
I admit that I’m no expert at cold calling. I don’t make cold calls and I don’t know many people who use them as a marketing or sales technique. But I do know about
warm calls: phoning people with whom you have some kind of connection or common ground.
The other day I received a cold call. As always, I listened patiently. When someone phones my office line, they’re not usually selling carpet cleaning, lawn care or alarm systems, so I generally give them a few minutes. This time the person launched into what sounded like a script. I’m not a big fan of sounding scripted, even if you are scripted, but ok. (
See this post for tips on not sounding scripted.)
The caller stated that he was interested in a position as a communications advisor, which puzzled me. I have no need for such a person, and have never advertised for such a person. After his pitch, we chatted and discovered a few things:
I answered “yes” when he asked if he could send me his CV. It arrived today, which prompted me to write this post.
For some reason, I have been thinking of this fellow the past few days, and musing about what he could have done differently. Let’s try this on for size:
- Comment on a blog post that you like.
- If you decide to phone the person who wrote the blog post, you can start by saying, “You don’t know me, but I commented on your post about…” That will get his or her attention.
- If you know that the person belongs to the same association as you (and it’s listed on her Web site, LinkedIn profile, etc., so it’s no secret), say so up front. That’s common ground.
- Don’t apply for a position that doesn’t exist. Rather, ask the person if she knows of any opportunities.
I hope he finds a job soon. If you know of a position in the Greater Toronto Area, I can pass along the name of this communicator, who has a decade of experience in external and internal communication in the not-for-profit, manufacturing, financial, accounting and management consulting sectors. He has an Honours B.A. too.
What do you think? What would you have said to this person?