There are few things more annoying than sitting down to dinner or drinks with friends, only for your phone to ring with an unsolicited sales call. We’ve all received these calls from time to time (in some cases far more often, in the days before the Do Not Call list getting several calls a day was not unheard of), so we’re all familiar with how aggravating it can be to receive them.
So why then, do people continue to use cold calls? Well, believe it or not, they do actually work to an extent. As annoying as many people find them, there are others who receive a call and say, “Why yes, that was exactly what I was looking for, tell me more,” and pull the trigger on whatever is being offered. These are not the people we’ll be concerning ourselves with today. Nor will we be worrying about people who have absolutely no interest whatsoever in what you have to offer them, since no method of marketing on the planet, no matter how creative, will bring them over to your client list.
What you should concern yourself with are the people who do have an interest in your products or services, but who find the idea of receiving an unsolicited phone call abhorrent. These are people who would absolutely have a use for your business, but by interrupting them in the middle of their day to day life to try and pitch to them, you drive them away, straight into the waiting arms of your competitors. Competition can be a good thing that will help you bring your business to the pinnacle of excellence, but that doesn’t mean you should practically give away money to your competitors either. That’s tremendously counterproductive, and it is for that exact reason that using cold calls is, on the whole, an ineffective method of lead generation, and the practice could actually be costing you money. For every person who does decide to become a client, there are potentially dozens, if not hundreds more, that you’ve pushed away. What’s worse, is that people will develop a negative view of your business on the whole, and people talk. Positive word of mouth remains one of the most (if not the most) effective method of generating new business. On the flip side, negative word of mouth is one of the most (if not the most) effective ways of making a business fail. This runs counter to the core ideals of this blog, which is for everyone reading it to grow their own Personal Independent Earnings.
So how do you solve this problem? Well for starters, put the phone down. The telephone is a hugely intrusive method of communication. It’s ingrained in the social consciousness that the telephone is a method of personal communication, with personal communication in this instance meaning that the person on the other end of the line is someone you’re personally acquainted with. After all, the vast majority of calls the average person receives throughout the day are from people that they have personally given their phone number to. That makes it fairly off-putting when someone who they’ve had no prior contact with whatsoever rings them up. The immediate thought generally being, “Well how did this person get my telephone number?” See, in the opening seconds of a cold call, you’ve already put your prospective new client on the defensive. Not a very good first impression, is it?
Instead of reaching out to people, I put forth that instead you should make them come to you. Of course, you have to give them a reason to first. Having a quality product or service on offer is key, as quality work essentially sells itself. But it can’t if people don’t know about it first, which is where having an effective marketing strategy comes into play. A comprehensive, creative marketing campaign that effectively communicates the quality of your services while being eye-catching and interesting enough to provoke people to come to you for their needs will do far more for you then any amount of cold calling ever will. After all, you’re not putting anyone off by interrupting their dinner, but rather making them come to you of their own volition. A strong online presence is also supremely important here, as it will enable people to find your business without any work on your part, aside from maintaining your online accounts.
Cold calling may generate some business, but it comes at the cost of even more. Making prospective clients come to you instead will be far more effective in the long run, and will ultimately lead to even greater Personal Independent Earnings.
