There's a guy on the seminar circuit who shouts, with the fervor of a revival preacher, "Do not cold call!" For the most part, we agree. However, a compelling case can be made for lead generation by phone under the right circumstances.

A company's "relevant event" may indicate a good fit with your product or service. In my business, for example, a firm's recruitment ad for telemarketing or telesales staff may imply a matchup between their intentions and my services. Please note: MAY . Their actual intentions, and which of my services may match, are yet to be learned. The point here is that the company's ad, its "relevant event," differentiates this company from others and creates a valid reason for my inquiry. Indeed, it is the inquiry, not the presumption of a matchup, that legitimizes the introductory call. Here's how it goes:

"Mr\Ms Prospect ... Michael Brown calling ... the Business To Business By Phone^® guy. I'm reading with great interest your web site about growing your telemarketing and telesales teams. I help businesses do exactly that via advisory and training services. So this is a call of inquiry to see how well we might match up. Is this a good time to talk with you?"

Most prospects have welcomed such calls because they are positioned as business opportunity exploration, not as an assumed sale. Usually, we engage in a substantive dialogue, determine what to do next ... most often a visit to my web site ... and arrange a second conversation. If there's not a good fit, there still may be a referral. If we have a possible matcup whose time hasn't come, we know exactly when and how to stay in touch. When we do discover a good match, we can get down to business quite quickly.

So can you and your callers! Get in touch and let's discuss lead generation and qualification at your company! 800 373-3966