subject: The Pros and Cons of Cold Calling for the Purpose of Generating Sales Leads [print this page] The Pros and Cons of Cold Calling for the Purpose of Generating Sales Leads
Are you a small business owner who is looking to generate sales leads? While you have a lot of choices, many businesses lean towards cold calling. This is basically when you pick a number out of a phone book or from a sales lead list and start making calls. Does this work? Sometimes. Before you make your decision, keep these cold calling pros and cons in mind.
The Pros
Cost Effective Method: For the most part, cold calling to generate sales leads is a relatively cost effective solution. How so? You don't have to spend much time or energy. It is easy to collect phone numbers (which you will see below). Most of your time will be spent on the phone. If you or your business have a good phone plan, these sales pitches via phone should not cost you any extra.
Easy to Get Phone Numbers: As previously stated, it is easy to get your hands on some phone numbers for cold calling for the purpose of generating sales leads. What can you do? While you can buy a sales lead list with phone numbers, this will cost money. Have an opt-in on your website for visitors to receive customer service calls. Or, do something simple, free, and easy; hit up your phone book!
The Cons
Risky: Cold calling, as with most other methods of generating sales leads can be risky. You run the risk of enraging potential customers. Some individuals hate receiving sales pitches out of nowhere. Others don't normally mind these calls but hate when they come in the middle of dinner. Eliminate the risks by trying to do some research first; find your targeted market (people who want what you have). Then, plan your call times wisely and then don't lay the sales pitch on too thick.
Time Consuming: While actually generating a list of phone numbers and while making those calls is going to be pretty affordable or even free, you should take into account the time spent. Hopefully it is going to be time spent wisely and not time wasted. Don't rush your sales calls, but keep in mind that time is money. If your cold calling isn't paying off, it might be within your best interest to examine other methods of generating sales leads.
