In a recent article published by LinkedSelling, the question was posed, “How can you take a cold prospect, reach out to them, connect with them in a way that engages them, and offer them value so they see you as a resource & authority?”
A good question for many of us… and, interestingly, the simple answer put forth in the article is to pick up the phone!
“Hands down, the best channel for making a faster connection is phone calling,” the article said.
We agree… and, as noted in the piece, this might not be the most popular position.
We’ve all read articles and positioning papers that claim cold calling is dead and that nobody responds to unsolicited phone calls, but deep down inside I think most of us know these claims are not completely accurate.
But still, picking up the phone is the answer, and here are just a few good reasons why:
- We can ask questions and have the opportunity to learn about the prospect
- We get immediate feedback
- We hear the words from their mouths and can understand their interests and needs more clearly
However, it’s important to align with a second major point made by the team at LinkedSelling: We are NOT calling to sell!
“When we call a prospect who doesn’t know anything about us, in most cases, you’d think it’d be an annoyance and we’d hear an immediate dial tone,” the article said. “But what happens is that we’re not calling to sell. We call to ask questions. And we’re human. Not a robot. Not a corporation.”
This is an important distinction, and this purpose of “discovery” must be made clear at the outset of each connection.
You might also consider the phone adds an additional element by which people can judge you: your voice. This makes it a multi-sensory experience and helps create that connection faster than email.
“If you are providing valuable information on the phone and approach them with an attitude of curiosity, you become a trusted resource instead of an annoyance. The phone is the fastest way to accomplish this.”
Ring-ring!