The cold call has always been a staple of the sales professional but many are claiming that cold calling is dead, or dying. Before one can accept or reject this claim you have to first understand what the cold call is.

Oxford English Dictionary provides the following definition:

cold-call
verb [ trans. ]

make an unsolicited call on (someone), by telephone or in person, in an attempt to sell goods or services.

Proclaimers of the cold call’s death wouldn’t necessarily agree with this definition. While buyers view cold calling as an unsolicited call, sellers view cold calling as a form of prospecting -- a form of prospecting facing a radical change. The debate isn’t whether the cold call is dead or alive, rather, how the cold call is evolving as the industry adopts the sales 2.0 mentality.

Why is the Cold Call Evolving?
Cold calling has always been effective insofar as it has generated sales, but it is horribly inefficient. Decision makers who are solicited are generally abrasive to interruption marketing. In today’s economy, most businesses don’t have the time to be unexpectedly prospected on the phone or in person.

Sales people aren’t big fans either -- up till now they have cold called out of necessity. The immense amount of rejection and the time-consuming nature of cold calling has destroyed the morale of many aspiring salespeople. The limited success and the long sales cycle associated with cold calling have left many looking for alternatives; alternatives that would “warm-up” cold calling by profiling targeted buyers.

The Social Media Alternative
Web 2.0 is bringing such alternatives through social networking. Many are trying to throw the baby out with the bath water by leaving traditional cold calling all together. Instead, they hope to pursue lead generation exclusively through social media outlets like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. While these social networks provide much more information for the salesperson, it is important to note that this is still a form of interruption marketing.

Most decision makers use social networks to find employees, collaborate with colleagues, or for personal reasons. Just because somebody has a LinkedIn account doesn’t mean they are open to receiving solicitations. While a message on LinkedIn, a tweet on Twitter, or a poke on Facebook (not a recommended sales tactic) appear subtle in comparison to a phone call, it is still a cold call and subject to the same amount of rejection.

The benefit lies in the sales person’s ability to interact personably with prospective buyers on a mass scale without having to make a single dial. When your audience consists of hundreds of members in a LinkedIn group or thousands of followers on Twitter it becomes apparent that prospecting on the phone, one... dial... at... a... time..., is a thing of the past.

Cold Calling and the Future
With more companies finding sales success through prospecting via social networks, can we pronounce traditional cold calling dead? No. As stated earlier, traditional cold calling may be inefficient but it is still effective. Deals are signed every day due to the traditional cold call. Aggressive sales companies that live by the mantra, “Every door, every floor, till there ain’t no more!” will continue to cold call. While traditional cold calling might be laborious and faced with limited success, a persistent cold caller will continue to sell to decision makers that social media will never be able to tap into.

So, the next time you hear adamant salespeople arguing over whether the cold call is dead or alive be sure to share your 2¢. The cold call isn't dying -- it's evolving.