Is B2B Cold Calling Dead?
I go to many networking events and am often asked this question. The answer is no and the trend seems to be it is being utilized more than in the recent past. Savvy sales and marketing people are realizing the powerful impact that the phone has in lead generation and lead qualification. At It’s Your Call B2B telemarketing service we’re busier now than the pre-pandemic era. This article has some nice metrics that show the benefits.
In today’s crowded B2B ecosystem, where personalization and relevance are seen as crucial competitive differentiators, the idea of cold calling might seem archaic. Pop into any social media feed or read industry publications, and you’ll invariably hear about unsolicited phone outreach as a spray-and-pray tactic from yesteryear.
But as it turns out, that might not be entirely true. As daunting as cold calling may be, it still has a place in today’s sales pipelines. In the age of hybrid white-collar work, sales development representatives (SDRs) and account executives (AEs) are finding that cold calling can be an effective means of reaching prospects — when handled correctly.
What is B2B Cold Calling?
B2B cold calling is simply calling a prospective customer before they’ve expressed interest in a product or service.
A close relative of cold calling is warm calling, when sales reps contact a potential customer based on previously expressed interest.
Benefits of B2B Cold Calling
Cold calling has endured the test of time largely by necessity, as sales professionals need to build pipeline. Every deal starts with a conversation. Think of B2B cold calling as simply jumpstarting the sales journey. And consider these facts about how effective it can be:
- 27% of sellers report that cold calls are very to extremely effective.
- Nearly 70% of buyers still accept cold calls.
Other benefits of cold calling (that you wouldn’t necessarily achieve through, say, cold emailing) include:
- Reaching net-new customers
- Perfecting your sales pitch
- Making a personal connection with a potential customer
Is B2B Cold Calling Dead?
Sales professionals love to debate whether cold calling is worthwhile.
Our answer? B2B cold calling still has value and remains one of the most cost-effective methods for B2B businesses to reach new customers. While it may not lead to an actual sale on the first call, cold calling serves as an opportunity to familiarize a potential prospect with your brand and product, as well as with yourself as a salesperson.
The pain of cold calling
If cold calling still has a place in sales, and can be a highly cost-effective means of reaching prospects, why are so many sales professionals skeptical of cold outreach?
Data from Gartner suggests that it takes an average of 22.5 dials to a cold prospect to achieve a meaningful conversion. In highly specialized industries, such as IT, or when prospecting senior executives, that figure is closer to 30 dials. To complicate matters even more, it also takes an average of three conversations to secure just one sales appointment or product demo.
zoominfo.com/blog/sales/being-cool-to-cold-calling