The Rebirth of the Cold Call

The sales development community and its thought leaders are pushing back against claims about the death of the cold call. Cold calling is still a graceful mix of natural talent, science, art, research and skill. When each of those things combine in a sales development rep’s cold calls, something magical happens: a giant sales pipeline and an even bigger book of business.

It’s almost an insult to the frontline warriors who brave the phone lines every day to say that the art of cold calling belongs to the past. For better or worse, cold calling has gotten a bad rap for being a sometimes seedy job that lies at the bottom of every sales organization’s career ladder. But let’s get something straight: the old way of banging the phone (and your head) against the wall no longer works.

There’s a wave of sales developers who are cutting the fat from their research, doing better targeting, and being honest about what they’re selling. And they’re winning. Sales development professionals are making their cold calls compelling, simple, brief and honest, and they’re building relationships that lead to closed deals.

Compelling

If you can create an interesting enough reason for someone to speak to you, your win rate will go up. This takes just the right amount of research, and the right amount of effort to be successful. You need to be relevant to the prospect you are cold calling, with a solid understanding of why they should talk to you.

Simple

Your message needs to be simple. If you can’t explain your idea to everyone, at every age, at any time, it is time to stop. Slow down and imagine if you were explaining it to your grandmother, or a young child. Would they understand you? If they wouldn’t, rethink what you are saying.

Brief

The digital age makes people believe they’re much busier than they actually are: the constant barrage of emails, texts, tweets, teleconference meetings and the like. So what do you think a lead will do if they receive a three-paragraph email from you, followed by a minute-long voicemail? (If you didn’t think that was sarcasm, we have a lot of work to do. Call me and we can talk. Briefly.)

Say what you need to say, and cut out the fluff. Brevity is the most valuable element of a cold call, and it’s the most universally accepted way to speak to the executive level.

Honest

If you are new to sales, don’t claim to be a veteran. If don’t understand something a lead tells you, tell them you don’t understand. Never – I repeat, never – lie to the person on the other end of the phone. People can tell when they’re being lied to, and tend to respect someone who can admit that he doesn’t have the answer. When you aren’t honest, there are only two likely outcomes: a lead will hang up, or call you out.

To my fellow cold callers: keep calling. Go search for the next big deal that takes your company to the next level, and do it the right way. The cold call isn’t dead – it’s reborn.

This post originally appeared here.