Back in the 1950s, the munchkins of Oz may have cheerfully danced and chanted their glee for the death of the Wicked Witch, but today there exists a different message to spread and that is that “cold calling” is dead.
Cold calling is defined as a marketing technique in which prospective customers or clients are approached unexpectedly, usually via telephone. The aspect of “cold” used in the term “cold calling” is derived from the idea that the person receiving the call is not expecting it or has not specifically requested a call from a sales person.
In the past, the cold calling trend has prompted a handful of countries to put forth laws that would block these unwarranted interactions from occurring. For example, many U.S. states have enacted “Do Not Call Lists,” so people can opt out of being contacted by telemarketers. Meanwhile, within the U.K., under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations enacted in 2003, it’s illegal to transmit an automated recorded message for marketing purposes by phone, without previous consent of the subscriber. And the list goes on.
Those of the opinion that cold calling has become an ineffective and outdated practice for getting in touch with a client base believe that part of it has to do with the prevalence of texting and the Internet, or that customers themselves have become accustomed to turning away automated or scripted phone calls. Meanwhile, recent research reveals that obtaining leads through other methods, like social media and SEO practices, are quickly becoming the alternative to outbound marketing techniques like cold calling. On the other hand, some are of the mindset that cold calling cold calling is still alive and well, but just requires a new set of rules to go along with the ever-changing marketing landscape. Having a targeted list, analyzing your approach to prospects, and having a better understanding of the goal of the call are among some of the ground rules for performing cold calling in the 21st Century.
It’s hard to tell what exactly is behind the struggle of cold calling to survive, which raises the question whether it’s the general public putting it to rest or poor marketing tactics on the part of companies. Either way, businesses can’t survive without interacting with customers – both current and prospective – and are now beginning to adopt what one company is calling “smart calling.”
As YTel, a full-service telephone carrier and leader in voice broadcasting solutions, so aptly puts it: “Cold calling is dead. Smart calling is in.” YTel offers powerful, user-friendly predictive and voice broadcast dialers that equip companies with the ability to effectively reach out to a customer base rapidly and more reliably than any other hosted system on the market, according to company officials. What really sets YTel’s hosted dialer is its YTel Network, a high-quality network delivering optimal sound quality and fast connectivity.
So, how exactly does YTel help businesses take their lead generation techniques from “cold” to “smart”? Using YTel’s voice broadcast dialer, sales managers can load their client list into a database, and then upload a professional, engaging message that will be broadcast to as little or as many customers as they’d like. Moreover, YTel’s predictive dialer eliminates the job of dialing leads and simultaneously boosts efficiency by up to 500 percent when compared to manual dialing, and comes packed with functionalities for easy follow-up and tracking of leads.
In today’s business environment, it is imperative for sales teams to adopt “smart calling” technologies, and more importantly, equip themselves with a well-crafted approach to prospects. In the end, neglecting to do so may bring cold calling closer to the end of its life sooner than we expect.
Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Carrie Schmelkin