What is "cold calling"?

Question

A company recently emailed a possible "job opportunity" for me with the following requirements. I was wondering what "cold calling" was?

2+ years experience with inside sales
Excellent phone skills
Successful in cold calling
Software experience is a plus

Answer 1

cold call
n.
A telephone call or visit made to someone who is not known or not expecting contact, often in order to sell something.

Answer 2

In personal selling, cold calling is the processing of approaching prospective clients, typically via telephone, who have not agreed to such an interaction. The word "cold" is used because the person receiving the call is not expecting the call or has not specifically asked to be contacted by the sales person. It is often very frustrating and difficult for those making cold calls because they are often rebuffed, hung-up on and rejected by those receiving the calls. It could be said that it is equally frustrating for the person receiving the cold call, since they expected something they care about, and instead get a marketing pitch. They may also have been doing something important, such as eating dinner, or waiting on another phone call.

A warm or hot call, would be if the person KNOWS you're calling (or at least has met you before, and anticipates that you may call), or if they're already customers, and the sales pitch will go easier, since you already have a connection with them.

Answer 3

Cold callers are the people that ring you up without an appointment to try and sell you something that you have absolutely no interest in.

Make sure you really want to be insulted, ignored and shouted at before you make a career out of disturbing and annoying people.

Answer 4

Cold calling. Basically, pick up your phone, call a random person, try to sell them something.

Answer 5

They also call this "lead generator".

You call random people and try to sell them your product or service. You have to be prepared to take a lot of rejection.

Answer 6

Basically it's to call people to try and make sales

Answer 7

I give you a phone book and some stuff to sell, you start at Mr. Aardvark and work your way down the list selling stuff to them...

Answer 8

cold calling is calling people at random