This post was written by Tom Kane: "Cold calling as a marketing tool is not one of my favorite techniques. Not to be wishy-washy, let me put this way, I am dead set against it when it comes to personal services marketing, especially for lawyers. It also raises serious ethical issues with most bar associations that have the prohibition patterned after the ABA Model Rule 7.3 (Direct Contact with Prospective Clients). Direct mail is only slightly more effective in my mind, although it certainly has its proponents.
Then comes emails... I discourage clients from using emails as a marketing tool, especially when directed toward people they do not know.
Then along comes Carolyn Elefant. The well-known (okay, actually a bona fide guru) author of MyShingle blog and Nolo's Legal Marketing Blawg has a post on the latter site talking about "The Three Es of Cold E-mails" that is worth reading. She is not totally against their use, if they aren't "canned", but customized and tie into a legitimate connection with the recipient...
So, should cold e-mails be part of your business development arsenal? Carolyn apparently thinks they could have their place."
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Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 2 March 2010, reproduced with permission of the author