Does telephone prospecting still work in the current economy?

Yes, but...

...only if your message directly addresses the current crisis on the desk of the CEO or senior manager you are talking with.

It's true in the hundreds of calls made each day from our call center we are speaking with many more dispirited and discouraged business owners. No, they aren't going to buy a new training program or invest in new capital equipment, unless...

Unless you tell them how you will 1) help them make money or, 2) save money.

For example, when we call CEOs of mid-sized businesses for our training company client, we never mention the word "training" (it's a quick ticket to speak with the most junior HR staffer!). Instead, we tell both the executive assistant and the CEO we want to talk with them about how to keep their best people, if that is a priority for them (and for it is for all!). That gets their attention and the 30 seconds we need.

In today's economy don't waste your prospects' time with any other message than how you will help them make money or cut expenses; they don't want to talk about anything else!