Inside Sales Debate – Is Cold Calling Alive and Well?

At XANT, cold calling definitely still plays a role in our sales strategy. Even as the lead generation model has gone through a shift in recent years to more of an inbound marketing model, cold calling has still resulted in some big deals being closed.

Just as in all things in sales, our cold calling strategy has been perfected and tested to a model that drives results in our target industry. We design scripts that drive results, our sales reps role play on a regular basis, and they are well trained to respond in any situation.

A recent B2B demand generation survey revealed that B2B marketers reported cold calling as their third-highest quality lead generation channel. The survey, conducted by Software Advice and others, has created a discussion among industry experts of whether cold calling is still a model that drives business.

Source: Software Advice B2B Demand Generation Report

On January 20, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. Pacific / 2:00 p.m. Eastern, Ken Krogue, President and founder of XANT, will be participating on a discussion panel via Google+ hangout with Mike Volpe, CMO at HubSpot, and Anneke Seley, CEO at Reality Works Group. The discussion will revolve around the issue of cold calling and whether alternative lead generation avenues are more effective at creating business.

Watch the live, debate hosted on Google+ here:

Does Cold Calling Still Work?

Because of the medium in which this debate will take place, users will be able to play an active role in shaping the discussion through social interaction.  Please, watch online and ask insightful questions directed at these industry experts.

What are your thoughts? Do you find cold calling to be a lucrative tactic in generating leads? Have your lead gen reps had success calling through a list?

For a great resource on optimizing your cold calling techniques, check out this eBook by Ken Krogue and Kraig Kleeman, “The Art of Cold Calling and the Science of Contact Ratios.”