Matt,  
 
The evidence is coming in pretty strongly that unprepared cold calling is not hot. Whether we call a better way "cold calling with preparation" or "social calling" it's pretty clear we need a modicum of preparation to even get a hearing from today's over-stressed buyers. 
 
Certainly agree cold calling is a hot topic. We maxed out with 1,000 attendees on the "Don't Cold Call. Social Call." webinar yesterday.  
 
I did not know studying cold calling was a peculiarly British interest. Smashing! 
 
Nigel

We may want to define "cold calling" further - but if you refer to simply calling targeted prospects with a specific offer - the practice is very much thriving in the B2B Technology sector. While online marketing may be a great way to supplement prospect outreach, invariably the majority of leads almost invariably result from "cold calling". I'd love to know the amount of time callers (or marketers) are spending researching their prospects - the company being called is certainly not "cold" to the caller, but the called party is very likely hearing the pitch for the first time. So perhaps "warm" calling is more accurate.

@Kathy I absolutely agree that there MUST be a balance of inbound v. outbound activity for B2B Sales groups. 
 
To "borrow" from some old friends, a call is a "Cold Call" if the person being called: 
 
- doesn't know the caller 
- wasn't expecting to have the conversation 
AND 
- (within 30 seconds) can't figure out "Why is this person calling me?" + "Why are they calling me now?" 
 
Beyond a re-branding, the preparation, act & execution of "cold calling" has fundamentally changed. 
 
Not to speak for Nigel, but I feel he would agree.

I think its helpful to better define cold calling. An unsolicited phone call is a cold call whether it's done with or without preparation. For example, it could be a call by a field sales rep who is currently selling to one division of an organization and is looking to break into another division (but without a referral). 
Whether you are calling with insight from social media, buying triggers or any other source, it's still cold calling but it's better cold calling.  
 
Let's not muddy the water by calling it warm calling because the only person that it is warmer for is the caller. The prospect doesn't know you but at least you are an 'educated stranger'.

What thoroughly fascinating debate and observations. Emotive subject, with plenty of angles. Calling for headhunters, speakers, consultants and IT product / service vendors, the value of preparation has proven its worth time and again. A word of caution: Don't use preparation as an excuse to never pick up the phone. It's easy to fall into. If you have to build data from scratch (i.e. just a company name) on large organisations especially, then just calling as soon as you have the telephone number may prove premature and damage credibility and, in some cases, curtail the will to see the job through to the end once names and sufficient relevant information have been obtained to help make well planned calls.  
Think of the process as setting out on a journey with the aid of a map or directions, and stopping to ask a stranger from your intended destination for the final directions for the last leg of the journey. Chances are the stranger can introduce you to the influential people in the town too. Forget your manners and they'll be disinclined to help of course.

Nigel, 
 
 
 
I think it is always easy to get people to participate in anything that suggests they may be able to avoid cold calling,, and has the added bonus of "Social" in the title these days. For me the question is how many of those people you would hire as sales reps if your revenue stram depended on it. 
 
 
 
 
 
Great topic Trish. 
 
 
 
Tibor

Cold call only warm companies: those companies that have visited your website. 
Know their level of interest by pages visited, additional visit data, language and geographic location: LEADSExplorer