When all else fails…Pick up the Phone

You’ve tweeted, booked, linked, emailed, blogged, spaced, tubed, flicked, and dug your way into connecting with others. So what’s left? Pick up the phone and call ‘em. It’s only a phone call and the worst thing that will happen is they hang up on you.  

I’ve made thousands of phone calls over the years. Some hot, others cold and several that were real losers. You’d think that after all those calls that I’d be the “Fearless Speed Dialer”. Nope. I still have difficulty at times. When that happens I remind myself to go back to two basic ideas. 

1. The best way to get a person’s attention is the simplest. “Good morning, Mr. Jones”
2. Give the reason for your call. Take the pressure off yourself by remembering the purpose of the phone call is not to sell them something. “The reason I’m calling you today specifically is to set an appointment.”

For in-depth cold-calling tips read Susan Ward’s article at Ask.com, Cold Calling Tips. There also is a great article in the New York Times that will help you tremendously. 

 

The best kind of social interaction is personal. Use the telephone. It doesn’t get much more personal than that.

 

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

 

Comments

[Phil Reid]

Love the article! It confirms a belief I’ve had since the Social Media as a new business tool revolution started. If you can effectively communicate your skill sets and capabilities to the correct prospect (i.e. you’re actually talking to the online team about your online experience), the quickest way to engage them in a productive conversation is by picking up the phone and calling them. Social media has its place in a fully integrated lead generation plan (see an example here: http://winbusiness.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/what-does-a-fully-integrated-lead-generation-campaign-look-like/ and should never be the only dev activity (same for the phone). Phil Reid, Winning Business, Inc.