“I must’ve called a thousand times…”
I believe Adele. Me, not so much.
I USED TO call prospects on the phone – as in COLD CALL. In fact, some of my best clients have come from this activity.
And not once did I ever feel unwelcome.
Now, to be fair, I never called up and bent ears with a Zzzzzzzzzzz opener like ‘Hey, how are you today?’
I always made sure I had something of value to offer.
Most business owners dread the thought of making cold calls.
Not me. I think part of it has to do with the fact that much of my time is spent as a lone wolf. I spend lots of time on my computer and usually the only time during the day I get to interact with anyone is when I’m talking to a client.
I enjoy talking to people to learn if there’s a way I can help them.
You see, I have always subscribed to Zig Ziglar’s philosophy that decrees if you truly believe that your product or service improves lives, it’s your duty to make sure you let as many qualified prospects as possible know.
That’s the attitude of a winner and it’s one that most of today’s automated technology rarely allows you to leverage.
Especially where marketing is concerned.
Sure, you can pack your web copy and emails with conversational copy so your prospects at least “feel” that a human is communicating with them. I do it all the time.
But it just doesn’t hold a candle to actually communicating with a real person.
I was reminded of this the other day when I spoke with a client whose entire industry has been taken over by technology. There’s almost no meaningful human interaction.
Instead it’s a bunch of electronic back and forth almost totally devoid of human contact.
People want people to help them solve their problems.
They want to ask questions. They want to get immediate answers.
They want to find solutions – without being put on hold, getting an email that says someone will contact them in two business days or that the form they filled out is missing information.
Today, we can run our businesses, serve our customers and take their money – without ever talking to them.
And frankly, I think a lot of customers secretly despise that. We’re social creatures. Not robots.
I know my customers love to talk to me about their businesses. Not so much because I’m some genius, but I think it’s because they get so little opportunity these days to do it.
Automation has it’s place. But it will never replace human contact.
If you’re looking for a way to stand apart from your competitors and really understand what your prospects and customers want, call them and ask.
Tomorrow, I’m going back to my old-fashioned cold calling ways – just to stay “connected.”
And see who I can help.
