Cold calling: Because you’re desperate

I had a message left on my office voicemail last week from a smooth talking sales guy who informed me I needed to call him back regarding a “legal matter”. That was all he said apart from quoting his number and company name.

The Voicemail immediately got my back up because I pretty much knew it was a sales tactic to get me to respond and after googling his company I could see he worked for a legal help company who help businesses with various employment  laws in the UK. I obviously didn’t call him back and wouldn’t do business with this company now out of principle. Then this morning I got an invite from the Managing Director inviting me to their legal event, at the end he signs off “P.S. Looking for a good night’s sleep, book now!” – which is ironic considering some people would have already lost sleep worrying that his sales guys had a law suit lined up against them!

I have no idea if this company encourage these kind of sales tactics but they are just another indication at how desperate companies are becoming with their cold calling. The bottom line is cold calling does not fit in with today’s way of business. It interrupts peoples already manic schedules and if you ever actually get through to the decision maker they are already pissed off you’re interrupting their day and unlikely therefore to be interested in what your selling. Cold calling is out of date…. it’s frankly lazy and most people will simply no longer put up with it. Cold calling is reserved now for those companies who are in a rut, they are no longer producing anything remarkable or of massive value and therefore just churn out a thousand calls a day in the vain hope 3 of them might be people who feel bad for hanging up instead of being honest and saying “Stop wasting my fucking time!”

People hate being sold to. If we want something we go online and find it or we ask someone we trust – and what’s more we do this WHEN we want it. Instead of wasting money and effort trying to force people to buy your product, invest it in making something remarkable that people will want to come to you for. Focus on marketing to those already looking for your products, WHEN they are looking….for example pay per click advertising. Then once you have a lead via your Website or word of mouth make that call! Now you have someone who’s listening.

Try comparing 1000 clicks on your Website from targeted Pay per click Ads Vs. 1000 un-targeted cold calls. Weigh up the overheads of a sales person, telephone, seat, desk, coffee consumed! etc and you have a clear winner.