One of the most highly debated topics in the sale niche these days is whether or not cold calling is worth it. Every sales person hates doing it, people hate having someone stop in without making an appointment, and the percentages are ridiculously low for conversions. So, why bother, right?
Arguments for Cold Calling
There are those in the industry that still believe there is no better way for a salesperson to lock down new business. After all, if the salesperson is not cold calling, what else are they going to be doing all day?
Paul DiModica, Founder and CEO of Value Forward Group, vehemently believes in cold calling. He stated, “Cold calling is the fastest way to increase your pipeline, your company’s revenue, and your personal income. It is the difference between meeting a CFO of a Fortune 500 company and selling to supervisors. If you were to analyze the top income sales position in the U.S. (stockbrokers, commercial insurance salespeople, mergers, and acquisitions salespeople), you would find they all cold call.”
While not exactly making an argument for cold calling, Matt Heinz (Heinz Marketing) believes you just need to take the right approach. He stated, “Your prospects are busy. They don’t have time for you. But that’s exactly how you can approach cold calling to be effective.”
Arguments Against Cold Calling
While cold calling may be alive and well in industries such as investing and insurance, does it really have a place in the hotel industry? Competition is stronger than ever, with more modernized hotels going up in the major markets every day. Many believe picking up the phone or stopping by the office is simply the wrong way to go about recruiting new business.
After having discussed the matter with several sales professionals in the hotel industry, the general consensus was cold calling was simply a waste of time. Furthermore, it is often construed as annoying by the prospective client.
That sentiment is what upsets the overwhelming majority of decision makers when it comes to cold calling. Most professionals today are being asked to do more with less. They simply don’t have the time to spare for someone “popping in” on them to try to ram a product or service down their throats for five minutes.
Taking everything into consideration, it might be best to try cold calling with a far different approach. Rather than popping up out of the blue, find out who the decision maker is going to be, then call his or her office and make an appointment.
More importantly, though, find out their needs beforehand and be ready to present a solution to an existing problem. For instance, if you know a local company is having their business meetings at another property, find out when and where they are taking place to get an idea of the company needs. More importantly, shop the competition to find out what you can do better.
Emails are easy enough to obtain, so send the contact a direct email, pointing out problems you see with their current meeting arrangements and ask for a few minutes of his or her time to present your property’s solution to these challenges.
Point being, you are making the meeting more about them rather than it being about pushing your property. You are finding out his or her needs beforehand and presenting solutions rather than ramming a sales pitch down their throat. It also gives the contact a far better impression of both you and the property right out of the gate.
Yes, your sales people will be visiting less people and overall “touch” numbers will be down, but conversion rates should increase significantly. In other words, your sales team will be spending their time more effectively rather than simply trying to hit some predetermined number of phone calls or property visits in a single day or week.
So, cold calling itself may not be dead, but only if you take a new approach in how they are conducted. By being able to present a solution to a challenge the client may not have even realized they have, you are far more likely to close a deal than by interrupting their day with nothing more than a sales pitch.
Are you in need of better managers to run your hotel? Joseph David International has been placing executive hospitality managers for more than a decade. To learn more about our hotel manager recruiting services, click here.
Photo By Daniel_Dash