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PurposeCold calling being one of the most preferred modes of sales strategies in the past, with all digital platforms setting in, is it still the best option a B2B service firm has? To seek answer to this interesting question is the purpose of this paper. The study seeks to understand the contributions of both the sales force and the digital marketing team towards lead conversion. The paper also aims to derive a sense-making model for lead conversion based on a few propositions of the study.Design/methodology/approachThe authors have adopted mixed method approach. The authors have chosen a small enterprise offering B2B services to understand the sales process. The past one-year cold calling data were analyzed. In addition, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted among the managers and the executives of the firm. The study adopts the AIDA model of customer response and the stages of selling process to better map the sales process of the firm. Based on the analysis, a new model is proposed to aid lead conversions.FindingsThe findings suggest that cold calling is not an effective mode of sales strategies in this case as the firm experienced a very low conversion rate. However, with the integration of digital marketing efforts with sales process, the sales team could achieve higher conversion rate.Originality/valueVery few studies in the literature examines the effectiveness of cold calling strategy integrated with digital marketing efforts. This is one of the few studies examining cold calling strategy in B2B service firm in India.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is found to affect the mental health of the population. Undergraduate medical students are especially prone to mental health disorders and hence could be more vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic. Methods A prospective longitudinal study was conducted on 217 undergraduate medical students in a medical college at Chennai, India. Depression, anxiety, and stress levels were recorded using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 Items (DASS21) before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in India in December 2019 and June 2020, respectively. In the follow-up survey, in addition to DASS21, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess sleep quality and a self-administered questionnaire to assess the impact of COVID-19 related stressors were used. The self-administered questionnaire assessed the status of COVID-19 testing, interactions with COVID-19 patients, self-perceived levels of concerns and worries related to academics (COVID-19-AA (academic apprehensions)) and those pertaining to the self and family/friends (COVID-19-GA (general apprehensions)). Cross-sectional and longitudinal comparison of overall scores of depression, anxiety, and stress and scores stratified by gender, year of study, place of residence and monthly family income were performed. Predictors for depression, anxiety, and stress during COVID-19 were investigated using adjusted binary logistic regression analysis and results were expressed as adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI). A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The average scores of depression, anxiety, and stress during the baseline survey were 7.55 ± 7.86, 4.6 ± 6.19 and 7.31 ± 7.34 with the prevalence (95% Cl) of 33.2% [27–39.9%], 21.2% [16–27.2%] and 20.7% [15.5–26.7%]; in follow-up survey, the mean scores were 8.16 ± 8.9, 6.11 ± 7.13 and 9.31 ± 8.18 with the prevalence being 35.5% [29.1–42.2%], 33.2% [27–39.9%] and 24.9% [19.3–31.2%] for depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. There was a significant increase in both the prevalence and levels of anxiety and stress (P < 0.001), with depression remaining unchanged during COVID-19, irrespective of gender, year of study, place of residence and family’s monthly income. Poor sleep quality, higher levels of baseline depression, anxiety, and stress, higher COVID-19-GA, COVID-19 patients in family/friends and direct interactions with COVID-19 patients were found to be significant predictors of negative mental health in undergraduate medical students. COVID-19-AA was not significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic appears to negatively affect the mental health of the undergraduate medical students with the prevalence and levels of anxiety and stress being increased, and depression symptoms remaining unaltered. Addressing and mitigating the negative effect of COVID-19 on the mental health of this population is crucial.