I once had a sales manager whose idea of giving us leads was to throw a phone book at us and say, "Start calling!"

He didn't care whether the people we were calling had any interest in what we were selling. He just wanted us on the phone pitching the product.

Thankfully this type of cold calling is becoming a thing of the past. I call it "blind" cold calling because it is completely blind to the prospect's potential interest in the product or service. It pays no attention to what the prospect might want because it's focused entirely on what the salesperson wants.

I believe cold calling is still a valid way to generate leads. But it is best used under certain conditions.

One condition is that, as a seller, you are able to gather enough information about your leads so you have a good reason to call them. Because of your research, it's reasonable to expect they would have an interest in your product or service. If you cannot honestly make this statement, then you should not contact them with a cold call.

A second condition is that your leads should be accessible via cold calls. I know most people don't like getting cold calls. But that's different. Even though people may not like getting cold calls, some still respond to them.

Relationships begin and sales get made as a result of cold calls.

On the other hand, many people cannot be reached with cold calls. They're in industries or positions with enough barriers that cold calls just don't work.

If your market meets these two conditions then it might make sense to look at cold calling to generate leads. If not, then you would do better to look for other ways to connect with prospects. Cold calling might be a waste of your time.

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