'Cold Calling' works in London too!

My post covers my cold calling sales experience in London, UK. It is always interesting to watch ongoing debate on 'Cold Calling' & its relevance in digital era now.

'Cold Calling' - is one of the traditional & widely accepted approaches for 'go to market' (GTM) & carries mixed opinions on execution front. Key steps in the process include: meeting unknown potential Customer directly without any prior reference or appointment, sharing value proposition across the table and push for deal closure.

My experience says, 'Cold Calling works well in London (UK) too'. Landed in London with HSMP visa on hand, being new to market, I have used the same process & tips which I picked up & practiced in India during my early days of Professional Sales Career. Interestingly, the core fundamentals won't change even after a decade, irrespective of your work place. However, smart fine-tuning is essential based on product/solution or the country/market you sell.

Why Cold Calling?

• Shorter sales cycle for Physical Security/IT products, services & solutions.
• Direct entry into meeting without long 'appointment cycle'
• Can meet good number of Customers with better coverage plan in large retail spaces & shopping malls in single location
• Saves lot of time in commute to different locations on the same day - thus, better productivity
• Cold calling is the only mode to meet potential busy customer who has no inclination or preference to access emails also
• Face to face meeting is the best way for effective positioning and to capture better mind share, finally to convince
• Cold calling is always economical, no need of expensive advertisement, marketing tools & budget
• Seeing is believing - ready to change the current vendor for better value proposition

Snapshot of my experience in London:

• Focus Segments - Security (CCTV, Access Control, Biometrics etc.,) Online marketing (SEO, SMM, SC, E-Commerce, Website design etc.,), Servers & Storage
• Acute eye on verticals: Retail, Manufacturing & SMB in London
• 25% of leads were generated from total number of cold calls across London
• 10% of leads have seen closure with steady follow up
• Closing sale in first meeting is possible, though percentage is less
• Follow up (5-6 phone calls & 1-2 personal meetings) is essential after initial interest
• Supporting stats, credibility logs & strong references ('same locality' is key!) would really help
• Professional attire & systematic approach break the ice quicker
• Enterprise business takes longer, but - works faster in Small & medium businesses
• Country's regulations & local compliance act like catalyst despite in recession
• Promo deals (Packages with discounts) help to close faster
• Daily deals (Bundles with timelines) do the magic many times even in deep recession times
• Market is always open & ready to take calculated risks for better ROI & reliable solutions with lower TCO
• Solution for need is primary, brand is secondary
• Cloud models, 'pay as you grow' are more accepted
• Customers are hesitant of 'cyber frauds', prefer face to face dealing (though expensive & time - consuming)
• Open for new ideas for competitive edge
• Finally, Core concept won't change - 'People prefer to buy from people'

Happy to share more insights going forward. You are welcome to share your views, thoughts.

Posts are personal.