Cold Canvassing
Making unannounced calls on prospects is called Cold Canvassing or cold calling This
is probably the least successful from of prospecting Buyers may be annoyed by the salesperson
for not having an appointment Other buyers may have full schedules and no time to see the
salesperson still other may not be in and the cold call resulted in a wasted trip Many
salespeople only use cold canvassing as a last resort when other techniques are not full of scheduled appointments
It takes a lot of time and persistence to knock on every door in a prospecting area to
uncover potential buyers salespeople who do cold calls should set goals as to what they
hope to accomplish during a cold call At a minimum they should introduce themselves
to the receptionist or secretary and start to build rapport with them At a later date when
they phone the information about the company and the buyer A second goal may be to get
an appointment for a later date It is easier to turn down an appointment request over the
phone than it is in person Finally one may get in to see the buyer and actually get to
make a sales call In any case this time should be used wisely to set the stage for further
prospecting