I often get inquires from companies looking for help with lead generation.  Granted, that’s what MarketCapture helps many enterprise software companies do better, quicker, and cheaper.  One point for the MarketCapture website!  When I call up the person to find out more, nine out of ten tell me they are looking for someone to help with cold calling. 
 
I have nothing against cold calling.  On the contrary; I think the phone, when correctly used, is still one of the most effective ways to reach potential customers.   I do have a hard time, though, when I see companies that view cold calling as a silver bullet, a cure to all marketing and sales ills, and an effort that can stand on its own. 
 
Here is where I see the problem:
 
So you get some outsourced telemarketing agents to call your prospects.  Why would your prospects want to talk them?  Think about all the calls you get from people wanting to sell you something.  How many of them do you talk to?  And what are the chances that you’d agree to anything more than saying “send me some info”, if you haven’t hung up on them in the first place?
 
You say it’s a numbers game.  Well, that’s true.  If you call enough people you might get a handful that will move on to the next step.  But you will spend a lot of money, and more importantly, time, to reach these few.  And it’s probably not going to be enough to fill up your pipeline. 
 
Using the phone to call on your prospect is a necessary ingredient in the enterprise sales process.  At the same time, expecting a cold call to turn into a hot opportunity is like substituting a hard job with a paycheck for a chance to win the lottery.  It can happen, but you don’t want to count on it.
 
So what can you do?  Here are some ideas.
 
Use cold calling to build and clean up your permission list
 
Identifying the prospects who can eventually buy your product (even if not in the immediate future) and getting their permission to communicate (including e-mail address!) is the foundation to any ongoing marketing effort.  I cannot think of a better way of doing it in a systematic fashion other than using the phone. 
 
I do believe, and there is evidence to support this belief, that callers have a better chance of getting the information and the permission they look for when the offer is of immediate value to the recipient.  White papers, case studies, and seminar invitations are all good examples of such offers.  Even better, the caller could offer to share with the prospect the results of a relevant industry study. 
 
Using a specific offer that is educational in nature, you don’t have to use your big shots.   This type of a call is much easier for someone who is not at the level of your top sales executive.
 
It usually works better than “just calling to check some information,” calling to schedule a meeting with a salesperson, or “looking to learn more about your business issues” (see more about that in the article from CIO blog below).  If it doesn’t work, you can call a month or two later with another offer. 
 
Use “warm” and targeted calling to turn prospect into opportunities
 
Once you have your target list and the permission to communicate, you can use this list for an ongoing marketing touch program, which can include additional learning opportunities for your prospects, such as seminars/webinars, additional white papers and case studies, and an electronic newsletter. 
 
By continuing to offer valuable material, you build the credibility of your company and maintain the permission to communicate with your prospects.  These multiple touches create opportunities for your prospects to signal their areas of interest, and a starting point for your salespeople to follow up and engage in a conversation.
 
Contrary to common practices, I believe the next call should be made by a senior sales executive.  Depending on who you’re calling, it could best be made by a higher level officer in your company, maybe even the CEO!  Why?  Because you need to put on the phone someone that can understand the problem of your customer, articulate this understanding to the person on the other side of the phone, and paint a vision that would compel the prospect to engage in a dialogue… and do it all in less than a minute!  Of course, this is just the beginning of a dialogue.  But if you fail here, it could also be the end.
 
For the call to be effective, it should be personalized and intelligent.  No matter how senior the person making the call, she or he must be well-prepared.  I’ve seen senior executives just picking up the phone thinking “I’m the CEO.  They would be honored to speak with me, and I can just wing it and get them excited.”  Wrong!  There is nothing that can cause more damage than a CEO that comes across as arrogant and myopic. 
 
Preparation for the call should be focused on the specific issues of the prospect.  Know what these issues are and have readily available references to your experience with other customers in similar situations.  Other than that, your pre-call preparation should be focused on what you ask, not what you say.  The best sales call is the one in which the customer talks and you listen. 
 
Five questions to keep in mind
 
Whether you follow these tactics or others, the important thing in my mind is that you use calling (cold and warm) as part of a sales and marketing process, not a stand alone component.  To keep yourself in check, keep the following five questions in mind: 

• Who do you call?  Know who you’re calling and do the research prior to picking up the phone.
  
• What are you trying to achieve?  Treat it like a dating process; don’t try to boil the ocean in your first call.
  
• Who is calling?  Don’t hold your guns; you need your best consultative skills in the initial conversations.
  
• What do you say?  Nobody wants to hear how great you are; instead, be prepared with references and questions. 
  
• What happens before and after the call?  The call is only one part of an ongoing communication program.  Supporting marketing touches before the call and between calls will help you keep top of mind awareness and smooth out the overall selling process.

Happy calling!