Once the second leading method of generating promotional product business, cold calls have been leapfrogged by social media, organization networks and website lead generation. Still, according to the Counselor State of the Industry report, 27% of distributors say cold calling is a significant source of new business.

To make cold calling the most effective, it has to be done in the right way, says Kate Zabriskie. “I keep coming back to the same thing,” says the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm, “which is, when I call, what is it I can give to help someone? And have I done my homework?”

In short, Zabriskie says, it’s cold calling with purpose. And as she has observed while working with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies and schools throughout the U.S. and abroad, it still has a place in today’s business environment.

Q: Salespeople are told all the time that cold calling is dead. What is your response to that?
Kate Zabriskie: I don’t think it’s dead. I think “Hi, how are you?” is dead because people don’t have any time anymore. But it’s different if you say, “I want to send you something and I just want to confirm the address because I’m reaching out to people who are a good fit for our services.” It’s calling with purpose. 

Q: When you say calling with purpose, what do you define that as?
KZ: It’s saying, “I think I have some way that I can help you.” You have to know that reason beforehand and have done your homework. It could be, “I just want to confirm from my research that I got it right and you are the right person to send a sample to.” And maybe you’re not talking to that person yet, but the person’s assistant.

Q: So there needs to be some sort of pre-qualification?
KZ: I think it needs to be a really narrow scope. You can’t say, “I’m calling to find out a little bit more about you” – if that’s what you want to do, just go to their website. There’s just so much more information out there. 

Q: People are busy. If you’re calling with a purpose, do they still have time to talk on the phone?  
KZ: Sometimes. If it’s something that interests them, they’ll make time. I had somebody cold call me recently, and I took it because she touched on something interesting: videos for business that are inexpensive and professional. She said, “I don’t have anybody in your category. I’ve done a little bit of work on your company, and you all look like you’re fun, and I thought it might be a fit. Can I call you next week to talk? It will only take 12 minutes.” And that was it. I said fine. Her timing was perfect: it was 8:30 in the morning and the stuff of the day hadn’t built up yet, so I think that helped.  

Q: So to that point, is there a right day and time that people should be calling?
KZ: We see a range of results on that front. Monday is death. I would not touch Monday. I like Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for everything, because I think people check out on Fridays. I typically like Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon to set that appointment.

Q: Why afternoons instead of mornings?
KZ: I think businesses are scheduling more meetings in the morning. But this will vary wildly from industry to industry. Track it. The great thing about computers is that there is so much more information and you have the ability to track that information. If I make calls from 2:00 to 3:00 every day and I’m not doing that well, I’m going to change it up. 

Q: If you’ve done the research and identified a contact, how should that call go?
KZ: There are a lot of ways you can do it, but here’s something that’s very good. “Hi, I am reviewing our potential customer list and trying to clean it up, and I’m trying to confirm you are a possible fit for our business.” And that’s perfectly reasonable because now there is an incentive for you to talk to me, because A) you’ll get me to go away, or B) maybe there really is something there. 

It could be something else, like a white paper or sample. Here’s another idea: maybe you’ve just had a big sale on a product, or you’re selling a lot of an item. You can call and say, “I’m selling a lot of this item and getting great traction, and I would like to send one to you to see if it’s a good fit.” If a person says, “What do I do with it?”, you can ask if they use it at something like a trade show.

Q: If you’re trying to identify them as a potential customer, what’s the goal, what are you trying to get out of them?
KZ: One more thing, whether that is one more permission to contact them again, or one more piece of information. I think there are lots of things you can do. 

Q: Are these quick or longer calls?
KZ: I do see this problem where the rep spent 20 minutes talking to somebody who is not a buyer. Don’t do that. I think between five and seven minutes is enough to know whether or not we should keep talking.

Q: What are some things that people should avoid saying on a call?
KZ: “How are you doing today?” It’s not a social call. “I was doing fine until you called and I was in the middle of something, so what is it that you want?”

Q:  In all your experience, are most salespeople proficient at cold calling and being on the phone?
KZ: I find that you get a range, but where people fall down is lack of system, and I don’t mean database. I mean setting aside a block of time to make calls. It’s habits. The other thing that people don’t do well in is when they’re trying to follow a script. It’s got to sound natural.

Q: Is it practice, training?
KZ: That’s certainly part of it. Think about finding the best person at your company who does this and sit there for two days and watch what that person does. It’s a matter of actually asking for the help. I find that salespeople are really generous most of the time, especially with people on their own team. Salespeople by nature are friendly folks.

Q: We’ve seen that where the better companies are getting away from pitting sales people against each other, and instead promoting a team mentality.
KZ: And it’s really about sharing best practices. “Hey I tried this, did you try that?” See what language works, or what was a disaster. I think sharing disaster stories are not fun, but you learn a lot from your mistakes.

Q: Any other tips?
KZ: Being genuine is incredibly helpful. Think through how it is that what you have is going to help this person, which is sort of Sales 101. But if you sound sincere, people can hear that.