The argument rages on in the sales world but maybe the time when ‘cold calling’ is dead isn’t that far off.
For the purposes of this blog, the definition of ‘cold calling’ is using the telephone to call strangers without a pre-arranged appointment and initiating a sales conversation with the ultimate aim of that stranger becoming a customer of yours.
Since 1998 when I got my 1st sales job booking home visits for a national double-glazing firm, using the telephone as part of my sales efforts has pretty much been a fixture in my professional life and still is.
Whilst I absolutely accept there are different method for achieving results in outbound sales, I know from my own experience that, when used correctly, the telephone is still effective.
Of course it depends on your audience and, for the time being, there will be customers who ignore emails (or may not even receive them) so have to be called and there will be customers who ignore the phone meaning you have to find other ways to start engaging with them.
Will this still be the case in 10 years time? Based on observing how younger millenials and definitely Gen-X rarely, if ever, use the phone to communicate and instead prefer to text/IM – what’s that going to mean for the next generation of salespeople and customers who’ve grown up with a different societal typical way of communicating?
Is the over-predicted death of using the telephone actually going to come true before my days on this World are done?
Looking forward, what will this means for sales functions in the future? It’s understood that, as a result of the internet, the typical buyer’s journey has changed meaning they have less of a need for engaging a salesperson until much later on in their buying process. Effective marketing helps drive awareness as part of top of sales funnel activities and this is where outbound sales is currently applicable but is that only because the current generation of salespeople & buyers have grown up used to using speaking on the telephone?
What will it mean for the human race? We’re already overloaded with content in our lives – how will we cope with having to read and write texts/IMs in addition to emails? Makes me wonder what the human form will look like in 100s of years in the future? Oversized brains and eyes to cope with the increased data. Extra and/or longer digits to cope with the increased demand for typing. That seems scarily familiar right?
Forward thinking businesses have, for a long time already, been working on reducing their reliance on a sole channel for engaging with potential clients and, whilst we remain telephone warriors, Team Dremur are working on becoming skilled at multi-channel outreach too because it’s not ridiculous to think of a future where using the telephone for outbound becomes less effective than email!
Wrapping this blog up, I believe we still have at least another 20yrs where using the telephone for outbound will still be effective (based on my generation being roughly around retirement age in 20yrs) so cold calling is not dead but maybe it is dying….
