Cold calling advice?

[webretary]

hi all

We've just started a web design business focusing more on web management. We're targeting small businesses, and so the best way to get to them is through cold calling.

Thing is, we're complete noobs when it comes to this technique and it's quite a daunting task calling dozens of people only to be rejected time and again. The people are polite, but they're just really not interested in what we're offering. There seems to be a general view that a website is not necessary to run a small business, which is kind of sad.

Has anyone got any advice for cold calling?

cheers
nathan

[LeelaCosgrove]

Hey Nathan,

I don't think it's the cold calling that's the problem - what's your unique value proposition?

Why should they purchase from you and not from someone else?

And who are they? Who are you targeting specifically?

Cold calling, like many strategies, is great - when it's done in a strategic, planned way. Just calling a bunch of people and asking them to buy ain't going to get you very far!

Because you're right - no one wants to buy a website. Not even me and I'm an information marketer ...

But what WILL they buy? What DO they need? Well, that depends on who they are ... so ...

Target Market?

UVP?

[Tim from Voucher.com.au]

I've been in a similar boat for the past few months, and have to admit that it has been one of the most challenging tasks I have come across. No matter how many books or articles you read, the only way to do it is trial and error. The most important thing to remember is that once you get the monkey off your back, your confidence grows and the leads continue to come.

Some of the things I have learned you may find relevant;

• Business owners are receiving 10+ of these calls a day
• Better to know a name before you call
• Quite often you are taking the attention away from potential paying customers in store
• Cold Calling always works better if its business owner to business owner
• Some industries should be contacted at different times - Not at opening time or when they are trying like mad to get out the door
• I found that on Fridays people are in better moods after lunch time
• Never try to sell on the first call - keep it short and try to schedule a meeting. Offer to bring them a coffee - works a treat.
• 2 minutes on google before a call can make all the difference, business owners are smart, they hate telemarketers and dialers. They want to feel like you sought them out because you have a valid proposition and a genuine interest in their business. Look for some history on the client, see if you can already suggest some areas of growth with minimal spend.

From my teen years as a pimple faced mobile phone salesman I learned a valuable lesson, something someone can see and touch is worth more than the spoken word - therefore a demonstration is much better than a conversation on its own. Mass marketing is out, personlised service is in.

I prefer to look at the process as way of introducing myself and my personal expertise. I make a meeting, show examples of previous work (case study), followed by some analysis which is then endorsed by the previous client by way of testimonial.

Regarding businesses not seeing the value in websites. I would be more inclined to say that most still don't understand the benefits, and think ultimately it will create more work for them. I would couple web design, with some ongoing managed service including basic local level SEO and a newsletter. Make it a tailored service agreement rather than a once off - just a thought.


Cheers,

Tim.

[Adam Randall]

We were having a tough time with cold calling, until I bumped into a friend who wrote a short 15 page booklet in 1996 on the subject.

He gave me a copy, before following it, we got at most 4 appointments per week, last week (and during december too!!) we got 12 appointments.

I cannot give it out as its his property but it just crystalises all of the information freely available.

The biggest thing to remember - NEVER EVER try & sell your product on the call.

Second thing to remember - The main focus is to get an appointment.

I know a few on here can sell during a cold call, but that is a level of expertise above which I am willing to go at the moment.

[LeelaCosgrove]

Lolz.

Never try to sell your product on the first call.

That's such a load of crap.

We sell, often, on the first call. Sometimes for $10k. Sometimes for $30k. Sometimes for more. My sales manager made $40k / WEEK for an advertising company ... majority first call closes.

If the person is ready to buy, why would you wait?

You might as well say NEVER TRY TO SELL EVER.

Never trying to sell on the first call - that's the mark of someone who isn't confident with their ability to sell ... someone who can't develop rapport ...

If you:

* Have a Niche.
* Have UVP.
* Communicate said UVP to said Niche.

Then asking for the sale on the first call shouldn't be a problem.

12 appointments is great, Adam.

But what if you'd closed the 2 who are going to buy ON THE PHONE - without spending the 12 hours (plus) it's going to take you to go and see a bunch of people who aren't going to buy ... when the ones who were GOING to buy would have bought off the phone in the first place.

*shrugs*

Call me crazy, but I'd rather save the time.

People who are going to buy know they are going to buy ... and you all know that ...

How often do people call you to make appointments? And how many times do you know, on the phone, whether you'll buy from them or not?

We make decisions in a heartbeat - we know if we need something, and we know if we want to buy it from the person we're speaking to ...

Putting it off for appointments - well, you need to ask for the order whether in person or on the phone ... and they've made a decision within 10 seconds whether they're going to buy from you or not. So why bother spending hours going off to appointments when you can make them on the call?

In fact ...

Every call you make, the chances of closing goes DOWN ...

Between my sales Manager and I we sold more than $1Million on the phone last year - predominantly phone only ... EVERY call we tried to close on the first call.

Will you ALWAYS close first call?

Of course not.

but you'll get the objections ... you'll find out what and why they might not buy ...

If you don't ask for the sale - well, you leave that conversation for third, fourth or fifth call ... which means it takes twice as long to close them.

[Adam Randall]

Hey Leela, I was waiting for that, I am well aware of your position on this

Sometimes though its good to take baby steps, let me bask in the happiness of just being able to get appointments for now - which I see you have graciously done!!.

The other point (and it is important) is that Adelaide is completely different to selling in Sydney or Melbourne. Adelaide is about who you know and not what you know.

Its a double edged sword in that, once you get in, its great, but just because you have a good product or UVP, does not mean that you will be able to get a sale, even if the person providing those services may well be a bit of a nong.

[LeelaCosgrove]

That's one of the biggest fallacies I hear ...

Selling in Adelaide is NOT different to selling in Melbourne or Sydney - or in New York or Las Vegas.

People are people.

"My industry is different."

No, it's not.

If you're selling a thing to a person then it's not.

"My target market is different."

No, they're not.

If you're selling a thing to a PERSON then they're not.

You're ABSOLUTELY right. Just because you have a good Product or UVP doesn't mean you'll get the sale.

You need to understand a simple rule of sales ...

People are all the same...

Whether they live in Adelaide or Russia they're motivated by the same underlying theories.

Pleasure vs Pain.

Setting appointments is not making sales. In fact, I'm normally highly suspicious of people who have time to "do coffee" or meet ... surely they should have better, money making things to do?

Let's talk when you've done your 12 appointments. I guarantee you won't close more than 4 - and that's if you're doing REALLY well. More likely 1-2.

Because those are the numbers.

And they are the same if you're selling on the phone or in person.

To someone in Adelaide or Melbourne.

Which means every other person you go and see is a waste of time.

We regularly close 2-3 people on the phone a day. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide. Not always first call, granted ... but whether we close them first call or not - we ALWAYS ask for the sale first call.

"Oh, I need to XYZ ... "

Great. Now we know within a 15 minute conversation whether the person is a client ... what their issues are ... what you need to answer in order to get the sale ...

As opposed to spending 15 minutes on the phone to book an appointment.
Half an hour travelling to said appointment.
Hour at appointment.
Half hour travelling to next appointment.

Repeat x 12.

Meaning it takes you 17 and a half hours to find out what I can find out in 3 hours on the phone.

Personally, I look at that 15.5 hours as time I could be WORKING and earning money rather than travelling (plus, my cashflow is better because I've closed them in 3-4 calls, rather than call, meeting, 3-4 follow up calls).

In my experience, people who "set appointments" are just trying to put off the inevitable - asking for the sale. If you don't ask for the sale, you won't close. And the fact remains - if they're going to buy, they'll buy on the phone as easily as in person.

Just saves you a whole lot of time.

[THE SALES WARLORD]

And TIME is MONEY.

If you are ready to quit the excuses.

I am here, in the place you fear to go...

There is an old Chinese saying "let not the man who says you cannot, obstruct the man who DOES" or somesuch...

In otherwords, just because you can't, don't mean it can't be done.

Love your work guys, know you are good at what you are good at.

But I can close on the first call.

Can you?

;P

[King]

of course setting appointments assumes all of your market is local as well....many times they are just too far away to make physically calling on then unwarranted.

To sell on the phone, to make a more progress, look at the common problems of your niche. You will get some you call quite happy to talk at length (AKA market research), so when you call, you are selling a solution, not a product.

Its the hook for the niche that will get you virtual foot in the door and open their minds to your offering.

[Jay-T]

Adam? Where are ya Mate?

I've made $18,000 sales in one crack and made $90 sales in 5 steps and I know which I'd rather.

True story coming up...

At Amazon if you buy a single book for $16.95 you'd pay something like $3.95 for shipping BUT if you bought a second book you'd get shipping free.

Lets just say that amazon were very happy with the results as people were buying a second book just to get the free shipping.

Except in France - In France there was no increase in sales. Why?

Were the French "different" than every other part of the world?

Turns out that the French division of Amazon were offering the second book at a shipping cost of one franc (about 30 cents) - now 30 cents isn't much different than free but it made a huge impact to sales.

When they made the free shipping offer in France they followed suit just like the rest of the world.

When you're selling, you're really selling to human psychology, and human psychology has not changed for at least 50,000 years and it's not likely to change anytime soon.

We're very old machines.

Basic human psychology comes way before the conditioning of a city.

Willa