More calls = more sales? Or More research = more sales?

I constantly talk to people and colleagues how doing X amount of calls a day doesn't mean you receive Y amount of customers. Doing some previous research and understanding everything means you can ring 5 people and get two meetings etc. Thoughts?

🔎 Prospecting
👑 Sales Strategy
📞 Cold Calling
34
Savagedoge
Tycoon
9
Account Executive
It’s a mix. And it depends on your audience too. Just like everything else. As long as you’re not burning bridges and leads, decent volume of calls never hurt anyone
canary
Praised Answer
1
CRO
+1 for a mix. Research an account well, establish your position, and touch enough contacts within an account to maximize your chances
cw95
Politicker
0
Sales Development Lead
Also true, I know more volume equals more people hearing your voice and company. Guess it is simply a learn by trial! 
iSell
Opinionated
0
ADR
I agree. Def a mix, call volume is good, but its def important to know what it is important to your prospect. 
GDO
Politicker
0
BDM
Volume is crucial. But calling unqualified prospects is just a waste of time. 
Selichimorpha
Celebrated Contributor
6
Growth Executive
Quality over quantity in my opinion. 
SPT
Valued Contributor
2
Director, Channel Sales & Partner Alliances
Agreed! My manager wants me to make dials...but I know that when I research and find a quality Lead, and spend a long time writing the email, that that will get me more business than just making dials.
TheRealPezDog
Notable Contributor
0
Account Manager
do THAT then, and FUCK whatever your manager says.  LONG LIVE THE LONG GAME!
kbites
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
Agreed! I try to call prospects with legitimate emails, not those with Hotmail or Gmail.
Though some of those Gmail/Hotmail end up to be the sizeable customers too (then it boils down to luck).
cw95
Politicker
-1
Sales Development Lead
I like your opinion. 
TheLoneGun
Opinionated
6
Extremely Rad Product Offloading Specialist
If you research and call only 5 people, and I just cold call a 100. I'll set more meetings 99% of the time. 

Instead of focusing on which is better, the focus should be on maximizing value from both. Industry dependent, but I've found minimal research and maybe half the normal amount( in your respective space)  is just as effective. 

Its an experiment. Track numbers and work to optimize between the two. 


cw95
Politicker
0
Sales Development Lead
yeah, you are right. I guess the question of quality comes in to play. 5 calls was a ball park figure! out of interest, if you hypothetically called 100+ companies what success rate do you reckon you'd get? And by that I mean success in terms of becoming customers? I ask as the stats for us are very here and there as our sales cycle is incredibly long!
TheLoneGun
Opinionated
1
Extremely Rad Product Offloading Specialist
 If I had the name of who to speak to I would probably talk to 20 of those, depending on time of day this can drastically decrease, of 20 set at least 5 meetings. Id close roughly half the meetings.  So Id hope for 2 sales in the pipeline.

I try to shoot for 5% on meetings. Not always doable but that's about average for me.    For longer sales cycles you have to establish the value and then set proper expectations. 

My current product is a short cycle, but I still set expectations for the longest time I expect everything to be wrapped up by. 

The other thing is I call very specific industries and already know that my product can be of use.  It's still wise to make quite a few calls because honestly a ton of people arent even going to answer or be available. 

Edit: additionally about 1/3rd of the pipeline won't make it to close for various reasons. So Of those 2 hopefully I get 1 brand new customer
cw95
Politicker
1
Sales Development Lead
That's very true, think i may bang the phones tomorrow and see the outcome!
TheLoneGun
Opinionated
1
Extremely Rad Product Offloading Specialist
Good luck, Homie. I hope you light em' up tomorrow. Just change up your research and your call time a lil each day, keep track and you'll find your path ;)
Soiboi
Politicker
2
Account Executive, EIAS/Compliance
I think having the intention of high activity leads to more than doing less activity. I had a chat with my team earlier about setting up long-term pipeline development via high activity prospecting.... The agenda is to get meetings but not everyone is ready but some day they will be so by us prospecting we're setting ourselves up now and in the future. 
cw95
Politicker
1
Sales Development Lead
Of course it varies between companies and industries. Some companies you can call with a solution that everyone needs and some not. But, do you have a side strategy leading up to a cold call? 
By that I mean, Linkedin, email - even if not opened or accepted (on linkedin) to then cold call and give a previous reason to how you've got the attention rather than straight up calling? 
Soiboi
Politicker
1
Account Executive, EIAS/Compliance
So for me, I build out 30-45 day campaigns that have pre-defined email days and call days/times, all automated. The campaign tells the story of our prospects, now customers and why their pain, which the prospect is probably facing, should change and why we could be the right fit for them. Really is driving the gap between on-prem tool, the problems with it and why making a switch is best for their "future state" 
Soiboi
Politicker
0
Account Executive, EIAS/Compliance
Thats how I do it anyway, let me know. 
cw95
Politicker
1
Sales Development Lead
No yeah sound advice. Would be lovely if every industry/company reacted the same to sales people! What I sell isn't always what people know they need (niche and new) so volumes of cold calls doesn't work all the time. I guess it also depends on the length of the sales cycle. But sound, will think about that! 
Soiboi
Politicker
1
Account Executive, EIAS/Compliance
Don't push product, push a solution and people respond pretty well. You'll still find some jerks though.... 
cw95
Politicker
1
Sales Development Lead
Yeah, two years doing it and i have met my fair share of lets say...unprofessional people! But that works out with the ones that arent! 
MardukOfSales
Good Citizen
2
District Manager
Yeah, I think you need to do enough research to not embarrass yourself and then hit the phones.  Let them hear your name and company name multiple times and eventually the timing will be right for them to engage with you.  
cw95
Politicker
2
Sales Development Lead
This. This is exactly what I think prior to doing so. 
HarryCaray
Notable Contributor
2
HMFIC
more researched calls = more opportunities for sales
Kanyebut4sales
WR Lieutenant
1
Account Executive
combo mambo on that one
wHaTyAgOtCoOkInG
Catalyst
1
Solution Consultant
calls. Effort and action lead to outcomes. 
Ras_Rebuttles
Contributor
1
Sales Consultant
If you're selling a one time transaction for product then it's prob dials.

If you sell a service or subscription it's probably more PREP, not just reseaarch.  


So many dudes could map out company hierarchy from linkedin but few call into the prospect-company as a "chatty customer" and ask what they're using for X so you know what you're up against. 
allsaasnobrakes
Member
1
Growth Account Executive
Death by activity tracking is a real thing. Even if someone is making 100 calls a day, it doesn't mean the outreach is well orchestrated or targeted. In my opinion lots of orgs focus too heavily on KPIs rather than allowing for metered, impactful interaction to occur which may mean lower touchpoint volumes 
Sandbagger31
Member
1
VP Sales
Yes its quality that matters but sales is still a contact sport and you gotta dial the phone. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
Agreed 💯
AlecBaldwinsHairline
Valued Contributor
1
Head of Sales Development
Calls.

Always calls.
Do.it.for.the.checks
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Depends on the sales role. If you are a velocity-based sale, pound the phone. If you are strategic, you don't get the opportunity to fuck it up so start researching. And everyone else blend volume and strategy
Blackwargreymon
Politicker
1
MDR
Quality over quantity in my opinion. 
Clashingsoulsspell
Politicker
1
ISR
Quality over quantity in my opinion. 
NeildeSaaSTyson
Contributor
0
Senior Account Executive (MM)
Maybe the most notorious question in value selling... where to draw the line.  


Generally, I think it depends on inbound flow and the brand awareness of whatever company you work for (I think most people have a general idea of what SalesForce does, for example, so a quick email may still hit home).  


I do think better researched and positioned intros help with larger deals, because prospects come into the conversation with (potentially) a more complete expectation of the problems they are looking to solve and with that, an understanding of potential value.  
nreskin
Big Shot
0
Account Director
probably a mix of both - prospects that are a bit higher up on the totem poll require more research. Folks closer to the ground can get blasted with minimal downside
TheJohnDalyofSales
Valued Contributor
0
SDR Manger
The more research the better. It’ll help you personalize emails and cold calls to make the prospect feel more appreciated and less like you are just robotically saying and emailing the same thing to everyone   
PeterSwan
Opinionated
0
Sales Specialist
I'll go with more research. Especially for large enterprise sales.
Salespreuner
Big Shot
0
Regional Sales Director
Research + call : the right mix of 60-40%
TheRealPezDog
Notable Contributor
0
Account Manager
Really depends what industry you are in and what you are selling.  Sometimes the long game is the only game you can play.  It's pretty easy to get tagged as SPAM. 
TheRealPezDog
Notable Contributor
0
Account Manager
I have had days when I dialed 120 people, got 1 hang up and 0 connects.
GigabitChaser
Valued Contributor
0
Sr Account Executive
More calls equal more sales at the small % of meetings/opportunities that it generates yes that is true and a necessary evil. 

More research doesn't mean more sales unless that's more researching into finding more opportunities and buying windows. 

I believe you should find more referral partners/lead sources equal more sales. 
TheHypnotist
Executive
0
Sales Manager
Turn calls into referrals = multiply your effectiveness on every call.
Chep
WR Officer
0
Bitcoin Adoption Specialist
Depends on the industry, but I feel like most industries have that perfect balance where you start to find how much research and how many dials you need to make before you start seeing positive trends
stanrym
Valued Contributor
0
CEO
there is a fine line between research and procrastination.
Mikey
Politicker
0
Senior Regional Director
I'm a firm believer in the math. The more connects, the more sales. The research can come second.
keesplin
Good Citizen
0
Sales specialist
Research! Know who you are talking to
Biznasty
Opinionated
0
Lead Business Development Manager
I think this depends on how established you are within your market. When you are new in an industry/territory I think quantity. When you have become an expert in your domain then quality. They do go hand in hand. However, there's never enough quality to not have quantity. Also, sometimes it depends on the mood of the rep. Either way can burn a certain kind of person. 
braintank
Politicker
0
Enterprise Account Executive
More calls. Research doesn't have budget for my product.
2

Research B4 Cold Calls??

Discussion
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11

How do you start your sales calls? What is your first/initial step?

Discussion
19
What should you do on a first in your initial call/meeting/interaction?
8% Explain Product
92% Listen and Understand Customer's Needs
78 people voted
44
Members only

What's you typical research process before a sales call?

Question
38