Cold calling is described by some as the ‘necessary evil’ to sales success.  Yes, it is necessary, but ‘evil’?  It is evil if you handle it like those telemarketers who call you at dinner time and jump into their sales pitch.  We all know why they do this – they get some form of credit for having delivered their sales pitch or ‘script’.  Their entire sales process is within that one call. 

For sales professionals, cold calling is just the first contact, not the only one.  It is an introduction into an organization from which there may be an interest from both parties to work together. 

The average sales person will get a name from a list, he may look up the company website and browse through it and then place the call with an idea of what they ‘need’ based on his experience.  More often than not, the call goes nowhere and the sales person moves onto the next name on his list.  Work like the average sales person and you can expect average results. 

Let’s pick it up a notch and speak those of you aspiring to be on the extraordinary side of the scale.  Do more than the average sales person and you will produce above average results.  Here are some suggestions to get you started.

• Read the company’s entire web site. 
  • Look for their ‘in the news’ section to see what they want their clients to see.  
  • Read the bios of their executives.
  • Read their client testimonials.  This will give you an idea of the good work they want other clients to see and know about. 
  • Look up your specific interest in the company as it relates to your product or service. 
• Research LinkedIn
  • LinkedIn has the reputation for being the original and largest professional network around.    
  • Start your search here for any contact connections you might have within your target company. 
  • Use your connections here wisely.  LinkedIn is about one-on-one relationships.  Hence, it is not appropriate to send out a blast email to all employees within a company asking for information.
• Research Social Networks
  • Facebook – Lookup the company’s Facebook account and become a fan.
  • Twitter – follow the company’s twitter account.  
    • You may find that your contact also has a twitter account.  I would not recommend following them until you’ve made first contact and asked them if it is OK to do so. 
  • Other sites - Look through other networking sites that may be related to the prospects industry. 

Now, don’t you feel better about cold calling?