Cold Calling
Imagine facing a line of 100 people. They are nice enough, but you don’t know any of them. Your job is to get one of them to say ‘Yes’ to you, and most (if not all) of them only know how to say ‘No’.
As you work to get one of them to say ‘Yes’ they get a bit less pleasant. As you approach them, they realize you are hoping for a ‘Yes’ but they don’t know you and they certainly don’t trust you. They are pleasant on the surface, but you can feel their frustration of being interrupted. They don’t have time for you or need what you offer right now.
You don’t have time today to build any trust. The best tool you have is fear (what happens to them if they say ‘No’) or deception, to tell them what they want to hear in hopes of getting a ‘Yes’ so you can build trust later.
The line keeps getting longer so you know you can keep working as long as you need to so you can perhaps find a ‘Yes’ but it becomes obvious most of them will say ‘No’. You keep working, hoping, expecting, but it’s getting harder to stay positive and most of us will quit doing this stuff.
Cold calling does work, but so does a slot machine. It’s exhausting, and then we feel guilt for quitting.
So what’s the alternative?
Contrast that with a party. You know almost everyone and they like you and most even trust you. There aren’t as many folks there, but almost all of them know how to say ‘Yes’. The few folks you don’t know are friends of the ones you do. They are happy to introduce you to their friends and to tell a bit about you, how they know you and the trust they have in you.
This was the picture I had in my head of the difference between working by referral and cold calling. It captures how it feels to me. Friends vs. strangers, trust vs. deception, building relationships vs. using relationships.
I saw a question in a Facebook group about how hard it is to lead generate, and the person was complaining about cold calling.
For me, it’s the easiest thing in the world. Go to the parties, make friends, build relationships and trust. Relax and don’t worry about getting to the end of the line, or you can sit on the phone, dialing for dollars and getting through the 100s of ‘No’ hoping to find the ‘Yes’.
Spend time with family and friends, invest in others and listen for ways to help, to encourage, to build up and the referrals will come. Maybe not today, but they will come, and it’s a pleasant way to live this life.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry