Cold Calling

Cold calling is used by organizations for the purposes of lead generation and sales prospecting. It is termed 'cold calling' because the telephone operator usually has no prior contact with the end user and the recipient is not usually very responsive to the operator's demands. Cold calling is used by aggressive organizations that operate under the assumption that the sales process is essentially a numbers game, and despite the high rejection levels, an eventual sale ultimately makes the process worthwhile. Many sales personnel who are required to follow cold calling procedures do not enjoy the process because it often entails being 'hung up' on, sworn at or threatened. Those that do embrace the process are eager to develop more effective methods to breakdown barriers and create additional sales. This is particularly so for individuals who are being paid a commission on the basis of cold call sales.

The effectiveness of cold calling can depend to an extent on how skilled the operator is, how attractive the offer is and how qualified the leads are that the individual is pursuing. In some cases, the individual who receives the call is not the primary decision maker so cold calling success can be extremely limited in this regard. Some individuals engaging in cold calling attempt to stun or trick their victims using highly questionable approaches. This can include representing that the individual has won entitlement to a holiday or some other product or service. Initially, the recipient becomes elated only to discover that the actual purpose of the call was to obtain money in exchange for the service. This mode of operation is not usually very effective and is why cold callers are cursed with such intense vigor.

Since the rise of call centers in India, many companies operate cold calling operations offshore. This is an immediate dead giveaway about the motivation behind cold calls. Companies that employ offshore services have often compiled a database of prospects for the purposes of sales generation. If you have filled out a form at the bank for a service or completed a competition entry form at the local shopping center, it is quite possible that you unknowingly agreed to receive further correspondence from the operating company. This is usually divulged in the fine print that people so easily miss during the form completion process.

In some countries, a no call register has been established to stop cold calling. Individuals can register with this service to prevent receiving unsolicited phone calls. In Australia, one individual who was so fed up with receiving cold calls that he began issuing invoices to the offending companies. So far, amusing as this sounds, he has not received any response for payment regarding his time.

For individuals who are looking to improve their cold calling skills, training programs and books can be purchased that provide insight into human behavior, teach criteria elicitation and assist individuals to deal with rejection.

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