Most of us do not like making cold calls—that is, calling someone out of the blue and asking for something or pitching something. I did quite a bit of cold calling when I was writing articles for magazines. I’d call experts for quotes, professionals or others involved in a particular topic for their perspective, and authors for permission to quote something from their books, for example.
Why do most of us have such a distaste for the cold call? I maintain it is because we fear rejection. Maybe the expert won’t talk to us. They might resent the fact that we called them. They might be rude on the phone. We fear that we may come across as unprofessional when we make the call. What sort of impression will we make?
The cold call is practically a thing of the past now. It’s one of those practices that is no longer necessary—at least in its original form. The Internet and email have changed the “cold call” to what we might term, the “warm call.”
Now, we can introduce ourselves and our projects via email. We can follow-up with a phone call only if we get the go-ahead. Our call is expected and, in most cases, welcome. There is no awkward introduction to stumble through. You won’t hear the person on the other end of the phone saying, “This is who? What is it you want?” They’ll be prepared to speak to you and, perhaps, to answer your questions.
Very often, you can handle your business and even conduct a complete interview through email. How convenient is that? If it is a crucial or sensitive interview, you may want to follow-up with a phone call to get clarity on some of the issues and/or to hear the tone, inflections and attitude of the interviewee.
Who would have thought that the cold call could become warm through the use of technology?
While an email introduction might work well for obtaining quotes and permissions for your book or article, for example, it might not be as effective in presenting a pitch. That’s because of the “What’s in it for me,” mentality we all harbor. We are bombarded many times each day by requests for our money, time, attention and help. So we tend to pretty much ignore another sales pitch, favor request, etc. that comes to us from strangers.
Have you found that the cold call has become warmer because of the Internet? How are you using technology for the pitches and requests you formerly sent or solicited the old-fashioned way?