Has Social Media pushed Cold Calling into an abyss, never to be seen again?
How many times in the past few months have we heard that social media is taking the place of cold calling prospects? None? Four? Five? Six hundred? Sure, social media marketing is a useful tool for pulling prospects to you, generating new leads and ensuring customer satisfaction through familiarity....but can it knock out cold calling all together? Presently, this is a prevalent question and if a business is going to stay current they may need to consider evolving their business model to sustain dominance and profitability.
Social media is not about starting an account with popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. It is about joining a conglomerate of infinite communities together in an open forum for personal and professional interaction. These interactions are maintained by the media platforms and direct us to similar people who demonstrate homogenous activities. We then connect and discuss with said people, how we can better participate in our allied fields. We are educated by this gathering of information, and then utilize this new research to our advantage. It may be for personal branding, company marketing, product advertising or personal education.
Basically you go online to better learn your 5 W's (H). Who is the contact? What values do they prioritize (price, expertise)? When is the best time to reach them? Where are their issues? Why are they in the market? How can I provide them with what they need?
You can gather this info with a cold call, but that's only if they pick up and want to talk to you. Or...instead of leaving message after message, you could search for the company online, find the contact information, check their social media sites for the times they post/tweet/like/comment the most and call them during those times(it's assumed that they aren't too busy working if they have time to post on Facebook). You may even be able to find bidding opportunities or when they last needed the product you are supplying. Leaving a message via cold call over and over again will take 30 minutes to an hour out of your life. Why not find the information you need within 5-10 minutes?
I urge you to expedite your processes and efficiently manage your time so you aren't throwing spaghetti against the wall, with hopes that one strand will stick. QUALIFY your LEADS before you call them! You may find out that it's not worth your time, before you even call.
This is not to say that cold calling isn't a time proven process and doesn't work. I will agree with those who state that social media marketing will not take the place of cold calling. For decades cold calling has proven itself. Those decades, however, were without the technological advances we behold now. These advances in technology have given us the ability of global marketisation, superior prospecting, advanced/expedited processes and augmented influence over our reputations. Many companies still rely solely on one facet of the sales industry (cold calling). There are still thousands of companies that are vastly under utilizing the free and simple tools available to them.
Social media has jumped to the seat right next to cold calling and has already become just as important.Will this take the place of cold calling? Right now? No. Even in the near future it is still uncertain. The old ways work just as frequently as the new ways but for how much longer? Will a company survive the test of time without an online presence? I, personally, doubt their success will reach its fullest potential. Forecast the new marketing schemes but don't forget the originals. When combined, company profitability potential will be at its highest. Choose one alone, and your company will be detrimentally lacking.
I urge you to expedite your processes and efficiently manage your time so you aren't throwing spaghetti against the wall, with hopes that one strand will stick. QUALIFY your LEADS before you call them! You may find out that it's not worth your time, before you even call.
This is not to say that cold calling isn't a time proven process and doesn't work. I will agree with those who state that social media marketing will not take the place of cold calling. For decades cold calling has proven itself. Those decades, however, were without the technological advances we behold now. These advances in technology have given us the ability of global marketisation, superior prospecting, advanced/expedited processes and augmented influence over our reputations. Many companies still rely solely on one facet of the sales industry (cold calling). There are still thousands of companies that are vastly under utilizing the free and simple tools available to them.
Social media has jumped to the seat right next to cold calling and has already become just as important.Will this take the place of cold calling? Right now? No. Even in the near future it is still uncertain. The old ways work just as frequently as the new ways but for how much longer? Will a company survive the test of time without an online presence? I, personally, doubt their success will reach its fullest potential. Forecast the new marketing schemes but don't forget the originals. When combined, company profitability potential will be at its highest. Choose one alone, and your company will be detrimentally lacking.
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