Cold calling still works when done correctly.

A trendy opinion is that cold-calling is no longer necessary or effective with social media, AI, and abundant Internet resources. At Sales Concepts, we vehemently disagree.

We value and work to use all the latest powerful resources available today. We believe the Internet and social media have, forever and irreversibly, changed the way we communicate. To that point, we offer a course entitled Selling in the Digital Age to ensure that salespeople make the most of the latest resources available.

We are saying that we should use social media to complement cold calling, not instead of it. Salespeople who choose not to make cold calls do so at their peril. How many cold calls do you make a day, a week, a month? The excuses for not making cold calls are numerous. Salespeople, in general, do not like making cold calls. Why not?

Many salespeople do not like cold calling for a plethora of reasons. The main reason is because they believe it does not work or is not an effective way to generate business, and they are right! They are right because they are not doing it correctly. There are two main reasons cold calling does not work. One, they don’t make enough calls, and two, they don’t call their prospects enough. Cold-calling campaigns often fail because we don’t cast a wide enough net. The more people we pursue, the more opportunities we will find. The second reason is more damaging. Most salespeople don’t call prospects often enough. Research suggests that generating engagement requires at least five to eight attempts. Most salespeople give up after three calls, creating the illusion that cold calling wastes time.

The sad fact is that after three calls, salespeople are just starting to build momentum, and then they quit.

We recommend a consistent prospecting strategy of cold calling because it works. When done correctly, cold calling is one of the most effective uses of a salesperson’s time. Hunan nature has not changed because we have iPhones. Consistently calling people will win their attention after five to eight calls. Differentiate yourself in the minds of your prospects. Hold yourself to daily, weekly, and monthly prospecting goals and become an elite salesperson.