Cold Calling

Cold calling is one of the most difficult, frustrating and challenging methods of marketing. However, it is also one of the most effective ways to get the word out. Cold calling is a direct marketing technique. This technique is used to sell goods or services, schedule appointments, and generating leads. Cold calling is the most basic one on one sales technique available. This form of marketing comes down to contacting someone you don't know, introducing yourself and trying to sell them something. These prospects may or may not want to purchase the goods or services, or in some cases not even understand what the caller is pushing. Cold calling is a very difficult task in the art of sales and marketing. Yet, having a cold calling guide can help the caller succeed in the process.

In order to properly make effective cold calls, the caller must be take advantage of every phone call and every minute. To more effectively handle and manage the cold calls, one must follow the three "P's" of telemarketing.

Persistence
The single most important aspect of cold calling is persistence. Success in cold calling means to never give up. Most successful closes occur after the fifth contact. Most sales and cold callers give up after the second attempt. In order to successfully cold call, one must follow a code of persistence. Cold calling is just a numbers game. The success ratio of cold calling is affected greatly by the number of phone calls made. Call, call and call again is a guaranteed formula for cold calling. Even armed with a poor script and a poor list.

Prospects
The success of a cold calling campaign can be tied directly to the quality of the list. So it is very important to make sure that you have the very best list possible. Many people use inexpensive, recycled telemarketing lists to do their cold calling. This is a recipe for failure. These lists are often oversaturated and outdated. The list is a valuable tool that cold callers need to be strong in order for them to succeed. Don't be afraid to spend money on a higher quality list. This usually will more than pay for itself. A bad list is costly, as it eats up labor and brings down office morale.

Preparation
When you fail to prepare, be prepared to fail. The formula for success in cold calling is to develop a formula. The right employees, the right list and the right script combined can make a cold calling project launch into new territory. Cold calling if done properly can make any company a successful sales machine.