I try to be an astute observer of the literature that crops up in sales and marketing, and of course, I contribute my share.

One of the things that I find astonishing is that there is always a hucksters huckster, someone who touts the idea that proven, conventional selling tools are old hat, obsolete, unnecessary, or outright harmful.

For instance, youve probably seen the ad on the web that claims cold calling doesnt work, or that its dead.

Horse feathers!

Its as alive as we are.

If the same purveyor of this pap said cold calling isnt as successful as contacting warm leads, people who have expressed interest in your product, then hed be making a reasonable point.

Instead, he overstates the case, most likely in the interest of getting our attention. But its a con.

Cold calling works fine, and in many situations its the most direct and fastest way of building your client base.

Another myth is that closing is ineffective or offensive, that prospects should close themselves.

That is ideal, and there are methods for making that happen, largely through what has been termed consultative selling or what I have developed: The New Telemarketing .

However, its not enough to lead most horses to the water, you have to help them to drink it by overtly asking for the sale.

Just a little nudge in the right direction can do it.

Lets say youre talking features and benefits with a prospect and you come to a lull in the chat. At that time, if you just smile and say, Okay? the prospect will probably give you his approval.

Granted, an Okay? in the middle of nowhere seems odd, but isnt it odder to prolong the silence until it becomes obviously uncomfortable?

Im using this ultra-simple illustration to demonstrate that closing is really a natural part of the conversational process and not an artificial device that must sound stilted or strategic.

Also suspect is the recently trendy idea of permission marketing, but Ill save my discussion of this newfangled notion for another day!