Is cold calling dead?

Today is about the question every B2B sales team is trying to answer. It’s a tough one, but marketing insight shows companies the way to move forward.

What do you think – is cold calling dead?

Cold calling may seem more dated every day, but it holds a respected place in the B2B world. With a marketing perspective, sales teams can better understand how to make the most of cold calls within the evolving landscape. While phone conversations are dwindling, digital communication is at an all-time high. In our opinion, social media is the new cold call and we’re going to help you make that point to your team today.

Your salespeople should spend time developing their online seller personas
Employees often wonder how much social media at work is acceptable. Make sure your sales team knows to establish themselves on Twitter and LinkedIn as industry leaders. They should share social content that demonstrates thought leadership and insinuates they have the answers. They should be friendly and conversational with prospects, who will eventually look to your products to learn more.

Set benchmarks for daily social outreach

To successfully replace cold calls with social media outreach, salespeople should have a required number of outreach tweets and emails to conduct per day. Customers love hearing from brands online – it makes them more human, more personal personal and leaves them more likely to make a purchase.

Engage prospects on the #1 B2B social network

As we’ve mentioned before, LinkedIn is the B2B marketer’s perfect match. It allows highly technical communities to develop and gives niche B2B groups a place to connect. Encourage B2B salespeople to think like marketers and get on LinkedIn for social outreach. Private messages and group interaction are both effective ways to build relationships.

Cold calls might be dying, but social outreach is the answer. Good luck!

Image via (cc) cod_gabriel