The Non-Cold Call Cold Call

Back in the day (“OMG, here he goes again … ”), door-to-door cold calling was acceptable, doable and almost a rite of passing. I can remember walking up one side of the street and down the other, banging on doors and peddling my wares ("Let me guess, it was uphill both ways, right?”). No more. Today, there is only one set of circumstances where true cold calling, defined as walking into a new account unannounced, is acceptable. It's the non-cold call cold call.

Let's say you have an appointment in an office building. After it’s over, check to see if there's another company nearby you think might be worth your time. This might require using The Google for a cursory look at their website. Once you find one …

Walk in the door and say some version of the following, "Would you mind helping me? I am preparing to make a sales call on your company but pride myself in doing research first so that I am as knowledgeable as possible. Who could tell me more about this company?"

You are not in there to find out who buys their print. Other than information, you want nothing from them. Therefore, it's not a sales call so go ahead and walk past that "No Soliciting" sign on the door.

If you're lucky, you get to speak to someone face-to-face and perhaps score an internal contact. But at the bare minimum, you will get some information that will help you to make a valuable call later on. It's not a cold call. It's a non-cold call cold call that just might warm things up.

Bill Farquharson is the president of Aspire For. Contact Bill: 781-934-7036 or bill@aspirefor.com. Bill’s book, Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? will teach you how to be profitable, rebuild a loyal customer base, and get your sales reps selling. More information on that and his other book, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever!, can be found on his website, AspireFor.com