The phone is buzzing. An unknown number is calling. Who could it be? What does this person want from me? How did they even get my number? Oh well, let's ignore it.

I've received my fair share of cold calls. Scammers. Telemarketers. Wrong number. You name it. And of late, I reverted back to my default mode aka ignoring it. If it's that important, they can drop me a text. I'm not going to spend my time listening to a pitch from someone I don't even know.

And yet as a contingency recruiter, I'm expected to make cold calls. The idea is that by applying this bruteforce method and hitting the phone all day, I would eventually reach someone who's willing to hear what I have to say. Or at least, show some interest to follow up further. Deep down, I'm just screaming out loud as to how inefficient and ineffective this is.

Yes. By saying that, I'm opening myself up to criticism from proponents of cold calling.

That's the way it should be done. What are you afraid of? Hit the damn phone!"

No. I'm not afraid of cold calling nor deny that it works. I'm just more tuned in to the rationale of not doing it.

The reality is that the majority of people are going to react the same way as I did when they see an unknown number. What's so important about making this call that it's perfectly justified to interrupt someone, who is probably in the middle of doing something important just to push your agenda?

I understand that getting on the phone is the fastest way to communicate intent. But do it with respect at the very least? It's not that hard to value people's time.

Personally, I prefer warm calling. This is where the person behind the phone is already expecting my call at a schedule set to minimize any interruption. It does take longer to get to this point but I feel that this is the way it should be done.

So how does it work?

Referral

Leverage your network. If you know Alice and Alice knows Bob aka the person you want to contact, then it makes sense to get Alice to provide an introduction. I'm not going to pretend that it's usually this straightforward but the same idea applies. Keep working up the chain until you get in front of the person you seek.

The slow build

Suppose that you're trying to reach out to Bob. No one in your network knows him. Surely he has an online presence somewhere....social media? Personal website? Forum?

Gather information about Bob. What is he working on? Did he commented on an article? Did he wrote an article? Personalize your reach out. This is not about you. People can smell transactional mentality from far. Give him a reason to engage with you. What value are you adding to his life? Build trust. Be clear with your intent. Once there's a mutual consensus, go ahead and pick up the phone. You earn it.

Whether it's a business / company or individuals that you're reaching out to, just remember that you're still dealing with people aka human after all. You're under pressure to meet KPIs and produce results. I get it. But that isn't an excuse to disregard respect and empathy.

I'm not trying to exaggerate and say that cold calling is the plague of humanity. Ironically, those who perpetuate the idea of cold calling are also the same group who resent them when they're at the receiving end. So why not take a pause and do things differently instead?

There's always a better way.