A cure for the common cold call

News flash: prospects hate taking cold calls as much as sales reps hate making them. There’s got to be a better way to generate sales leads. Tom Searcy (huntingbigsales.com) says opt for these alternatives:

• Community and association involvement – Everyone likes to do business with people they know, like and trust. Get involved and “circulate and percolate.”

• How-to articles in client-oriented press – Better than any brochure is the how-to article that appears in a publication that your target client reads. Make sure the blurb at the end of the article lets prospects know how to find you.

• How-to speeches at prospect industry meetings – More effective even than how-to articles. People want to hire experts, and an expert by definition is someone who is invited to speak.

• Free or low-cost small-scale seminars – The best proactive tactic you can employ as long as they’re not 90-minute commercials. You need to present valuable information about how to solve the problems your prospects are facing. The more you help prospects, the better it works.