Gone are the days of picking up the phone, dialing the next number on your lengthy list of prospects, and making an instant sale.

The consumers of today are more skeptical than ever, particularly when it comes to cold callers they know nothing about. This has made it incredibly difficult for salespeople to get their foot in the door with new leads and, as a result, they are having to rework the way they reach out to prospects.

A study from Edelman shows that consumer trust in businesses is dwindling.

The traditional conundrum of inbound versus outbound prospecting no longer cuts it, and instead, salespeople are required to dig deeper into these umbrella terms to cherry-pick the best techniques for their industry and target prospects.

These methods can vary drastically between sectors, and can include anything and everything from email outreach and networking at events, to social…