Did Your Telesales Training Prepare You for This?

When most people hear the words cold calling they immediately think of something like this:

That's right --- a soul-less, cramped, telesales call centre in India. It is unfortunate that a once powerful tool to gain business is now looked upon with such disdain.

The backlash against cold calling has become so great that there are even hundreds of prank videos on youtube showing consumers responses to cold callers. A fantastic example that i like is below. This is a real call which has been set with an animated video.

Should Anyone Persist With Cold Calling and Telesales?

Well the answer is a positively definitely -- Yes and No!!

Cold Calling Consumers:

In this instance it a rarely a good thing unless you have an existing relationship with the consumer/person/customer.

If you have never spoken to them before and are calling them out of the blue to try to pitch to them then -- absolutely no way!! This is a barbaric way to sell and relies on the old paradigm of 'it's a numbers game'. People do not want to be interrupted with pitching calls. Of course many countries now make this illegal anyhow.

The only exception to this is if you have an existing relationship with the person and can truly add some value to the call. Recently I received a cold call from a telecommunications supplier I was dealing with. I was delighted as they pointed out that I was overpaying on my account and by upgrading my membership, i could actually save money. That's the type of telesales cold call I like.

Cold Calling to Businesses:

Let me get this clear from the off --- I am completely passionate about 21st Century marketing techniques such as:

• high Google rankings
• Google pay per click
• Direct Marketing
• Relationship marketing
• Using social media sites to gain prospective clients

And where possible when I consult and train with companies I always try to promote modern marketing methods to generate new business.

The thing is though, with the exception of Google pay per click, no other method can be as immediate and effective as cold calling.

There is a lot of marketing on the Internet at the moment about 'don't cold call' - In fact one of the book recommendations below is about just that. What they fail to acknowledge, however, is that cold calling and telesales are immediate, provide instant feedback and can help you build rapport. If done correctly that is.

The message I want you to take away is if your business cold calls to consumers than stop!! Unless of course you have an existing relationship with them and can add value to their lives.

If you are in business and know how to cold call properly then go for it. It can be one of the most effective methods of new business. Embrace new marketing methods but don't forget about the tried and tested ones too.

If you would like to know how to cold call properly and professionally then look out for my next hub-pages or see the links to my web site.