Journal :: Cold Calling

Published: July 19, 2004
Author: Paul Cadde
Category: Marketing
Permalink: Cold Calling

If you cold call private clients, sole traders or partners I am sure you are aware that before you make the call you have to check they are not registered with the Telephone Preference Service. If they are, and you still make the call, you are opening yourself up to an unlimited fine by Ofcom ? or a ?5,000 fine by the Direct Marketing Association if you are a member.

However, did you know that the same rules will apply to cold calling companies from 25th June?

One way to avoid any problems is to avoid cold calling. I know there are probably many of you who will breathe a sigh of relief at the thought. After all, who on earth enjoys cold calling? Probably about as many of us who like nothing better than sitting back having a leisurely read through the Taxes Acts ? although not, I hasten to add, the same people!

But that is not the point. In order to grow our businesses we really should at least include cold calling as one of our marketing and sales strategies.

Another way is to obtain a copy of the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list, and subscribe to regular updates. Compare this updated list regularly with your ?cold calling? list and ensure any TPS subscribers are cleansed from your list. Easy! Well ?? perhaps not so easy! And certainly very time consuming. And quite expensive! You obtain a copy of the list by becoming a TPS member, and to be a full member of the TPS you need to fork out ?7,500. And then you will still have to pay someone to ?cleanse? your database ? or refer to the list every time you call.

You could, instead, employ the services of a list broker to ?cleanse? your database for you on a regular basis. Easier, but still quite an expensive option.

So far you may not be very enthused by the available options. I can see your eye tracking back to the paragraph about no longer doing any cold calling. Tempting isn?t it!

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About Paul Cadde

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