Cold Call Musings

As a business owner and someone who makes cold calls in my own business, I find it fascinating to be on the receiving end. I’ll leave it to the sales pros to determine whether “cold calling is dead” but what I am sure of is that most cold calls I get are terrible.

If you are like me, you don’t even answer the phone unless it is a readily identified number. If you leave me a voice mail and it seems relevant to me or my business, I may call you back once I’ve checked you and your company out on Google, LinkedIn, etc. There are too many scams to do otherwise.

I recently received the following voice mail from a local technology services provider. With the help of caller ID and a 30 second Google search, I confirmed my suspicion that this was a sales call.

“Hi, Don. This is John Doe. Please give me a call when you get a chance. I'll be in the office until five Monday through Friday. My phone number is 919-XXX-YYYY. Talk to you soon. Thank you.”

This voice mail was weak on many levels. I quickly hit the delete button but how could it have been better?

“Hi, Don. This is John Doe with ABC Tech Services, 919-XXX-YYYY. We haven’t connected previously but I hope this message finds you well. Our firm has helped several small businesses, including search firms, manage their back-office technology which frees up their time to focus on their businesses and keeps them operational 99.9% of the time. As our services appear to be relevant to GeneCoda’s business, I’ll follow up this voice mail with an email detailing our services and an appointment request. Don, my phone number is 919-XXX-YYYY. I look forward to speaking with you soon.”

Now, I may not be in the market for or may have already hired someone else for technology services but when I get the follow-up email, I’d probably email the rep back. If the service is or may be germane to my business in the future, I’ll likely also keep the rep’s information on file. Then, the rep’s who contact me occasionally with relevant updates will be the most memorable when it’s time to buy or compare. And, if I have already been contemplating the need for these services, I’ll pick up the phone and call the rep back.

What if you cold call me and we connect live?

“Hi, Don. This is John Doe with ABC Tech Services. We haven’t connected previously. I hope I’ve caught you at a reasonable time? (*short pause for engagement)

Don, our firm helps small businesses, including search firms, manage their back-office technology which frees up their time to focus on their businesses and keeps them operational 99.9% of the time. 

I would imagine it’s important for GeneCoda to have its technology up and operational during the day?  (Could I answer this question any other way but yes?)

Don, how does GeneCoda presently manage its technology systems?”

While calls can take different turns, I need to understand who you are and what you do – quickly. Remember, I don’t know you which is why you state, “we haven’t connected previously”. Then, I cease thinking about how I might know you and focus on the call. Understanding you’ve likely disrupted my workflow, you show respect for my time and state, “I hope I’ve caught you at a reasonable time”. Don’t say a “good time” as there is never a “good time”. Reasonable works much better. I tell you I have 5 minutes before my next meeting. You say “I’ll take 3 and if at the end of those 3, you’d like to set up a time to speak in more detail, let’s do so. Sound good?”

• There is absolutely no need to make a cold call if you haven’t done any research on me or my company.
• There is absolutely no need to make a cold call if you can’t reasonably conclude, through your research, that I might now or at some point have a need for your product or service.
• You need to engage me in dialogue and get me answering “Yes”, quickly to build basic rapport. 
• You need to ask me about my business before you ever try to sell me anything.
• You need to leave your name, your company name, phone number repeated twice for clarity and a brief summary of why you are calling if you want me to return your call.

I hope this helps other cold callers. If there is anything you’d add / change, please post for everyone's benefit.