I’ll save you some time.
Never.
The most egregious of cold callers will claim they never actually cold call.
Their calls are warm because they ask people for their friends’ info and then the friends of those friends.
Well, I suppose McDonald’s fries that are an hour old are not necessarily cold– they’re just not hot.
Optimizing your cold calling strategy is like asking which torture instrument you prefer
How about neither?
If you’re doing a fantastic job taking care of your customers, they’ll do the work for you.
Don’t believe it? Look at Apple (product promotion built right in), Gmail (the more people use it, the more referrals they get), and Berkshire Hathaway (amazing shareholder letters from Warren Buffett).
We’ve talked about how social media marketing properly understood is really just smart word of mouth marketing.
It’s synonymous with SEO (search engine optimization), since it’s sharing good content that others can’t help but share, too.
It’s PR (public relations) with a technology twist, since we can now personalize better and reach people in new places.
A slimy telemarketer trick that works
The old school marketers pry their way around gatekeepers who are designed to keep them out.
I once worked a summer at State Farm selling disability policies– worst job I’ve ever had.
To get to the business owner, I was told to mention that I had something personal for them.
The secretary would pass me through, often causing the person to step out of a meeting or whatever they were doing.
And when I got that person on the phone, they were expecting a sensitive matter, wife being in a car accident, or whatever.
After all, it was Dennis from State Farm with a personal matter.
But instead, they got me pitching them on accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
Hey, what if you got killed or lost a limb? Wouldn’t you want to make sure your family was protected?
I didn’t sell a single policy– not one.
Perhaps I was a really lousy cold caller.
My respect goes to door-to-door salesmen (and women)
“Summer selling” as the euphemism goes– to sell pest control, knives, motivational DVDs, and pills.
But that trade is exactly the opposite of what we advocate.
Instead of girding up to handle more rejection, like a punch drunk boxer, do what’s classy and talk only to those who come to you. Instead of playing the mental trick of how each rejection is just one step closer to a yes, start with just the YES.
Skip straight to dessert and have no downsides. It’s not too good to be true– you can have your cake and eat it, too.
This is what inbound marketing is all about. And it absolutely works when you share your knowledge openly and skillfully. People recognize you for your expertise– and your customer successes speak louder than the slickest of pitches.
So when is the best time to cold call?
Only if you don’t have strong enough personal branding that you aren’t generating leads. Build your reputation and let the work be done by your network.