Your phone rings… It’s a UK number you don’t recognise… It’s during Office Hours… Do you answer?… You answer… On the other end of the phone you hear a voice… It’s a voice you haven’t heard before… They say they would like a few moments of your time to explain why they’ve called… Yes… It’s a cold call… And guess what… It’s me… I’m calling you.
Now I know most people in most organisations hate cold calls. So why on earth am I making them? Well, because even though it feels bold, and risky, our Growth Team knows that it’s one of the best ways to build a strong, lasting relationship. And it’s not like we just dial a random number and hope for the best. We do all sorts of work behind the scenes to try and make it the warmest and most relevant cold call you’ve ever had.
If you’re on Linked In, we’ll view your profile and read your posts to see if what you’re interested in matches with what we offer. We’ll research your company, and compare it to your competitors who we work with. We’ll hopefully have a referral from someone you know, who has recommended we speak to you. We’re aiming to share ideas about the types of problems we’re currently helping other people with. And if it’s relevant, connect you to our directors who lead projects on those topics.
We know we are an interruption. And it’s totally fine if you don’t want to speak. We know you have providers you already use, budget constraints, and are just about to go into a meeting. We know that 90% of the time you won’t be free to pick up. But perhaps you’d prefer a Linked In message, or email? Or even a personalised video?
My favourite bit of calling people is when they say: “You know, we are actually looking into that right now. It would be useful to see what you’re doing.” It’s such a great feeling. To go from being an annoying interruption, to a useful connection. We want you to hang up the phone from our cold calls, feeling warm inside.
Cold calling always felt like the antithesis of what Alchemist stands for. The idea of it always seemed inhuman, mechanical, and by the book. But as Tomos so rightly explained, we found a way to make it human, informed, adaptable and personalised. Some of the longest and strongest relationships we have, came from someone like Tomos picking up the phone and just asking the question. Sometimes people know us, or know our work. But sometimes they don’t. However, one thing we always strive to do is live up to and exceed the promises made by people like Tomos when they put themselves on the line and dial that phone. We always make sure that even if they did not know us, they never forget us.
