Cold calling is dead, or at least it should be. Too many sales people waste their time and energy cold calling for new business, when they can be using technology and the “Invisible Web” to warm up potential customers.
Sam Richter, president of SBR Worldwide and senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Actifi, is a guru on taking the chill out of cold calling. His best-selling book, “Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling,” shows how being in the “value age” is even more central to salespeople than being in the “information age.”
In his book, Sam shows how to use free or low cost tools to access information on companies, industries and people.
Start by visiting www.takethecold.com. Visit Sam’s Warm Call Resource Center for an updated list of business information Web sites, search tips, and download the Warm Call Toolbar so you can access business information resources directly.
Following are just a few of the search tips to take the chill out of any cold call:
• Google Filetype Search: Imagine finding a competitor’s sales proposal, an association’s membership list, or a high-end research report online. To find files online using Google:
1. Enter the information you want and/or the company name (use quotations around phrases).
2. Enter filetype: and then choose a filetype extension (pdf = adobe acrobat; xls = Excel spreadsheets; ppt = PowerPoint document; doc = Word document). For example, “plastics industry” + “membership list” filetype:xls will search for a plastics industry membership list in Excel format. “ACME Corporation” filetype:ppt will search for an ACME Corporation PowerPoint presentation. “automotive industry” + trends OR issues filetype:pdf will locate reports and/or articles related to trends or issues in the automotive industry.
• LinkedIn.com: This business networking site helps you create connections at companies, learn about people, and ask for referrals. Once you’re registered, invite people into your network. Your online network can grow quickly because as people accept your invitations, and as you accept theirs, everyone’s network is shared. You can then use LinkedIn’s advanced search to start searching for people by name, company and job title.
• ZoomInfo.com: This site uses sophisticated Web search tools to find information on people, and then it automatically creates an online profile using different information sources. Just enter a person’s name in the ZoomInfo search engine. If it’s a common name, also add their company name.
• Your local library: Most libraries subscribe to premium databases that you can use for free. Want Dun and Bradstreet or ReferenceUSA to research companies, their competitors, and executive biographies or whether a prospect has ever been quoted in a local newspaper or trade journal? Find out by accessing library databases from your home computer.
With the amount of information available online today, there is absolutely no excuse for not knowing something about your potential customer before you meet or call.
Mackay’s Moral: If information is power, then use the Web to catch customers.
Harvey Mackay is president of Mackay Envelope Corp. and a nationally syndicated columnist.
