by Sheryl Tuttle

Effective cold calling requires utmost courtesy and proper business etiquette. Whether maneuvering through gate keepers or speaking with high-level executives, manners and good business acumen are crucial at all stages, from initiation to resolution. But is it asking too much that it work both ways?

In a black and white world, resolution occurs in one of two ways when calling prospects.

  1. Affirmatively – Intrigued and interested, the potential customer wishes to take the conversation to the next level.
  2. Negatively – The potential customer expresses no need or interest.

As everyone knows though, we don’t live in a black and white world. There’s lots of gray. And the biggest gray to me is a lack of response from a target prospect at all.

Executives tend to be very busy people, so one or two attempts to reach them would be futile and certain failure. Persistence is key. In fact, numerous prospects have thanked me for continuing to reach out despite their lack of response because they were interested in hearing more, but had been too busy to reply. So it’s not wise to give up calls too easily.

It’s just good business etiquette to return phone calls. Busy executives that are not interested in what is being pitched should indicate so. They won’t have lost too much time, and in fact, rather may have saved time in listening to future voicemail messages.