Cold Calls are a Bad Tactic and you Won’t Convince me Otherwise

Here goes.?

I fully recognize that what I’m about to say is very controversial. I am aware that it’ll anger many of you. I will even admit that you could be right and I?could be wrong.?

However, I feel so strongly about this and I just got off a business call with a friend and we got into this, so I just felt so compelled to share my thoughts on the topic.?

Ok, now after that long introduction, here is my blanket statement.?

I refuse to believe that cold calling or cold emailing a potential customer is the way to go. Ever.?

I don’t believe there is ever a justification for it. Now hold on and let me explain.?

Are there entire industries built on cold calling? Yes.

Does basically every tech company use SDRs who cold call? Yes.

Does that mean it’s the right way to go? Abso-freakin-lutely not!!! There are better ways and the fact that you closed that one client via a cold call is nice but what about the hundreds of others who hung up on you or ignored your email? We just want to forget about those?

The fact that you can call 100 people and get 5 conversions/sales is an incredible accomplishment. 5% conversion rate. Wow. Right?

No. That is a 95% failure rate! Those are 95 prospects you just wasted because you were lazy.?

Instead of spraying and praying, how about you become a little resourceful and do this intelligently??

Today, given the tools we have at our disposal, you can get to ANYONE. Yes, anyone.?

If Hillel Fuld, a random dude in Israel, can get to Steve Wozniak, Marc Andreessen, and Alyssa Milano, then you can get to that CEO you’re trying to pitch.?

The only catch? It takes a bit more time and creativity.?

So open your LinkedIn, and find who of your connections is connected to that CEO. Ask your friend for an intro. But first ask that person if they have a real relationship with that CEO or if they’re just a random LinkedIn connection.?

The most important currency today is not the US dollar. It’s not even crypto. It’s trust.?

Getting someone who that CEO trusts to intro you will increase your success rate ten fold.?

Yes, I realize it’s not scalable. But guess what. When you close your first 100 clients with this unscalable method, closing your next 100 will be exponentially easier.?

So yes, as Paul Graham famously wrote, “Do things that don’t scale.”

Once your company has 100,000 customers, you won’t be able to call each one of them and build trust and a relationship. But as you’re building your company, you sure as hell can. And should!?

And if that CEO is not connected to any of your connections, then look for a second-degree connection, reach out to them, ask them to get you one step closer.?

I fully comprehend that this takes a little more time than just sending a cold email, but I also refuse to believe that we have to settle for 95% failure rate just because we don’t have time to actually build some trust.

And if, for some strange reason, you are unable to get a warm intro to that person, open their Twitter, follow them, listen to them, and start engaging as a human being. Build some initial trust, and after a few weeks of back-and-forth, don’t go in for a hard sell, perhaps suggest a short call to hear their insights on the industry or your product. Build trust!?

Listen, I get it. People want short wins. The investors are complaining about the lack of sales, your CEO is breathing down your neck, and you have to pay for your kid’s wedding so you can’t afford to lose your job. I get it.?

But at some point, we’re gonna have to stop thinking like robots and depending on volume. At some point, we are just gonna have to go deep and not wide.?

Sales will increase, retention will increase, and guess what’ll happen next. That will be one hell of a wedding your kid has because, by building trust, you closed that huge deal and got a massive bonus.?

I refuse to accept the claim that “It works.” No, I don’t consider a 5% success rate or even a 20% success rate to be success.?

When you treat your costumer like an actual human and not a number, you’ll build trust, you’ll establish a real relationship, and long term, you’ll win.?

No one wants to be treated like a number.

Seinfeld says it better than I ever could.?

I’m not saying you won’t close some sales by cold calling. You will. All I’m saying is that, in 2023, there’s a better way if you are just willing to try a bit harder and invest a bit more time.

Ok, folks, Keep it civil in the comments please (speaking from experience.)!