Is There A Future For Cold Calling?

It's been a while since I've written an article about the future of cold calling, but I feel it's important for salespeople and sales teams to be prepared.

Firstly, no I am not saying that cold calling is dead! Before the army of traditional salespeople jump up to fight! This is not a cold calling is dead post.

I would just like to raise the simple question...

Is there a future for cold calling?

This morning I read a very interesting article titled "Why No One Answers Their Phone Anymore". It starts of by exploring the wonderful past of the phone and how big a part of our lives that it used to be. It explains how people used to be so excited about the phone ringing, and even goes on to say:

Not picking up the phone would be like someone knocking at your door and you standing behind it not answering.

However it then goes on to discuss how times have changed...

"There are many reasons for the slow erosion of this commons. The most important aspect is structural: There are simply more communication options."

We now have so many different ways to communicate that are quicker, easier and less intrusive compared to the phone. The more we use these platforms, the less likely we are to want or need to answer calls.

There is also another BIG reason for the decline in people answering calls...

SALESPEOPLE!!

It's ironic that the people fighting to defend that cold calling is alive and will live forever are actually the ones who are killing it. It is their CONSTANT spammy calling that is destroying what was such a powerful prospecting tool.

Alexis, the author of the article mentioned puts it well here:

"Perhaps 80 or even 90 percent of the calls coming into my phone are spam of one kind or another. Now, if I hear my phone buzzing from across the room, at first I’m excited if I think it’s a text, but when it keeps going, and I realize it’s a call, I won’t even bother to walk over."

Now look let's be very real here, people still answer the phone.

The phone is not dead, cold calling is not dead. There are still plenty of people out there who are happy to talk on the phone. In no way would I ever encourage people to stop making cold calls, they still do work.

What I want is for salespeople, sales teams and businesses to really start thinking about the futute...

If the MAJORITY of your prospecting is done via cold calling right now you could be in trouble. If all or most of your eggs are in the cold calling basket, firstly you're simply missing ALL of the sales you could make by using the other methods and secondly you're not future proofing your team or business.

Our younger generations live in a world where they don't need, want or have to make phonecalls. They're more comfortable sending instant messages, video chatting, communicating via social media etc.

It won't be long before the MAJORITY of decision makers out there will be millennials and younger.

As this future becomes a reality, do you really think cold calling will work? Traditional salespeople and sales experts often make these challenges to it...

1) Less people making calls means more chances my calls will get answered!

This does make me chuckle a bit. Think about it, people don't want to answer calls. It doesn't matter if less calls come through, it doesn't mean that people will suddenly want to answer them! It doesn't matter if 1 salesperson calls me today, or 10, I'm not going to answer any of those calls!

2) The phone will make a huge comeback!

The day that the majority of people around the world throw their iPhones in the bin and opt for a Nokia 3310 will be the day you can say that the phone is making a comeback. The reality of that ever happening, super slim. Technology is only going to advance. My opinion, the phone will never make a comeback, but video calling will become it's equal.

3) No deals are ever done without speaking to someone!

What a load of bananas! So much business is done digitally now, without the need for any conversations at all. Think about it, 15 years ago we would be scared to spend ￡100 online. It wasn't safe, we needed and wanted to speak to a human. Now we will spend tens of thousands online without thinking twice. It's also worth adding that cold calling is the subject here, not the phone in general. Pre arranged calls aren't cold calls, and the phone will still have a place in sales.

4) The majority of sales generated by most businesses comes from cold calling

OF COURSE IT DOES! That's all they do!! If you're only making cold calls, or the majority of your prospecting is done via cold calls, then of course the majority of your business will come from that. Most businesses haven't adapted or changed yet, they're doing what they did 10 years ago. What many of them are seeing is results dropping. It doesn't matter how much training you give them to make them super effective cold callers, if no one is answering those calls you won't be able to generate sales from them. I've seen companies now that have adapted see upto 8X better conversion rates via other methods compared to cold calling. It won't be long before this becomes the norm.

Let's bring this article to a conclusion...

Is there a future for cold calling?

Yes, people will be using the phone for many years to come.

However in my opinion, cold calling will become a much smaller part of sales. Social, digital and video prospecting/selling will become the key areas. These will play the biggest role in sales, with cold calling only taking up a small amount of time in a salespersons day.

Of course I could be wrong, unfortunately I can't predict the future! All I'm doing is looking at all of the signs around me, all of the information, and trying to ensure that myself as a salesperson is built to succeed now and well into the future.

The signs around us are showing more and more people ignoring phone calls and not answering calls from unknown numbers. If this continues then the ROI from cold calling will continue to drop, before it will get to a point where a Sales Director or Sales Manager will need to question why his salespeople are spending hours a day to generate such minimal returns.

Those are my thoughts....

What do you think?

Do you think there is a bright future for cold calling or do you think it's going to shrink over the years?

Let me know in the comments!

Oh and before anyone writes this in the comments, yes I am a social selling trainer/speaker questioning the future of cold calling, but whether or not cold calling continues has NO impact on my business :) I train salespeople how to use social AND the phone and will continue to do so. I'm just very passionate about the world of sales and keen to understand where the industry is going.

Thank you for reading this blog! If you enjoyed it please do click LIKE and click SHARE to share it with your network.

If you enjoyed this post please take time to read some of my other recent posts.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Is Like Going To The The Gym...

Just Pick Up The Phone and Call!

The ABC Of Social Selling

The Modern Day Sales Prospecting Stack

The 10 Things That Will NEVER Change In Sales

About the author: 

Daniel Disney is one of the world's leading Sales, Social Selling and LinkedIn experts. With over 15 years sales experience, Daniel has mastered how to use social media to generate exceptional results, both in social engagement and in revenue generated. His brand new Online Social Selling Masterclass Course is helping salespeople all over the world generate MORE sales with LinkedIn and Social Selling.

Daniel is also a highly in-demand international keynote sales speaker, is the UK's leading sales blogger and is also the Founder and Owner of LinkedIn's most popular sales publication, The Daily Sales. With an audience of over 450,000+ followers and growing by thousands each week, his content reaches millions of salespeople far and wide.

To inquire about Daniel keynoting or speaking at your company or event, or to find out more about his 1-day and online LinkedIn/Social Selling Masterclass please email [email protected].