An excellent post by Matt Brazil caught my eye recently. It’s provocatively entitled Are Social Networks the Last Nail in the Coffin for Cold Calling?
Now, of course, the increased prevalance of social media (and Matt includes blogs, articles, podcasts, etc. in that group) aren’t going to completely kill off cold calling. But Matt’s point – based on a lead generation experiment he ran – is that for many businesses they may now present a better return on investment than cold calling.
In the case of professional services: article writing, seminars and speeches have always been a fantastic business development device for the larger “names” in the business. They provide advanced clues for potential buyers to the credibility and knowledge of the consultant, lawyer, accountant, engineer or architect who wrote the article or delivered the speech. Given the intangible nature of professional services; those clues are often an immensely powerful lever to at least get the professional engaged in a dialogue with the potential client.
Historically, speech-making and article writing has often been the preserve of the well-known individual or the major firm. Most people read a small number of quality journals so competition for placement was high and the chances of a small firm or unknown individual getting a high degree of visibility was slim.
But like many things in life, the internet has changed all that. Not only is it much easier for good quality content to get published on a plethora of sites and blogs; but potential clients have changed the way they find material. Nowadays they don’t subscribe to a small number of quality journals in the hope that something of relevance will appear every few months – they search for what they want, when they want it.
So equipped with some half-decent SEO and an interesting niche to write about; smaller firms and less well-known professionals can replicate the marketing tactics of the industry giants.
Of course, actually being able to produce quality material that really is going to raise your credibility is a whole different story. But at least today the barriers to publishing and being found have all but fallen.
Ian
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I read with interest your’s and Matt’s article and wondered about the changing frontiers of business development that social media is offering to all types of business. I tend to disagree with the opinion that cold-calling is now obsolete, but instead understand it to be a different part of the sales process than it was originally intended. Social media has transformed the barriers of information gathering for both customer and vendor meaning that gathering information is that much easier. I argue that cold-calling can no longer be truely ‘cold’ because of the potential for so much non-verbal communication beforehand. However, the skills in traditional verbal communication are still as relevant today. The danger I think is that modern selling becomes “all about social media” to the detriment of communication in general.
I’d agree Nesh. I think it especially applies if you have a very targeted prospect base. Rather than cold calling hundreds of prospects, a more focused “outreach” strategy involving social media, sending materials in advance, scouting out the lie of the land with friendly contacts in and outside the organisation etc. can all pave the foundation for a better warm call.
Ian
I’m skeptical of the “nail in the coffin” theory. I would answer the article writer’s question (the title of his article) with this answer: “no.” In my way of thinking, it’s not an “either-or” proposition. Businesses can still generate copious revenue from cold-calling, and they should also have a presence on the internet and use social networking to do that.
- Skip Anderson
Yes – I think the author is using the “nail in the coffin” phrasing as a device to put forward a more interesting and provocative argument – rather than it really being true.
Ian
I don’t know if social networks will put an end to cold calling but it’s an interesting idea. Very thoughtful! Thanks for an intriguing read.
I think I would make the argument that social media makes cold calling easier, and quite possibly more effective. Imagine how shocked you would be if you were cold called by someone who said “I was reading your blog today and you said XYZ. That got me thinking about an opportunity for you to exploit ABC. give me a call at xxx-xxx-xxxx.” A bit brief I know, but it would get your attention…
-Brad
Thanks for mentioning me in your post Ian. The theory behind social media and the tools it provides reducing the dependence on cold calling has certainly stoked a healthy debate. One very good point that has been consistently put forward is that social media/networking will in affect warm the call up.
If anyone wants to connect with me to discuss these theories further please feel free to do so.