Wendy Weiss
A "Warm Calling" vs. "Cold Calling" Rant
Copyright (c) 2007 Weiss Communications
Had another conversation with yet another entrepreneur who
told me he does not "cold call," he only does "warm calls."
I continue to be baffled by those who cut off possibilities
with a semantic twist. "Cold call, warm call," it's simply
a state of mind. Your mind. Your prospect does not make
those distinctions. Just because you have designated a call
to be "warm" doesn't mean that the person you are calling
thinks it's "warm." This "warm call/cold call" concept is
a smoke screen that covers the real issue.
The real issue is controlling your message. The real issue
is being able to communicate with a prospect so that they
understand and resonate with what you have to say. The real
issue is about having the skill necessary to communicate
with a prospect under any circumstance.
Prospecting by phone, introductory calling as I prefer, is
a communication skill. Like any communication skill it can
be learned and it can be improved upon. The idea when
introductory calling is to contact a qualified prospect and
entice them with your message. You have a brief amount of
time on the telephone to catch and engage your prospect. If
you are not able to do that, the call ends without
achieving your desired result. If you have the proper
skills, however, it is possible to have extremely
productive conversations with prospects no matter how you
choose to categorize them, "warm" or "cold."
The idea of a "warm call" is that you've had some prior
contact with your prospect and that you have somehow
"warmed up" the call. The prior contact might be with a
letter sent before your call, it might be that you have
encountered the prospect elsewhere it could also be that
you have a referral.
All too frequently callers who use the "I only warm call"
approach do not adequately prepare for their calls.
Instead, they rely on the appellation "warm." If you are
one of these callers, stop right here and ask yourself
these questions:
* How many "warm" prospects have said "no" to me over the
years? * Would those calls have been more productive if I
had been better prepared and more in control of my message?
Although you may have sent a letter, you have no guarantee
that your prospect has read it. Although you may have met
previously, your prospect may not recall that. Although you
may have a referral that is no guarantee that your prospect
will meet with you or have any interest at all in your
products or services.
When you are on the phone with a prospect you must deal
with them, where they are, at that particular moment in
time. If your prospect hasn't read your letter, doesn't
remember the person who referred you, or is simply having a
bad day, that's out of your control. What is within your
control when prospecting is to have honed your skills so
that your message is clear and so that you can respond in
any situation.
When you have skills, you know how to catch a prospect's
attention, you know how to keep their attention, you know
how to respond to questions and objections and you know how
to ask for what you want. When you have those skills it's
no longer about a "warm" call or a "cold" call, it's about
communication, conversation and results.
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Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling," is a sales
trainer, author and sales coach who helps you to gain
confidence, reach more prospects, close more sales and make
more money! For free prospecting sales tips go to
