I hate making cold calls. I would get so nervous, my heart would start racing and I would break out into a cold sweat. Just the thought of having to pick up the phone and talk to someone I didn’t know made me nauseous. Thankfully, there are alternatives to cold calling that actually work.

From email marketing to social media outreach, these five alternatives to cold calling will help you build relationships and close deals without making a single phone call.

Alternatives to Cold Calling That Can Help You Close Deals

There are several ways to reach potential customers that don’t involve cold calling. By trying out some of these alternatives, you may find yourself closing more deals than ever before.

If you want to close more deals, it’s important to focus on building rapport and engaging with your prospects. By taking the time to understand their needs, you’ll be in a much better position to succeed.

Even if you’re planning on using cold calling as part of your sales strategy, it’s still a good idea to score your leads first. This way, you can make sure that you’re only reaching out to those prospects who are most likely to convert.

What is Cold Calling?

When making a cold call to a prospect, you’re reaching out to someone who hasn’t expressed interest in the product or service you offer.

It’s usually used to refer to contacting someone via phone, but in some fields, it could also be referring to door-to-door sales.

Although it’s a classic method of selling, it’s one of the least popular methods with buyers. How many times do you want to have to reject that annoying offer from that online marketer?

Sales can be a tough industry, with a lot of rejection and high attrition rates. It’s important to generate meaningful leads to be successful.

While cold-calling is one of the oldest and most common forms of prospecting, it can still be difficult to execute. Many reps complain about the “cold” aspect of it, and it can be difficult to get a prospect on the phone.

If your sales team doesn’t have much information about the leads on their list, it’ll be tough for them to create a personalized sales experience for each customer. We know that customizing the sales process usually leads to more customer engagement and conversions.

When you cold call, you are essentially interrupting someone’s day with a sales pitch. This can be frustrating for the person on the other end of the line, and it’s not always the most effective way to sell. There are other options available that can help you engage with more prospects and close more deals.

Is Cold Calling Dead?

Cold calling may not be the newest or most popular prospecting strategy, but it can still be effective if used correctly.

A DiscoverOrg study found that cold emailing and calling can be effective in getting prospects to attend an event or schedule a meeting. In fact, 75% of prospects in some industries have taken action based on a cold email or call.

Furthermore, up to 82% of sales are accepted when a salesperson reaches out to them.

Although many people dislike being on the receiving end of a cold phone call, it can still be an effective method of reaching potential customers.

While many people dislike being contacted over the phone, there are still plenty of situations where it can be beneficial. For instance, if you’re selling a product that requires a lot of explanation, or if you’re targeting an older demographic, then a cold phone call may be your best option.

There’s no easy answer when it comes to cold calling. It can be a helpful tool for some businesses, but it might not work as well for others. It depends on your products, services, and target audience. You might want to consider using other prospecting strategies as well, just to mix things up a bit.

If you’re considering using cold calling as part of your prospecting strategy, it’s important to use it as part of a broader strategy to reach the widest possible audience.

It can be a great way to reach out to new customers but should not be the only method used. Cold calling should not be the only method used to reach out to new customers, but it can still be a great way to connect with them.

I’ve found the combination of a personalized email and LinkedIn message to be a powerful 1-2-punch, and then following up with a phone call after a couple of steps into the process helps to supplement my messages and keeps my name fresh in their mind.

Ditch Cold Calling for Warm Leads

The best way to cut down on your need to rely on a cold-calling strategy is to generate multiple sources of warm leads — prospects who are already interested in buying from you.

Networking

A strong network of contacts can provide you with a stream of warm leads, but it takes time and effort to maintain.

Your network expects you to help them out with referrals and other businesses, or they won’t be inclined to help you out.

Referrals

Asking for referrals from your satisfied customers is a great way to generate warm leads. Your customers’ friends and colleagues will already have a positive opinion of you, which makes it much easier to close the sale.

When you have a referral from a satisfied customer, you can be sure that the lead is interested in what you have to offer. This makes it much easier to close the sale than if you were starting from scratch with a cold lead.

Online

When a lead comes to you from a website or blog, they’re known as a warm lead. These people have most likely seen your profile on Facebook, visited your company website, or read your blog posts.

These leads are usually ready to purchase since they have shown interest in your product, but they might also have approached competitors, so be ready to negotiate.

Best Alternatives to Cold Calling

Some people think there is only one approach to prospecting, but there are alternatives to cold calling.

Let’s say service provider Adam wants to expand his business. He created a sales plan that targeted three specific segments of his market.

He created a strategy for tailoring his messages to specific companies, getting past the gatekeeper, and leaving compelling messages.

Before making his first sales call to a prospect, he spent several weeks preparing.

And then, when it was time to execute the phone call, he fessed up to not wanting to make the phone calls.

He believed that all successful business people had to make a lot of phone calls, and if he was going to succeed, he had to as well.

But the idea of making a cold call to a prospect made him feel very anxious.

Email Marketing

While traditional forms of marketing like telemarketing interrupt and bother potential customers, email marketing campaigns put customers in control, and are extremely effective at getting audiences to take action.

Emails can be a great way to gather information about your prospects.

Email marketing is a great way to gauge product interest. By analyzing email open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates, you can see how engaged your prospects are with your email marketing campaigns.

This information would be invaluable to a marketing professional. You wouldn’t be able to get this from a cold phone call.

Segmenting your email marketing list can help you stay organized and in touch with your subscribers. This makes it easier to personalize messages for different groups and keep in touch with them.

The right message is going to the right person at the right time.

That sure beats just randomly dialing people out of the blue.

Have you ever received a call from an unknown number and wondered what to do?

A) You pick up the phone, but you’re ready to hang up at the first sign of an unwanted sales pitch, or B) You let the call head to voicemail where all cold calls go to die.

No matter how you look at it, neither of these scenarios is ideal for the person making the call.

So, what’s your reasoning behind your belief that your phone calls will yield any different results?

It’s time to start thinking about other, more effective ways to capture the attention of your lead and customer.

Blogging

Instead of annoying your prospects with unwanted phone calls, why not invite them to you? Blogging for business is a great way to invite customers in.

By answering the questions that customers are asking through search engines, you will be more likely to get more leads to your business.

Blog posts can help:

• Improve SEO ranking
• Drive your web traffic
• Position your company as an industry expert
• Grow your social media following

Make consistent, frequent blog posts a top priority. Ideally, you should be posting 16+ times per month.

If your blog hasn’t been updated in the last three years, no one’s going to trust your advice.

Social Media

Your social media efforts can help you connect with the people you want to do business with, as well as delight your loyal customers.

Before you start reaching out to your customers, determine where they spend most of their time. Don’t waste your time trying to connect with them on Twitter if they’re only using LinkedIn.

Once you’ve identified your prospect, it’s time to start a conversation. Send them relevant content that they’ll find interesting, and answer any questions they have.

Like. Comment. Share.

Don’t use your social media as a platform to spam people with ads and pitches. This will only turn customers away. Instead, use these platforms to share, connect, and build up an online community.

Instead of simply using social media platforms as a place to post links to your content, use them to build relationships, connect with people, and build your online community.

Paid Social Ads

Social ads are an excellent way to reach your audience who are already on social media. You can use paid social ads to target specific demographics, interests, and even behaviors.

Make sure your headline is relevant to your target audience and addresses their pain points. Don’t try to cater to every audience, because in doing so, you’ll only end up with an audience of none.

Pick a specific audience and speak directly to them. Let’s say, for instance, that you’re trying to reach a hotel manager about bed bugs.

Why not try leading with something that grabs their attention and addresses their pain points? Something like “Lose bed bugs, not customers!”

Then include a clear, solution-oriented CTA: “Get Your Free Bed Bug Assessment Today.”

Your ads should direct your leads to landing pages where they can sign up for your offers.

Don’t bother trying to capture emails from cold calls during family dinners.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for alternatives to cold calling, these five methods will help you build relationships and close deals without making a single phone call. From blogging to social media outreach, there are plenty of ways to reach your target market without annoying them. So don’t be afraid to try something new – you might just find that it works better than cold calling ever did.