Question: Can you build a highly-successful 7- or 8-figure business off the back of cold calling alone?
Answer: Yes, without a doubt! I’ve seen it done before, and I’ve even done it myself.
So why are companies shrinking away from leveraging the phones to drive revenue? From what I can tell, it’s because they think cold calling is dead or dying. But the truth is, cold calling is alive and well. In fact, it’s more alive than ever before!
Why do I say this? Because I keep my finger on the pulse of B2B sales trends. And I’ve identified three core reasons why the phones are your ticket to success in 2024 and beyond.
That’s right, my prediction is that cold calling is only going to get easier and more effective in the coming years, and for the following three reasons.
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3 Reasons Why Cold Calling Is About to Get Easier
1. Telephonophobia
Chances are you think this is a made-up word. After all, who’s afraid of making phone calls? Turns out that upwards of 325 million people worldwide have this fear. And it’s no secret the younger generations are riddled with anxiety, which oftentimes is caused by making and receiving phone calls (phonophobia!). Just think of the last time you saw a teenager actually talking on the phone. Drawing a blank? That’s because we know they prefer text, Snapchat, and all the newfangled methods of communication.
This generation (and the generations to follow) won’t be making cold calls — that’s for sure. That means less competition for you. It means fewer calls lobbed and less of this “scorched-earth effect” we’ve seen in the past decade or so. In other words, the proverbial fishing hole will finally calm and settle for salespeople to fish in peace again.
Now, couple this phenomenon with this next point (below), and we’ve got ourselves a cocktail of cold calling opportunities.
2. The Rise of Cold Email
The rise of cold email is undeniable. One study by Radicanti Group found that an estimated 105 billion cold emails were sent daily in 2010, and the number has steadily increased to 333 billion cold emails sent daily in 2022. And other sources see this growing to 400 billion daily emails by 2026. That’s a lot of cold emails!
No doubt that cold email works in the right circumstances, like when deployed using a multi-channel B2B sales approach. But as more and more sales teams rely on cold email, they are taking their focus off of mastering the phones (huge mistake!). So it’s only natural that your competition is losing ground and leaving room for you to dominate in your space.
And what’s more, with the adoption of AI tools like ChatGPT, you have hustlers in Pakistani basements writing and sending cold emails by the thousands. Whether or not these emails are any good is up for debate. But the point is, they’re adding more noise to an already noisy market. And while cold email is becoming more accessible — by everyone, not just folks in Pakistani basements — it’s making cold calling less desirable.
Again, this is GOOD news for salespeople who aren’t afraid of the phones.
3. New Cold Calling Technology
From predictive and power-dialers to custom CRM solutions and AI-powered sales intel products, there’s no shortage of new cold calling technology. This technology is allowing salespeople to make hundreds (and sometimes thousands!) of calls every single day. And maybe most importantly, it’s reducing the psychological friction of sitting down and dialing. With the right sales stack working for us, we can cold call faster, more efficiently, and with more success.
Sure, I understand that technology is also going the other direction — that is, there’s new technologies to help prospects better screen for sales calls, and who knows, maybe in 20-30 years phone numbers will be obsolete? Doubt it, but you get the idea. There’s friction, but we don’t throw in the towel based on potential future scenarios. We keep our mind rooted in today’s reality. And today’s reality is that everyone in America — at least every C-level executive — has a phone number they can be reached at. And that my friend should EMPOWER you.
Capitalize By Doing THIS
Double down on cold calling and go hard the next few years. Increase your daily call output by 2-3x. Go from 75 calls per day to 150 or 300. Get a power dialer and ramp it up to 500 calls every day.
Experiment with cold email and leverage it as part of a multi-channel sales strategy — but whatever you do, don’t get blinded by email and leave cold calling altogether.
Remember, your competition is leaving heaps of money on the table, because they are either 1) afraid of the phones, 2) too busy cold emailing to make phone calls, or 3) not implementing the latest technology that’s specifically made to make them more money.
Take this unique opportunity to fortify your mindset and get motivated because cold calling is not only NOT dead… it’s brimming with life and opportunity.
And if you’re leading a team or a whole organization and want to leverage the power of cold calling, without having to build a team and train them, then get in touch with us here at C-Level Partners. We’ll go to market with the optimal messaging and sales strategies to put you in front of the right people, in the right role, right now.
Final Words
The only thing that beats cold calling is walking into a physical business and speaking face-to-face with the decision maker. And for obvious reasons that’s just not practical to scale sales.
So the next best thing is to get your buyer on the line, book a meeting with them, and provide loads of value as a trusted advisor. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Trust this natural process and it will lead to sales. Guaranteed. You’ve got this.
Until next time…
Johnny-Lee Reinoso