The Value of Cold Calling

Maybe you make cold calls and maybe you don't.  Here is why I recommend you make cold calls every day, no matter what.

Have you ever noticed that, in Montana at least, as soon as the farmers can, they start irrigating? I mean, as soon as they can run the sprinklers without having freezing issues, they start. Now, why would you start irrigating as soon as the end of April and the beginning of May? The grass is spring green isn't it? The reason is that farmers know that eventually a dry spell will come and they are trying to get as much moisture in the ground as possible. That means starting early and not stopping.

In business, we can all get so busy working in the business that we forget to work on the business. You bring in a new piece of business, now you need to service it. To do it right, servicing takes time. And usually the first thing cut from the schedule is prospecting for new business. So we end up on this roller coaster ride. New business comes in, we service it and stop prospecting. The business ends, no new business is in the pipeline and so we start up again with prospecting.

So the first issue with not cold calling everyday is the Roller Coaster effect. The second is what I call "butterflies in the stomach." That means you haven't made cold calls in a long time, you are out of practice, and now you're nervous.  So your first few calls don't go well because you are nervous. And since you are out of practice, it takes a while to get in the zone. But you finally get there, bring in a new piece of business, and do what? That's right, stop the prospecting, and service the new business. And again, you fall out of practice, shut down the pipeline and begin another Roller Coaster ride.

I would rather see someone pick up the phone and make 2 calls a day than wait to make 10 calls on an "office day." First, the "office day" always fills up with "important work" to get done and the calls never happen. Now it's 2 weeks and you haven't made any calls, then some emergency comes up and you're suddenly at 3 weeks. Instead, just make 2 calls a day. If you miss a day over the course of a month, it won't hurt you much, and you can easily make up those 2 calls at anytime. You will constantly be filling your pipeline and soon you will stop the Roller Coaster ride.

The second, and just as important, benefit of calling everyday is that you will start to overcome the "butterflies" in your stomach.  Someone who has picked up the phone everyday for a month will have faced and overcome the "nervousness" dozens of times and eventually will be that much more productive on each call.