One of the questions I am frequently asked is, “When is the best time to make sales calls?” I’m always hesitant to answer this question, simply because I despise cold calling and believe that anyone who tells you they enjoy cold calling is either a liar or a sales consultant.
Yes, I never want to give prospectors and new business development pros a reason not to make calls. There are times when following up a referral or a target of opportunity requires a cold call. But I’m always afraid that if I mention times that are better than others people could interpret that to mean they should not make calls at those other times.Clock2
Finding the “good times” to reach high-level corporate decision-makers and/or business owners can be a crap shoot. Sometimes it is before or after business hours, other times following lunch. Many times high-level decision-makers or business owners are in early or they stay late. If you track your calls (which you should be doing) you may also notice trends about when you are able to reach prospects directly. But often times no discernible pattern emerges.
The bottom line is that you really never know when you might be able to reach a given prospect so is it really worth all the investment in time trying? To prove my point, here is an email I recently read from a blog posting on sales. As you’ll see, the sale person’s conclusions and results go against what passes for the common wisdom about when one can reach a prospect:
“Friday afternoons after 2:00 p.m. have been the best times for me to reach people in their offices. I managed to get through to half a dozen people this afternoon…. Every one of them either agreed to meet with me, or referred me down a level to someone else in their organization. The person who referred me down a level is the person who runs the entire home loan division for FirstBank – a very big fish. People may be tempted to take Friday afternoon off, I know I always am, but it’s a spectacularly good time to call people.”
People tell me Monday mornings are bad. Others say that Friday afternoons are bad. Too early is bad. Too late is bad. All are really excuses not to make calls and are based on the ups and downs (anxiety!) of the cold calling process.
But with a proper application of Internet Marketing (aka Inbound Marketing) you can create an environment of credibility and a conduit for interested parties to contact you! Your brand or company can reach hundreds more prospects, far more than you could ever hope to call and connect with.
Watch this brief slide show for a simplified comparison between cold calling and inbound marketing. It is a fun and unique way gain some understanding, and if you would like to learn more there is a link on the final slide where you can go to download our comprehensive white paper on internet marketing.
