The Science of Marketing

An interesting post caught my eye today, where Chris Garrett of the invesp Blog discusses the predatory sales mistake of cold calling. In his post, Chris uses an intimidating, fear mongering door-to-door salesman as a vivid example of what not to do when engaging prospects with whom we don’t yet have a relationship. His observations and advice are spot on, particularly his main premise that interrupting and annoying people with whom we’re trying to connect is the first ingredient in a recipe for failure.

When I think about cold calling, I immediately get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach - something akin to my reaction to the words "root canal". Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy meeting new people and talking to them…but when I think about how I react to a total stranger calling me to sell something, I know I don’t want to be on either end of such a conversation. I’d rather get to know someone before I try to sell them something, and even then, I want to be sure that what I have to offer is something they actually need.

Assuming I’m not the only one who would rather warm call than cold call, where do we begin? Below are some highlights from Chris’ post and some thoughts of my own on scrapping the interruption and starting an interaction. I’m interested to hear your opinion as well, so please let me know what you think.

Chris Garrett says:

• Ask questions and try to understand the needs and concerns of your prospects
• Give something in return for permission to call back
• Provide incentives for referrals

I say:

• Leverage existing relationships to forge new ones (Think LinkedIn)
• Send useful information with no strings attached (See Communications: The Art of the RFU)
• Articulate your area of expertise, and offer free advice (Without giving away the farm, of course)

What do you say?

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