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Sales Models, Metrics, and Motions Blog

Cold Calling 2.0: Buyer's Side

by Matt Bertuzzi on Thu, Jun 18, 2009


There are most certainly very strong opinions on the status and future outlook of the Cold Call. Trish's post on Cold Calling 2.0 garnered the most comments this blog has seen in quite some time.

Coincidentally another Brit (I wish I was smart enough to orchestrate this), started an extremely active LinkedIn discussion on the topic.

Jay Powell from Business Intelligence Direct asked:

Cold calling, horrible word isn't it? When was the last time you received a "Cold Call"?

How effective was their call? Did you meet with them, agree to receive literature, or did you simply state you had no interest in their offer?

What prompted that response?

Jay received 19 answers in 21 hours. This shows me one thing: Cold Calling is as hot a topic for Buyers as for Sellers.

I ran a quick cloud analysis on the keywords used in the 19 answers. Click the image to see the larger version.

Words the buyers used frequently:

  • cold
  • company
  • sales
  • vendor

Words the buyers used infrequently:

  • information
  • listen
  • research
  • success
  • talking

To those that might argue that the Cold Calling 2.0 discussion is being made in a vacuum, I hope this data adds some credibility to the argument. In closing here are few highlights from comments in the LinkedIn discussion.

"The bottom line is that the caller took the time to make this "cold call" into a "warm call" by customizing the information that she presented to me. I haven't decided if I will use their service but I definitely will take the time to learn more about it."

"I have received a number of cold calls from recruiters and they have all completely failed to actually look at my resume or comprehend what it meant I could do." 

"They gave no indication that they had any idea who I was, what I do, how this could be a benefit to me or worth my time. It's unlikely that a retun call to them will be a priority."

"Even if the call is truly a cold call the caller can do a better job if they know their material, are respectful of your time and continuously earn the right to go on by providing relevant information."

Thanks for listening and please let me know your thoughts!

(Photo credit: Graham_B)

Topics: cold calling, inside sales tips

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