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point of view

Cold Calling Is
Stone Cold Dead
                                                                                                                    Authored by
                                                                                                                   Jeffrey Baker

Professional salespeople and sales managers react                Today, however, it’s more challenging than ever to find
passionately to this provocative headline, easily joining in     those high-quality prospects. Buyers now want to know
the debate. The meteoric rise of Web 2.0, the explosion          individual salespeople and their company before buyers
of social media tools, and marketers rapidly adopting            will make contact with them. Buyers at all levels of an
these tools to drive lead generation are offered by many         organization use search engines and other information
as evidence for the demise of cold calling. On the other         tools to find and evaluate possible suppliers well before
hand, many sales veterans and some younger salespeople           they talk with them directly.
stubbornly insist that only through the time-tested              According to a 2009 Forbes/Google study, the internet
discipline of a cold calling strategy supported by dogged        is the C-suite’s top information resource, with six out of
determination and thorough preparation can salespeople           ten executives conducting more than six searches a day
generate a sufficient flow of new customer opportunities.        (“The Rise of the Digital C-Suite: How Executives Locate
Forum sees this is as a false choice, diverting sales            and Filter Business Information”). Moreover, the entire
professionals’ attention from more profitable lines of           social media world, alive with an exchange of ideas,
thought. Our client experience tells us that the need for        perspectives, and potential solutions for every possible
salespeople to initiate contact with prospective buyers          need, is a constant source of education to potential
will not end in the foreseeable future—at least not for          buyers, who are increasingly online via many different
salespeople who have responsibility to generate new              methods, communicating with others who share their
customer business. These salespeople must still get to           business interests.
their prospective buyer at the opportune moment to offer a
                                                                 Prior to purchase buyers took the following actions:
compelling value proposition against a probable need. The
requirement to make contact effectively is nothing new.          „„ 48 percent followed industry conversations on their topic
The question is: How?                                            „„ 44 percent conducted anonymous research on a select
                                                                     group of suppliers
Traditional cold calling has always been terribly inefficient,
often requiring a salesperson to initiate hundreds of            „„ 37 percent posted questions on a social networking site
contacts to find a dozen leads that might be worth                   looking for suggestions/feedback
developing into strong prospects. Books on selling cite a        „„ >20 percent connected directly with potential solution
formula that borders on religious conviction: that is, any           providers via social networking channels
salesperson in any given industry must make a set number         After a purchase, 59 percent of buyers shared their
of cold calls to yield a set percentage of qualified leads       research and buying process with others via:
to advance to a percentage of proposals that result in a         „„ One-on-one discussions
percentage of successful closes. Increase the number of
cold calls, and the formula will invariably yield higher win     „„ Blog postings
rates, or so the belief goes. But many sales professionals       „„ Participation in discussion forums
and researchers, including the highly regarded Neil              „„ Tweeting about their experience
Rackham (see interview in Entrepreneur.com), argue
                                                                 “Inside the Mind of the B2B Buyer,” a 2010 study by The
that the prospecting “numbers game” is a myth and                DemandGen Report (www.demandgenreport.com)
recommend that smart salespeople shift their focus from
sheer volume to focused high quality.
point of view

On the plus side, as more buyers use social media,                 1.	 Every salesperson crafts and keeps current a
salespeople have the opportunity to find and listen to them            professional profile online. Any number of social
as they exchange information in cyber space, revealing                 media sites can serve this purpose, including LinkedIn,
their business and organizational challenges, interests,               Facebook, Baidu Space, and Orkut. Your profile
and needs. Listening online to well-qualified prospects                enables customers to check you out before they talk
enables sellers to see “trigger events” as they unfold—                with you. It can also be the platform from which you
any significant change to the status quo; for example, it              expand your presence in the market through blogging,
could be something big, such as an acquisition of another              links to useful sites and discussion groups, links to
company or consolidation of divisions; or something                    useful papers published by your company and others,
smaller, such as the individual buyer taking on new                    and so forth.
responsibilities or the emergence of a new competitor              2.	 Salespeople follow target customers or target markets
to the buying organization. Any event or change in                     online. Listen and learn what is top of mind and
circumstances that compels a buyer to respond is a trigger             trending for prospective customers. Follow any
for the seller to call on that buyer to explore needs and              postings that target customers make, such as a blog
potentially offer services. Sometimes, smart salespeople               or tweet. Follow industry or trade group sites and
can see how an event might impact the buyer before the                 discussion groups that are relevant to your prospects.
buyer understands what is happening. This is a wonderful
opportunity to bring insight to a buyer to help him or her         3.	 Participate appropriately in sites prospective
shape an effective response to changing circumstances.                 customers frequent. Build personal presence and
                                                                       professional credibility by interacting with others on
As social media causes the hunters to become the hunted                the sites. Pitching products in discussion groups
companies must have an online presence, so buyers                      and community of interest sites is a major no-no.
can find them and they can find buyers. Marketing                      Many find it repulsive, and it destroys the credibility
                                 departments are generally             of whoever is pitching. Contribute value by offering
“... the hunters                 tasked with handling this.            useful information. Answer a question, offer a link to a
                                 Less obvious is the new
become the                       competitive requirement for
                                                                       credible resource, and offer referrals to others. Asking
                                                                       a thought-provoking question in a discussion group to
                                 individual salespeople to
hunted ...”                      create a personal presence
                                                                       stimulate new thinking is another way to add value.
                                 online as a way to increase       4.	 Keep learning and growing. Experiment with different
the likelihood that potential buyers will find them, and               approaches, share best practices with colleagues. The
as a way to establish credibility and to differentiate from            technology continues to advance. Savvy users have
competitors.                                                           to continue to evolve, too.
Professional presence on the web is anything but static.
It is not a digital yellow pages ad with your name and
                                                                   In online dating, it is
company capabilities on it. It is a regular, dynamic
interaction with others, giving and receiving points of
                                                                   advised that to find the
view and relevant information. Your presence, generated            perfect mate, be the perfect
through frequent, purposeful interaction, enables you to
nurture and cultivate relationships with the contacts you          mate so that your beloved
have targeted. In doing so, you increase the likelihood that
when a contact has a need you can address they will either         may find you. Similarly, in
reach out to you or will be open to receiving your call to
them (when you notice the trigger event).                          selling today, to find your
High-performing business developers must now devote
some amount of regular time to using social media just as
                                                                   ideal customer, establish
they have always done with the telephone. At a minimum,
salespeople and sales executives should ensure:
                                                                   yourself online as an ideal
                                                                   supplier so your customer
                                                                   may find you.



                                                               2
point of view

     Some advice to those new to navigating the
     social media world:


     Be present.	 As Woody Allen said, “Ninety percent 	
     	            of life is showing up.” Get online.


     Be helpful.	 Generosity is in short supply in the 	
     	            world. It is noticed and appreciated.


     Be expert.	        You have specialized knowledge that 	
     	                  others do not have. Share it humbly. 	
     	                  You will earn credibility.


     Be curious.	 Seek to understand and to learn. 		
     	            Your opportunities will open naturally.


     Be likeable.	 Salespeople know this instinctively in 	
     	             the physical world. It counts online, 	
     	             too.


     Be discreet.	 It earns trust.



Cold calling as we have known it may indeed be dead,
but persistent prospecting is very much alive. When you
initiate a contact and have built your credibility online, all
your calls can be warm calls. Your prospect will already
know and respect you and your organization. Or maybe it
will be you who is picking up the phone, with an interested
buyer on the other end.




Forum is a global professional services firm that mobilizes
people to embrace the critical strategies of their organization and
accelerate results. We help senior leaders with urgent
strategic agendas equip their organizations to perform, change,
and grow. Our expertise is built on decades of original
research; our business insight keeps companies out ahead of
their markets, competitors, and customers. Harvard Business
Press published Forum’s latest book Strategic Speed in 2010.

For more information, visit www.forum.com.

© 2010 IIR Holdings, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.




                                                                  3

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Cold calling is stone cold dead

  • 1. point of view Cold Calling Is Stone Cold Dead Authored by Jeffrey Baker Professional salespeople and sales managers react Today, however, it’s more challenging than ever to find passionately to this provocative headline, easily joining in those high-quality prospects. Buyers now want to know the debate. The meteoric rise of Web 2.0, the explosion individual salespeople and their company before buyers of social media tools, and marketers rapidly adopting will make contact with them. Buyers at all levels of an these tools to drive lead generation are offered by many organization use search engines and other information as evidence for the demise of cold calling. On the other tools to find and evaluate possible suppliers well before hand, many sales veterans and some younger salespeople they talk with them directly. stubbornly insist that only through the time-tested According to a 2009 Forbes/Google study, the internet discipline of a cold calling strategy supported by dogged is the C-suite’s top information resource, with six out of determination and thorough preparation can salespeople ten executives conducting more than six searches a day generate a sufficient flow of new customer opportunities. (“The Rise of the Digital C-Suite: How Executives Locate Forum sees this is as a false choice, diverting sales and Filter Business Information”). Moreover, the entire professionals’ attention from more profitable lines of social media world, alive with an exchange of ideas, thought. Our client experience tells us that the need for perspectives, and potential solutions for every possible salespeople to initiate contact with prospective buyers need, is a constant source of education to potential will not end in the foreseeable future—at least not for buyers, who are increasingly online via many different salespeople who have responsibility to generate new methods, communicating with others who share their customer business. These salespeople must still get to business interests. their prospective buyer at the opportune moment to offer a Prior to purchase buyers took the following actions: compelling value proposition against a probable need. The requirement to make contact effectively is nothing new. „„ 48 percent followed industry conversations on their topic The question is: How? „„ 44 percent conducted anonymous research on a select group of suppliers Traditional cold calling has always been terribly inefficient, often requiring a salesperson to initiate hundreds of „„ 37 percent posted questions on a social networking site contacts to find a dozen leads that might be worth looking for suggestions/feedback developing into strong prospects. Books on selling cite a „„ >20 percent connected directly with potential solution formula that borders on religious conviction: that is, any providers via social networking channels salesperson in any given industry must make a set number After a purchase, 59 percent of buyers shared their of cold calls to yield a set percentage of qualified leads research and buying process with others via: to advance to a percentage of proposals that result in a „„ One-on-one discussions percentage of successful closes. Increase the number of cold calls, and the formula will invariably yield higher win „„ Blog postings rates, or so the belief goes. But many sales professionals „„ Participation in discussion forums and researchers, including the highly regarded Neil „„ Tweeting about their experience Rackham (see interview in Entrepreneur.com), argue “Inside the Mind of the B2B Buyer,” a 2010 study by The that the prospecting “numbers game” is a myth and DemandGen Report (www.demandgenreport.com) recommend that smart salespeople shift their focus from sheer volume to focused high quality.
  • 2. point of view On the plus side, as more buyers use social media, 1. Every salesperson crafts and keeps current a salespeople have the opportunity to find and listen to them professional profile online. Any number of social as they exchange information in cyber space, revealing media sites can serve this purpose, including LinkedIn, their business and organizational challenges, interests, Facebook, Baidu Space, and Orkut. Your profile and needs. Listening online to well-qualified prospects enables customers to check you out before they talk enables sellers to see “trigger events” as they unfold— with you. It can also be the platform from which you any significant change to the status quo; for example, it expand your presence in the market through blogging, could be something big, such as an acquisition of another links to useful sites and discussion groups, links to company or consolidation of divisions; or something useful papers published by your company and others, smaller, such as the individual buyer taking on new and so forth. responsibilities or the emergence of a new competitor 2. Salespeople follow target customers or target markets to the buying organization. Any event or change in online. Listen and learn what is top of mind and circumstances that compels a buyer to respond is a trigger trending for prospective customers. Follow any for the seller to call on that buyer to explore needs and postings that target customers make, such as a blog potentially offer services. Sometimes, smart salespeople or tweet. Follow industry or trade group sites and can see how an event might impact the buyer before the discussion groups that are relevant to your prospects. buyer understands what is happening. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring insight to a buyer to help him or her 3. Participate appropriately in sites prospective shape an effective response to changing circumstances. customers frequent. Build personal presence and professional credibility by interacting with others on As social media causes the hunters to become the hunted the sites. Pitching products in discussion groups companies must have an online presence, so buyers and community of interest sites is a major no-no. can find them and they can find buyers. Marketing Many find it repulsive, and it destroys the credibility departments are generally of whoever is pitching. Contribute value by offering “... the hunters tasked with handling this. useful information. Answer a question, offer a link to a Less obvious is the new become the competitive requirement for credible resource, and offer referrals to others. Asking a thought-provoking question in a discussion group to individual salespeople to hunted ...” create a personal presence stimulate new thinking is another way to add value. online as a way to increase 4. Keep learning and growing. Experiment with different the likelihood that potential buyers will find them, and approaches, share best practices with colleagues. The as a way to establish credibility and to differentiate from technology continues to advance. Savvy users have competitors. to continue to evolve, too. Professional presence on the web is anything but static. It is not a digital yellow pages ad with your name and In online dating, it is company capabilities on it. It is a regular, dynamic interaction with others, giving and receiving points of advised that to find the view and relevant information. Your presence, generated perfect mate, be the perfect through frequent, purposeful interaction, enables you to nurture and cultivate relationships with the contacts you mate so that your beloved have targeted. In doing so, you increase the likelihood that when a contact has a need you can address they will either may find you. Similarly, in reach out to you or will be open to receiving your call to them (when you notice the trigger event). selling today, to find your High-performing business developers must now devote some amount of regular time to using social media just as ideal customer, establish they have always done with the telephone. At a minimum, salespeople and sales executives should ensure: yourself online as an ideal supplier so your customer may find you. 2
  • 3. point of view Some advice to those new to navigating the social media world: Be present. As Woody Allen said, “Ninety percent of life is showing up.” Get online. Be helpful. Generosity is in short supply in the world. It is noticed and appreciated. Be expert. You have specialized knowledge that others do not have. Share it humbly. You will earn credibility. Be curious. Seek to understand and to learn. Your opportunities will open naturally. Be likeable. Salespeople know this instinctively in the physical world. It counts online, too. Be discreet. It earns trust. Cold calling as we have known it may indeed be dead, but persistent prospecting is very much alive. When you initiate a contact and have built your credibility online, all your calls can be warm calls. Your prospect will already know and respect you and your organization. Or maybe it will be you who is picking up the phone, with an interested buyer on the other end. Forum is a global professional services firm that mobilizes people to embrace the critical strategies of their organization and accelerate results. We help senior leaders with urgent strategic agendas equip their organizations to perform, change, and grow. Our expertise is built on decades of original research; our business insight keeps companies out ahead of their markets, competitors, and customers. Harvard Business Press published Forum’s latest book Strategic Speed in 2010. For more information, visit www.forum.com. © 2010 IIR Holdings, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 3