Call me a masochist, but I enjoy the challenge of cold-calling. I’m struck, however, by how technology often prevents meaningful conversation:
- Email is systematically ignored now matter how personal and polished our prose
- Voicemail is unsatisfying whether we hang up before the beep or ramble until disconnected
Technology distances us from our prospects in some cases, but also presents opportunities…if we know where to look:
- Obscure corners of websites contain details useful for prospecting (e.g. press releases announcing organizational changes, plus the name of a contact whose job it is to be available)
- A prospect’s self-description on LinkedIn provides clues about which topics will resonate with them
- Blogs and tweets, although typically a one-way exchange in B2B settings, contain less corporate-speak and offer a window into company priorities
Just as technology taketh away, so does technology giveth.