How do you use the 3x3 rule to warm up your cold calls?

One thing I've found helpful in utilizing the 3x3 is being able to communicate what I've learned about their work or mission and connect that to how my offering supports their goal. In my line of work, I call on scientific researchers, so knowing the focus of their research, their groundbreaking developments or some of their most peer reviewed work has been helpful in gaining immediate rapport and credibility. Also showing that I respect their scientific contributions enough to learn about what drives their research and seeing them as a valid member of the scientific community and not just a "prospect". This concept is transferable to any industry or audience.

Instead of – or in addition to – LinkedIn and Google searches, consider user-generated content for unique buying signals. Suppose you're selling lead generation services or software. Then you might consider browsing RepVue (the "Glassdoor for salespeople.") That site provides employee-sourced insights into a company's sales culture, leadership, and metrics (like quota attainment). If you learn that only 30% of sellers hit their target, then you can tailor your lead gen pitch accordingly. But this comment isn't about RepVue, per se. Go find your industry's equivalent and unearth secondary, UGC signals that helps you meaningfully engage with prospects. Consider Reddit, Glassdoor, Google / Amazon Reviews, and others.

3x3 would alleviate the "paralysis by analysis" so prevalent in the business world including cold calling. However, people are most certainly aware of what they have posted about themselves online. I can see perhaps congratulating someone who won a certain award that is public knowledge. Pulling hobbies and other personal information out of social media, to me crosses a line from business information to "personal" research. Reading something online, from outside a business setting, and then having someone use that information to leverage a sale, would be an infringement on privacy. I also believe it to be unethical. On Linkedin, for example, you can see someone's business role, and approach them as such.

One thing I've found helpful in utilizing the 3x3 is being able to communicate what I've learned about their work or mission and connect that to how my offering supports their goal. In my line of work, I call on scientific researchers, so knowing the focus of their research, their groundbreaking developments or some of their most peer reviewed work has been helpful in gaining immediate rapport and credibility. Also showing that I respect their scientific contributions enough to learn about what drives their research and seeing them as a valid member of the scientific community and not just a "prospect". This concept is transferable to any industry or audience.

When leveraging social media for warm ups, cold callers can demonstrate care without crossing the line into "creepy" territory. Because of the nature of LinkedIn as a networking, career development and business social media platform - it's a safe bet that the insights found here will not be off putting as potential warm ups. Recent conferences attended/sponsored etc., mutual colleagues, awards, articles, published research/books, thought leadership/ posts, certifications, groups. Must you compliment the person? Not at all. Respect their time, and intelligence. Make the extra effort to correlate any relevant insights to why you are calling. Cold callers have a very short window of time to initially engage, don't lose those first seconds!