Is Cold Calling Really Dead?

Some people think that cold calling is dead, ineffective and a waste of time. Some people think that cold calling is an efficient use of time, effective and very much alive. Of course, survey companies have conducted various studies throughout different organizations with the intention to produce empirical data, statistics, reports and case studies to deliver a definitive answer to the question: is cold calling really dead?

Generally, statistics report that between 2%-5% of cold calls result in a successful interaction with a prospect. Those who believe cold calling is dead will leverage this statistic to argue that with such a low chance of achieving a successful result on a cold call renders the activity itself as a waste of time. However, the people that believe cold calling is alive will argue that working harder and increasing the quantity of cold calls will ensure overall success. Although both parties have valid arguments regarding cold calling’s mortality, the truth is that cold calling is breathing, but is on life support.

Studies regarding social selling have proven that sales reps who leverage social media platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn…etc), are able to outsell their peers by 70%. These social media platforms may change in the future, however, there is no argument against the fact that social media itself is here to stay. Utilizing the power of social media before or during the sales process is an extremely effective tactic and allows sales reps to gain valuable insights and understanding about their prospects – and – enables alternative forms of communication with potential customers.

At the end of the day, nearly every prospect you would like to connect with has a place where they ‘live’. This means that outside of calling your prospect or sending them an email – most prospects have at least one or more social media profiles where they spend time networking, gathering industry information, communicating with people or consuming content. These social platforms (more often than not) are able to provide sales reps with data regarding a prospect’s affinities and personal interests. Sales reps who leverage these publically available insights are able to have more meaningful interactions with prospects and enhance their chances of speaking to their prospect’s values.

Finding a potential customer’s social media profile usually requires no more than a few minutes on Google, clicking on their profile and connecting with them. Although these few minutes may not seem to matter, they do add up. Although it’s difficult to calculate exactly how much time the average sales rep spends researching prospect information on the internet, let’s say that the average sales rep spends a conservative 30 minutes each day doing this. The total time spent researching information would equate to 2.5 hours per week, or 130 hours per year. A sales team of 15 reps would be spending 81.25 days per year simply finding prospects on social media.

Statistics do support the argument that this time is being well spent, but what is better than spending 30 minutes per day researching customer data on social media? The answer: not having to.

Sales Domination Systems includes a powerful Data Enrichment feature that will use the preexisting contact information to locate matching social media profiles (not to mention additional phone numbers, email addresses and several other points of data!) and ‘fill in the blanks’ for an inquiring sales rep. This tool virtually eliminates the time and effort that a sales rep typically spends locating the information themselves. Teams of 15 sales people could expect to spend an additional 81.25 days per year doing what they should be doing: selling!

We’re passionate about providing advanced sales solutions to sales people. If you are interested in looking at our Data Enrichment tool and saving time – please contact our team today at 877-643-0109 or visiting dominatesales.com/demo.