Lisanne Gray, Business Development Executive at CBY, has long heard the adage that cold calling is dead. She begs to differ. In fact, in recent years she has seen increased interest from business owners who realize that their sales pipeline is running dry.
“The number one type of people interested are a single person with their own business, a one-man show, or a salesperson who’s back to finding their pipeline dwindling because they’re not doing the cold calls,” Gray says. “They’ll come to me telling me their great ideas, but it doesn’t have any follow-up.”
Dust and dirt offer a dose of creativity
CBY cold calling doesn’t always fit the traditional style. Gray looks for opportunities to make the initial contact personal, unique, and memorable. One of her favorite examples of making cold-call outreach work involves Around the Clock Cleaning, a commercial cleaning company. The owner identified 20 firms he wanted as clients, but he didn’t have the time or contacts to follow up. So he gave Gray his list.
She did the research, found the right points of contact at each business, and helped craft a creative mailer that included a small specimen vial filled with dirt and dust. It landed on the desks of potential clients with a message about working in pristine environments.
After making initial calls, Gray helped the cleaning company deliver that unique package to the desks of company decisionmakers. Through the unique campaign, new opportunities have opened up for Gray’s client.
A creative overture followed by a personalized phone call gets attention
Why your pipeline matters
Too many businesses wait until their operations slow down to start worrying about new leads.
“The lack of this little piece over time has come back to bite people,” Gray says. “People who think they don’t have the budget or time or think it’s too telemarkety, they may stay above water, but they don’t have any pipelines. The waves settle down, business is steady, but where is your pipeline?”
Gray’s advice is that whether you outsource cold calling or block off time to do it yourself, you need a system that keeps the pipeline full. Even 10 hours of targeted calling a month can lead to big opportunities.
“If it means someone only buys 10 hours a month of lead-generation time from CBY and they get one good client out of that, it’s worth it,” she says of having CBY perform cold-calling services. “That’s a lot cheaper than a full-time salesperson.”
Target smarter, not wider
Gray knows that not all lists are created equal. Often she’ll work with a client who hands her a list of contacts purchased online. More often than not, most names on the list will be outdated, a business will be under new ownership, or the decision maker has changed.
“Buying lists from unknown sources or just trying to compile things off (the business directory) Manta doesn’t work,” she says.
With decades of working in the field and building her network throughout the region, Gray has a Rolodex of contacts that can help her clients get a foot in the door. The more specific the target, the more natural the conversation. She also makes it a point to do her research for each client before beginning cold calls, then plans for the long game.
“You take the bulleted script, think through the lingo, and sound like you know some background. Those things help me do better for them,” Gray says.
Put cold calling to the test
For businesses hesitant to outsource their cold calling, Gray suggests they perform a self-test.
“Write down five companies you want to get into, call, and try to get an appointment. If you fail, call CBY,” she says.
Lead generation doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can start small, with one contact, one cold call, or one creative overture and follow-up. Over time, those efforts build into a steady stream of opportunities.
“Unless there’s a crisis, nothing happens in one phone call,” Gray says. “It’s about building layers of connection.”
