efficient way of wining new prospects other than referrals.