Ryan Dohrn argues that cold calls don't work because busy strangers ignore voicemails with no reason to respond. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter let salespeople build familiarity first. Magazine advertisers buy from people they trust and like, not just the publication.
It's not surprising to me that advertisers don't call you back. I'm not surprised by that. I hear it all across the country, companies large and small. Why am I not surprised? Because from birth, you have been taught not to talk to strangers. So if you are a stranger to the person that you're calling, A, they're very busy, B, they don't know you, and probably you left a voicemail like this: Hi, it's Ryan Dorn calling from such and such magazine. We've got a great issue. Gone into the what zone? That would be the deleted zone. Okay. Now advertisers aren't rude. Advertisers aren't inconsiderate. They're busy, and you're really not giving them a reason to call you back, and you're not a known entity to them. You're a stranger to them. What social media does for you. Is it gives you the opportunity, whether it's LinkedIn or Facebook and maybe Twitter, to become a known entity to these individuals. They've done study after study. Typically, a lot of advertisers buy because they do like your magazine, but they also really like you as a salesperson. You do a good job for them. You service them well. You take care of them. You provide them information. You have a great job of retaining them. You have to become a known entity if you really want to have really, really resounding great success. Now,
