So, you’ve probably heard of Cold-Calling, right?
That’s when you call strangers and pitch your product and service.
And, for a long-time, this actually worked. (It’s hard for Millennials to imagine. But it was a mainstay of sales for a really long time.)
Then, business owners and sales professionals shifted to…
Warm-Calling.
And you can understand why. Warm-calling is when you call someone that’s not entirely a cold lead. You don’t really know the person. But you do, kinda.
Perhaps you met at a networking event or maybe the lead came by way of a recommendation from a mutual contact.
So, you’d work up the courage to call this borderline-stranger. You’d hopefullymake it past their gatekeeper. And, then, you’d explain the reason for your call, before suggesting a meeting.
These days, even warm-calling has gone out of vogue. That’s because it’s time-consuming. And it’s still damn scary! However, in its place, an even more insidious trend has emerged.
It’s… da-da-daaaaaaaa…
Warm-Emailing.
Noooooooooo!!!!
I did this a lot when I started my first business. (I was a newbie and didn’t know any better, okay?) As a way to promote advertising packages, I would send personalised emails to people that were not quite strangers.
And these emails invariably began the same way.
And they would feature the same idiotic seven words…
“Hi David. It was great to meet you at the networking event last Thursday night. I thought you might be interested in an advertising feature we have coming up.”
“Hi Sally. John Smith passed my your details. He thought you might be interested in having a look at ways that our magazine can help you reach small business owners in Australia.”
Or, when desperate…
“Hi Rod. We seem to have a lot of shared connections on LinkedIn. I thought you might be interested in ways to broaden your reach through advertising.”
I thought you might be interested in…this. I thought you might be interested in… that.
I thought you might be interested in… whatever!!!
Yup. Humiliating. And very ineffective.
So, today, I’m calling it as I see it…
Warm-Emailing is…
The. Worst. Business. Development. Strategy. Ever.
And those idiotic seven words…
I thought you might be interested in…
…have got to be the most over-used and least effective pick-up line in business since the advent of email. (And Linkedin InMail!)
So, why the huge rant?
Very soon, I’ll be hosting a live online lesson. It’s all about Inbound Marketing. (IE The opposite of Outbound Marketing).
That’s because…
If you run your own business or if you are starting something new…
There are only two ways to get more customers and clients…
- You can chase them… relentlessly.
- Or you can help them come to you.
As you can probably guess, the second option is a lot more fun.
And far more effective!
So…
If networking events are dragging you down…
If you are constantly worried about web-traffic…
If you spend far too much time Warm-Emailing…
If coffee meetings have lost their buzz…
If you simply need a break from the hustle…
Here’s the link…
http://app.webinarjam.net/register/25660/53e0afc3ad
Hope to see you online!
P.S. Most of this webinar will focus on digital marketing strategies. That’s simply because effective digital marketing takes the best practices from yesteryear and automates the process. No more cold calling. No more warm calling. No more warm emailing! It’s time to position you and your business as the prize.
Sincerely,
James Tuckerman
Founder, Anthill Magazine
Founder, Not-So-Freaky University
