Customer Reviews

Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling

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I have been reading sales and prospecting books for 25 years, and this book is in the handful that I have ever recommended to other people that sell for a living. Sam Richter's book describes in specific detail how to use free Internet resources to find out every relevant, timely and sales oriented detail imaginable about every prospect you want to do business with. In your first cold call to that prospect you will know more about the prospect's business problem--and how your product or service can specifically solve that problem--than any other sales person that has ever called that prospect before.

When I was in college in the 1980s, I did not have a computer let alone the Internet. I am thinking that today in colleges across the country there are courses entitled, "How to Search the Internet and Get What You Were Looking For." When I was reading this book I had a lot of "aha" moments. Maybe a 22-year-old reading this book would say: Duh, I know this, I learned it in college.

I am pretty grateful for Sam Richter's book, Take the Cold out of Cold Calling-Web Search Secrets as it may save me from having to enroll in this hypothetical course.

When not writing book reviews as a hobby, I support the sales staff of a small company. One of my many responsibilities is developing new business. I usually find potential prospects in a newspaper or magazine article written on the company or its leaders. After reading the article I then go to my computer and try to find out their contact information. Sometimes the one search engine I use hits on it immediately and sometimes I spend hours trying to weed through multiple hits to find what I am looking for. This book is my new best friend. It provides the reader with some very valuable information on getting to what you need a whole lot quicker.

Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling is a reference guide and as author Sam Richter points out, "It is not designed to teach you the art and skill of selling." This book will enable you to decrease the amount of time spent looking for information, and what you do find will provide brilliant value. He discusses in depth the power of Google, Yahoo search tips, other great search engines, the "Invisible Web," and premium information sources.

"Sam's Tips" on each page simplifies his key points and allows you to reference the information easier. Even better is the Web Search Quick Reference Guide at the end of the book.

Leave this open at your desk, impress your boss!

Armchair Interviews agrees.

Author's Web site: [...]

Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling is now a permanent fixture in my bookcase. I keep it very close to my computer. Whenever I can't easily find info on a person or a company, I open this book. The chapters on finding "hidden" stuff, like company execs' email and/or phone numbers has proven to be invaluable.

Google identifies more than one trillion unique Internet URLs (web page addresses), with new pages multiplying exponentially. Thousands of different search engines can help you locate information on these trillion-plus pages, but a single search can net hundreds of thousands of results. So much information exists online that finding what you want can be difficult. In his helpful, resource-rich book, Internet and sales expert Sam Richter teaches you how to search the web effectively. Richter details numerous specialized search engines and websites for finding business information that will impress your prospects. getAbstract recommends Richter's guide to salespeople who want to close more business by becoming or sounding supremely well informed.

Recently saw a standing-room-only presentation by Sam at a national conference and was taking notes furiously. He said that everything he said was in his book and I couldn't get to it fast enough. I am not in sales; I am a journalist and author (Building for Boomers) and a person who uses the Web a lot personally too. I wish I'd known this stuff years ago! Sam is a generous person, giving away his toolbar, which he updates regularly, to help us find info with just a few clicks. It's at takethecold.com under "warm call center." The book is worth 10x its selling price, though I'm happy we don't have to pay what it's worth. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I work with insurance and investment products. I am relatively new to this industry. My biggest hangup beginning in this industry was that I didn't know what resources were all available to me and how to utilize them. I constantly felt like I was working inefficiently and ineffectively.

Then I fell on this book. In all honesty, I am not sure how one person, Sam Richter, could acquire so much knowledge and insight on so many different online sources.

Simply put: I know how to utilize professional databases that would otherwise cost me $4000 and $5000, and now use them virtually for free (and fully legal). I strategically use online networking sites, and do so very effectively. I search in Google and Yahoo differently than I used now that I know how they are set up. Amongst dozens of other options he presents.

It is set up clearly, has easily summarized chapters, the quicktips are summarized in the back of book and indexed. . . overall it is a fantastic source that I am grateful to have in my arsenal.

I recently bought this book because as a small business owner for a Leadership Development consulting firm, I have done a lot of cold calling over the last several years to build my business. Any way I could research a company before I called, I did. Alas, I was woefully inadequate at searching the web. The best I could really do was look up the potential client's website. The 'secrets' behind finding excellent information exist within the different search engines -- but nobody really knows about them. They are actually built into the engines!

What Mr. Richter does is show you how to be more efficient with your time (crucial with a small business owner or any sales team) and help you 'uncover' the gems of information that will help you talk to decision makers with more confidence. This helps you cut to the chase of what is most important, and get their attention right away -- creating a more important conversation and increasing the likelihood of obtaining business.

On a side note, I couldn't help feeling embarassed, as do many people I think, that I never new this stuff. But, embarassment aside, I am using the research techniques and enjoying the benefits.

My only criticism is that the title implies that this book is only for sales teams. While it is a perfect tool for sales people, I can think of several terrific uses for these research techniques for any company that would like to know more about their customers and clients -- I think that would be any company that has customers or clients.

I own a large business library -- but this is the only book that is sitting on my desk, dog-eared and constantly referenced. Do yourself a favor and get your own copy. Get a copy for each of your sales buddies. Get a copy for any small business owner you know. Spread the word. This book is a toolkit, not a book of concepts to kick around and debate. I want to personally thank Mr. Richter for writing something that I consider an investment in my future!

I'm not in the bussiness where I have to make cold calls, but this book was still a great read becasue I still have to call people and follow up with them. This book has some solid tactics and is worth the time.

I do research for an executive recruiter. I bought this book for the search engine clues and it didn't let me down. It's a great resource for learning the tricks to drill below the surface layer of a web search to obtain such pertinent information as resumes, email addresses and direct phone numbers for individuals at corporate organizations, government institutions, universities, etc.

Going in cold - knowing nothing about your perspective client. As they say, Knowledge is power - and having no knowledge is having no power. "Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling: Web Search Secrets for the Inside Info on Companies, Industries, and People" is a guide for using the internet as a powerful tool to gain knowledge of clients in advance - and see what they want and what they are looking for, to better apply one's company to appeal to the most clients possible. "Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling: Web Search Secrets for the Inside Info on Companies, Industries, and People" is a must for any business looking to attract more clients and for community library business collections.