☎️ Pick Up the Phone
🥶 Cold Outreach
⚙️ LinkedIn Automation
☎️ Pick Up the Phone
I’ve argued cold calling is dead for almost twenty years.
In Sticky Branding (the book), I wrote, “I was the director of business development, but I found myself in the trenches dialing for dollars just to keep the business going. And I hate cold calling! But what else could I do? When the business isn’t there, you dig down and you work harder — especially if it’s your family’s business.”
As much as I hate cold calling, it’s effective.
When you are testing or developing a new market,
gaining access to a strategic buyer, or simply,
you cannot wait for marketing to catch up…
pick up the phone and start dialing.
Surprisingly, making a cold call is easier said than done.
Phone fear is a real thing. People avoid the phone like it’s the plague. They’d rather text, email, tap out morse code, send smoke signals — whatever it takes to avoid picking up the phone.
The best way to sell is by talking with your customers.
When you speak with someone directly — whether on the phone, face-to-face, or even on a video chat — you cut through the clutter. People solve problems when they speak to each other.
🥶 Cold Outreach
Cold outreach is the new cold calling.
Cold outreach is a modern, technology driven prospecting strategy using email and direct messages. The objective is to generate appointments with relevant prospects to fill the top of your sales funnel.
The primary difference between cold calling and cold outreach is automation.
Salespeople of a certain vintage grew up “smiling and dialing.” They picked up the phone and navigated around gatekeepers to find a person to speak with. When they finally connected, it was a race to catch the prospect’s interest before they hung up.
Cold outreach has taken this tried and true, but woefully slow and painful process and amplified and scaled it.
What makes cold outreach effective:
- Targeting: Target exactly the people you want with a personalized emails and direct message that get people to respond.
- Access: Most decision makers still manage their own inboxes. This is a massive opportunity.
- Low capital investment: Cold outreach software tools are relatively inexpensive.
Cold outreach is still a version of cold calling. No one likes to be interrupted by the phone, and no one likes getting cold emails. But when it’s done correctly, it works!
🤖 LinkedIn Automation
LinkedIn cold outreach has never been easier or cheaper. For less than $200 per month, you can get started with two apps:
- We-Connect: A LinkedIn outreach automation tool. It is simple and safe to use, but be sure to follow their guidelines and best practices.
- Sales Navigator: Premium LinkedIn subscription for list building and increased engagement limits.
Within an hour, you can launch a cold outreach campaign.
For instance, I am using the apps to promote our upcoming webinar on June 11th. The campaign invites 15-20 CEOs of mid-market manufacturing companies a day.
The outreach is simple and genuine, and is reaching a whole new audience that our traditional marketing would not reach.
You don’t need an agency or advanced marketing skills to get started with cold outreach.
(We-Connect is an affiliate link.)
📺 Free Webinar
You’re invited! Join me for a free webinar at 11:00 EST on June 11. Register to attend How to Win When the Rules Keep Changing.
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