Even the most passionate business owners shy away at the thought of making cold calls.  But even if you’ve found other ways to generate sales, mastering the art of cold calling can help your business to succeed.  Here are some ways to use cold calling you might not have thought of:

Market Research 

Most people equate cold calling with cold suppers from those bothersome telemarketers that interrupt supper every night, but in actuality, cold calling can be used in a very positive way to succeed in business by getting a lot of research done. 

You can get the answer to any number of questions that might come up simply by calling local businesses that would know the answer.  You may not always get an answer, these folks are busy too, but many times you do.  You will be surprised at how much you can learn just by taking the information you get from cold calling and filling in a few blanks here and there with independent research. 

Strategic Alliances

Today, success in business is all about forming strategic alliances that benefit all parties.  Sure, networking events and meet up groups are a great way to form these alliances, but you are limited to those that attend the event and the people they will ultimately introduce you to.  

Maybe you have a particular person or business in mind that you would like to meet, but you haven’t had the opportunity to connect with them.  One option might be to hunt them down and ambush them, but it would be more effective (and professional) to just pick up the phone and give them a call.  The phone is a very non-intrusive way to feel them out through general market research questions, and if the connection is there suggest further meetings to talk over possible strategic partnership options. 

Those business people willing to try new techniques for forming strategic alliances and learning as much as possible about their industry will thrive, even in today’s economy.  Cold calling can be an effective strategy to achieving these goals.  

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