Cold calling  

Cold calling must be among the prospecting tasks most dreaded in sales. Even if you are working for a call center and do cold calling for a living, when it comes to dialing a number and starting a sales interaction, having fun is probably not the first thing on your mind.

When you think about it, Cold Calling is the most effective gateway to an instant sales pipeline, here and now. Nothing is more in your direct control when it comes to generating new business. Cold Calling allows you to proactively build relationships to a point of trust and relevance. And Cold Calling is particularly powerful when directed at problem area's where the competition hasn't set foot.

If Cold Calling can be that powerful, why is it often so low on our to do list? Cold Calling sucks for multiple reasons. One reason is that Cold Calls are considered an intrusion by most. Receivers often vehemently disapprove of them and even those in the sales profession are against receiveing them. Another reason is that no one looks forward to being turned down. There are tricks to keep you going despite this (see 'the numbers game') but none of these tricks resolve the dilemma itself.

What is the alternative? Two things. First, revisit your convictions around Cold Calling. In sales, the belief that you are intruding when initiating interactions is definitely not empowering. There are better ways to stop yourself from imposing. The idea here is not to judge but to seek to understand. Second, change your intent. If there is one thing receivers are initially over sensitive to, it is your expectations of them. Make it a dialogue about their expectations, not yours. You will find that they will happily take the time to relate to you.