In the past, the cold call was more or less the only option for salespeople – that is, knock on someone’s door or look them up in the phonebook to try to convert at that first point of contact. In those instances, a salesperson probably would have one chance to “talk a person up,” so there was pressure to make an immediate sale.

Today, of course, we have plenty of other sales and marketing options. Finding and nurturing leads is easier than ever, not only because we have a greater variety of tools to do so, but also simply because it’s more natural to be connecting with strangers over social media regarding products and services that interest us.

Cold pitching – for instance through email – can still work as a general introduction, but it’s not a good idea to try to do a hard sell from the get-go.

The best salespeople (in B2B or B2C) will use a variety of methods to generate leads but the traditional method of cold calling is no longer valid – but finding other ways to connect with people in the online world certainly is.

The concept behind social selling is that it allows your prospect to engage with you in a low-pressure way – that is, by choice. Traditionally, cold calling is both invasive for the receiver and nerve-wracking for the caller, making both ends easily tense and awkward through the introduction. However, using social selling can be more effective because: It gives the receiver the option of responding when they have the time. It allows the receiver to gather information about a product or service so that they can make a choice as to whether or not they want to have a conversation about it. It relieves the emotional pressure on both ends of the conversation.

The idea behind social selling which is opposite to the original “cold call” concept is that you have an opportunity to share, educate, or even offer something of value without pressuring the receiver to give you anything. In other words, you can frame it as a genuine offer instead of an ask. When you approach people cold by giving them information, they are more likely to offer you something in return, if they feel they’ve been given something that’s genuinely useful or valuable.

How can social selling grow your business? When you are engaging with people in your field, especially leaders who you learn from, you’re doing some form of social selling. And connecting with them need not be daunting or complex. There are plenty of tools out there to help you understand who you want to connect with as well as how you connect with them.

So long as you understand what you’re offering, you can use any social media platform to connect with people in your industry – in the B2B space, LinkedIn will be the best option, simply because it does have a decidedly professional focus. If you are innovative about using the tools provided on the site, you can find people easily – for instance, by asking for referrals from existing contacts, using endorsements, or creating specialty searches.

There are a number of tools that you can use either within LinkedIn or in conjunction with it that can do a lot of the legwork for you – research that in the past would have been quite time-consuming to do. Even if you’re just sticking to LinkedIn for your networking, there are plenty of opportunities to boost your authority and visibility via simple blog posts and Slideshare slideshows.

LinkedIn claims that 78% of those using social selling are more successful than their peers who aren’t – here’s why. The website also states that more than 75% of buyers are prepared to have a B2B conversation, so there’s no need to be hesitant about approaching people in your industry.

The main thing that must be emphasized when it comes to cold calling versus social selling is that cold calling typically is not going to be your best bet when it comes to long-term relationship-building unless you are using it strategically in combination with social selling strategies. Social selling simply offers more opportunities to grab new leads in a more subtle and authentic way – it’s warmer and gives the person on the other end more room to choose their response.

Another area that social selling is useful for is personal branding. If you think about popular thought leaders in your market I bet they are using the power of authority, branding and social selling to ensure they are top of mind to your prospects in such a way that combines both a personal and professional presence. They are marketing their entrepreneurship but including the human element – and it’s exactly this transparency that makes people trust what they’re doing and what they have to say.

While cold calling can be successful in certain circumstances, in today’s world that’s dominated by social media, most of the time people in any field are going to be better off social selling, simply because of the way people are consuming information, goods, and services these days. There may, however, still be a case for using both social media and cold calling in conjunction with each other, but it should be done with care. In today’s world of digital media, it’s clear that there’s a strong argument for social selling and that the selling technique of cold calling is, at least in most cases, not going to be worth the effort.

This is because when people want to buy or even partner up, they’re going to probably do a quick search online and then go from there. They are more likely reach out to their trusted peer groups, which includes social networks and LinkedIn prospects. They may read reviews online, have discussions in Facebook groups, or try to connect with professional contacts on LinkedIn. The main thing is that social selling is about long-term relationship building, whereas cold calling is just to “make a sale” – and with today’s discerning audiences, it’s just not enough to make a one-time sale these days.

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