Do you cold call? Does your boss make you cold call?

If so, I believe you could be wasting valuable time.

Let me ask you some straightforward questions about cold calling.

Do you get excited to cold call? Are coldcalls adding value to your prospects? Does coldcalling leave you frustrated and dejected? Do you havedays you would rather not show up to the office because youhave to cold call? Do you have many current customers whohave thanked you for cold calling them?

Long time sales professionals and managers will state that coldcalling is part of the deal. You put your time in, work through therejection, and if you make enough calls, you will get someappointments. The last statement is true. If you make enoughcalls, you will get some appointments and eventually some sales.YAY!!!

Here is my response.

How many calls does it take to get one appointment?

How many people did you piss off in the process?

How much time have you wasted?

How much do you hate your job?

I recently received an email from a young insurance producer. Heis a hard-working guy who has had a brief sales background. Heloves the insurance industry and wants to help clients but iscompletely dejected after making cold calls day after day.

His boss requires that he makes 150 cold calls per week.According to my bad math, that is 30 calls per day. How much timedoes that take? Well, it depends on how quickly he can recover fromcontinual rejections, voice mails and call screeners. My shortanswer is way too much.

I know what some of you are thinking. “If salespeople can'thandle rejection, they shouldn't be in sales.” Although that may betrue, I think the inefficiency of cold calling goes much deeperthan that.

Why do I hate cold calling so much? Let me give you threereasons.

Cold calling may yield some appointments, but it also mightannoy prospects. (Photo: iStock)

1. It annoys prospects.

How do you like getting cold calls from sales people? Does itmake you happy? Do you gain respect for them? Do you call rightback if they leave you a voice mail?

Of course not. Insurance sales professionals are in the serviceindustry. How is cold calling serving our prospects and potentialcustomers?

Let's pretend I cold call one morning. Of those two prospectsthat I actually reach, one hangs up on me. Later that week, Iattend a local civic club meeting and run into the prospect whohung up on me. What do you say? “Hi, I'm that guy that interruptedyou this week and you hung up on. How are you?” What a great way tostart off a relationship.

2. It's innefficient.

The stats on cold calling are awful. It makes Shaq's free throwpercentage look outstanding.

Even if you are one of the few people who can make call aftercall with no hesitation, you are still wasting most of the day onvoice mails, screeners and listening to the phone ring. If you doget an appointment, it usually isn't with a decision maker. Even ifit is, how do you know for sure?

For most people, 5 percent is a good number in the cold callinggame. That's in just setting an appointment. Five out of 100.Really? I make 100 calls and get five cold appointment who may be acompletely wrong fit to our organization and my personality.

3. It makes good sales people hate their jobs and eventuallyquit.

Let's pretend for minute, that cold calling was slightly moreeffective than I have described. That more appointments are madeand that money is being made.

No amount of money is worth doing something youloathe. Some may say I'm soft. That I don't understand thereal world. Maybe.

You know what I do understand? People who hate their jobsaren't usually very good at them.

I believe that sales should not only be productive, but itshould also be fun. I often get asked why so many young agents quitor why young people aren't interested in the business. Hmmm. Let methink about that for a minute.

Cold calling saps all creativity and energy from salespeople.Instead of focusing on how to solve problems and advise clients,salespeople think about quotas and how they will get through eachday.

I understand that money has to be made and goals have to beachieved, but is cold calling the best way?

As you may assume by now, my answer is a resounding no.

Related:

What not to do on a 'cold e-mail' to yourprospect

10 of the most common phone sellingmistakes (and what to do instead)

The no-fail lead-generationsystem