Cold calling is well known as an effective method of getting business, yet cold callers are regarded as a nuisance by both domestic consumers and business people alike. However I am convinced it doesn’t necessarily have to be like this. I believe that the nuisance factor is more to do with the poor quality of the cold calls than it is to do with being called out of the blue. I reckon that if cold callers adopted a more professional approach, then people receiving the calls would be less inclined to be irritated and the results would improve at a consequence.
Let’s look at three things that irritate me the most about the cold calls I receive. Fixing the following problems won’t change the general view of cold calling, but it’s a step in the right direction.
- Asking “how are you today?” irritates me because I know they don’t know me and they don’t care how I am. This kind of thing – i.e. a greeting which is pleasant when you’re called by someone you either know or already have a rapport with – is just blatantly and obviously sycophantic when coming from a cold caller. I’d rather they just got to the point and established whether there is any point in discussing whatever it is they’re selling or trying to interest me in.
- Going round in circles with their rhetoric is just a waste of my time and theirs. I still remember a call from a “wealth management” firm a couple of years ago. The guy on the other end of the line introduced the company he represented and told me (in a rather drawn out spiel) what their service was (“wealth management”). I tried to get something more specific out of him, but was met once again with an explanation of the service (“wealth management”) which they were offering. At this point I lost patience and pressed the red button on my (mobile) phone. I’m quite ruthless about hanging up on cold callers.
- Keeping me on hold when I answer the phone means you won’t even get to speak with me! In case anyone isn’t clear what I mean: I’m talking about the call centre technique of having a computer dial a number, then keeping the person called on hold while an operator becomes available. In effect the company calling me is saying their time is precious but mine is expendable. In this situation I used to hang up straight way when I realised there was no one on the other end of the line. Now I wait until someone speaks to me and hang up without replying. Why doesn’t everyone do this and help to irradiate this abysmal practice?
Therefore if you’re having a cold calling campaign, please, please please ensure the following happens:
- The person calling introduced themselves and who they represent
- The person calling understands the product/service about which they are calling, and can (within reason) answer questions about the product/service
- The person receiving the call gets to speak with someone immediately they answer and isn’t kept on hold
Cold calling is well known to be a numbers game. However I see nothing wrong with improving the quality and this helping to stack the numbers more in one’s favour.
