When we at Sinja first announced a Session on this topic, we seemed to have generated quite a few queries, such as:
 “A lot of people frown on Cold Calling. The results are unreliable, and the rate of conversion is poor.”
 “Sales people avoid Cold Calling, and most of the times they waste their time at the wrong places just to account for it.”
 “To go Cold Calling, calls for a very thick skin, because you have to put up with a lot of unwanted resistance.”
 “Cold Calling can be very demotivating for Sales People, because they face rejections, every day, and ultimately this will have an impact on their personality.”
 “ Why are you recommending Cold Calling Techniques. Today the customers are too busy to give any time to Walk - in Sales People.”
 “Cold Calling, cannot be effective for every organisation. It is OK, for people selling Soaps and Detergents but not for Concepts and Higher Value Products.” ...... and many more.

The Prospect:

The Prospect or the Prospective Buyer is a person or Organisation, having a need for the Product or Service being offered, a need that is further supported by the authority to enter into a transaction, and the Money for effecting the purchase the purchase

Selling is all about identifying the Prospects, presenting the benefits that would accrue from the usage of the Product or the Service, differentiating the product from those offered by Competitors, gaining the support of the prospect, and finally effecting the transaction.

Identifying Prospects:
Identifying Prospects is therefore the Primary requirement of the Sales Process.
Organisations adopt many methods of identifying prospects, including Cold Calling through media - or Advertising, Cold Calling over the phone - or Telemarketing, Cold Calling through the Mail - or Direct Mail, Cold Calling through Events - or Sponsoring Events, or simply walking into somebody’s Office or Residence and briefing them on the Products and Services.

While all the other methods of identifying prospects, or rather enabling prospects to identify themselves have been given Specific Names - Advertising, Telemarketing, Direct Mail etc., the usage of the term Cold Calling is now limited to the method of Sales People walking into a possible buyers’ - ( referred to in Sales Jargon as a Suspect ), and initiating the Sales Process.

Given this Scenario it is possibly easier to churn out arguments, which would put the Method of Cold Calling as a method to be avoided. But look closely at any successful Sales Person, or for that matter any successful person, and you will find that they are proficient in the art of Cold Calling.
Cold Calling is a very effective and personalized method of generating qualified prospects.
For every prospect who identifies himself, there are many more who do not or may not identify themselves readily.
Let us take an example :
Blood Donation is good for one’s own health besides being a life giver to the recipient. While almost everybody would nod their heads in favour of the need to donate blood, very few would voluntarily go to a Blood Bank to donate blood.
But if they encounter an opportunity to participate in a Blood Donation Camp, their is a time frame associated with the Camp and hence a person who has been in favour of Donating Blood but had not ventured to walk into a Blood Bank Voluntarily, is glad to have been presented with an opportunity to present blood. A Blood Donation Camp in this case provided the provocation to act.
For a person who is aware of his Blood Group, it is very difficult to ignore the call of urgency in the requirement of an accident victim with the same blood group.
Therefore one of the methods of generating donors would be to enable every body to know their Blood Group - Register Volunteers who can be called upon in emergencies. The rest would follow automatically in times of need.
There is also the assurance of knowing that there are many others who would help out in the event of need.
To summarise, to generate more Blood Donors, the first Step would be make people aware -
 Of their Blood Group.
 Of how their Blood could come in useful while Saving a life.
 Of how by donating Blood one’s own Blood is refreshed.
 To provide an opportunity to Voluntarily donate blood, so that there is no fear of donating blood.
Thereafter, the person becomes a confirmed donor and an asset in an emergency. A donor has been generated.
Generating Prospects is a process like generating Blood Donors.
The Sales Person :
The method of Cold Calling is centred around the premise that the executive is the point of First Contact with the organisation for a possible buyer.
It is therefore imperative that the Sales Person be recruited and trained with due diligence. It is only short sighted organisations that hand a new recruit to just get on with the job.
Beyond training - to be successful through Cold Calling a Sales Person must -
 believe that he or she has a product or service which will be of help to the other person.
 should reach out people and ensure that their visit has also been a pleasant experience for the other person.
Qualifying a Prospect:
The practical (and successful) Sales Person therefore focuses on qualifying a Prospect.
A Blood Donor is qualified by various parameters such as his Blood Group, when the donor had last donated blood etc.
Like wise a prospect also needs to be qualified by the Sales Person. Every organisation it is presumed equips the Sales Persons with methods to qualify Prospects so that the Sales Person is able to build relationships with prospects while delivering results as desired.
So, what’s the noise about ?
Why am I making so much noise about Cold Calling ?
Cold Calling techniques form an integral part of the successful Sales Person’s modus operandi.
It is also one of the most taxing methods. But then there are no easy methods - to success.
Our focus on Cold Calling is because we are speaking not merely of a Job, it is not merely Selling, not merely Performing - but of succeeding, meeting the challenge while seeking new opportunities and of overcoming the fear of the unknown, while building relationships and opening up learning experiences.
In other words a mental make-up that enables one to succeed, successfully.


The Push and Pull effect - the myth :
It has generally been accepted without argument that the methods of enabling a Prospect to identify himself, such as Advertising, Telemarketing and Direct Mail are subtle methods to pull Prospective Buyers into actually buying.
The Cold Calling method is normally perceived as a method whereby, a prospect is pushed into actually buying a product or service.
This is a myth. It is underestimating the Prospect.
The prospect neither gets pushed nor pulled. He enters into a transaction when he is ready for it not before. Many efforts to close a transaction prematurely without dotting the i‘ s and dashing the t’s have resulted in embarrassment to both sides.
Also, after a prospect has identified himself it still requires a competent Sales Person to assist him in making the buying decision.
The Cold Call method ensures that the Sales Person is the Prospects first contact, with organisation.