A salesperson I coach was hired to come in and make cold calls to create appointments for other salespeople in his company (and learn the business along the way). He has great desire and commitment and pounded the phones for 12 months. After a year, both parties were frustrated with the progress. Could there be a better way?
This particular salesperson decided to get out of the cold calling business and grow his business through referrals and introductions. While his client base was not huge, he had developed Centers of Influence (COIs) and was fairly well connected in his personal life. He developed his R.A.P. (Referral Action Plan) and began a new way of prospecting.
The results? He is writing more business than ever before and his pipeline is full of qualified opportunities. When he was cold calling, all he had was a pipe dream.
Prospecting is challenging, no matter what your method. But few would argue that your R.A.P. will produce far greater results than your "rap" while making cold calls.
Check out Jeffrey Gitomer's rant on cold calling.