J
jncc
- Original Poster
- #1
Hello. Recently I have been doing a lot of, what do we call it, cold-visiting? Going into offices in person and looking to start a sale. I have taken an approach that is getting a good response from the people I speak to. I haven't sold anything yet... but a number of them have expressed interest in our service and time will tell if they will use us or not. 8/10 take quite a liking to me, either way, and it's all good PR.
Basically I take a joking and friendly approach. I saw someone suggest a similar way to do cold telephone calling.
A typical entry goes like this, adjusted depending on the age and gender of the person I'm talking to:
*enter the shop/office*
me: Hello there
.. How are you?
them: Fine thanks
me: I'm afraid this is an unsolicited marketing call/visit.. (or some other way of saying the same thing)... have you got a moment?
them: ooo I don't know go on then...
me: here, I'll give you my card before you change your mind then... (chortle chortle)
Well, my name's _ _ _ and I'm from _ _ _.... blah blah blah.
Be concise. Tell them a few lines about what you do and then ask them a question like "I wonder, how much do you spend on your phone package per month?"... "Where do currently get your IT support from?" etc etc.
Then let them tell you. Wait until they've completely finished talking. Then comment on what they just told you, ask for clarification of a point if you need to. I haven't really done it yet, but you could also ask them about why they use their current supplier, if there are a lot of options open to them.
If it sounds like they're someone who could use your products or services then just say something like:
"I see. Well, we'd like to put ourselves forward as an alternative here - shall I tell you what we could do for you?"
No one will say "no" here, so then go ahead and tell them a bit more, prices are good, be straight-forward. Tell them the benefits, how it helps them. Obvious stuff, I guess. If they like the sound of it, keep going. At some point, suggest that you take their e-mail address for you to send through some info. I guess you could also try to arrange the next "meeting", likely by telephone, but I don't feel comfortable doing that really.
Then at the end you can say something like "Did you have any particular questions while I'm here?", they might well have, or if not just affirm that you'll send them the info.
Smiles all round, thank them for their time, "have a good day!", and off you go.
I think the key point, though, is making them really warm to you by making the joke before they do - you're a low-life marketing drone here to bother and pressure them while they're trying to work - so just get that out right away. With some particularly happy people you can take it further, like when they give you the go ahead to talk, you could say "ok, I'm not standing on a trap-door here though am I?"
Judge who you're talking to. I am a "young" man, so I approach people with that in mind. Other men my age I can be quite friendly with, almost banterous. With older men, I try to be more formal, slower-paced and deferrent - acknowledging them as my senior. With women I try to be a bit charming, you know.
Each visit will be different. Some things to look out for.
If the person you're speaking to is clearly not the decision maker, then they can still be useful. They can likely still tell you a lot about how the company currently does things, which you will need to know in order to pitch to them later on. If you can win them over personally, then that's also good, especially in smaller companies, because they're then more likely to mention you to their boss.
In any case, find out from them who it is who deals with your kind of thing. E.g. "...is there anyone in particular I could speak to about this?"
Don't ask for a phone number or email address, just ask if you can speak to them - the reason being that then they might well call that person down for you there and then, and you get to speak with them at once. If not, ask if there would be a good time to come back and see them, and if not that even, then you still get the number or email address in the end. Basically it allows you in some cases to skip the difficulty of getting a meeting with the decision maker by grabbing it right away, or arranging it at once. Even if it's done informally, go back at that time and say you've come to see them.
Ok, so I repeat that I haven't actually got any clients with this approach yet, haha... but all I'm saying is that I get a really good vibe from the people I talk to, and they seem interested in what I have to say. This is contrasted with the icy, awkward situation that can arise when doing this kind of work. It also makes it fun.
I do have to step round the corner sometimes, relax my face, take a breath and then reset my smile... It's alright though, no stress.
Let me know what you all think. Has this approach worked for you? What do you sell, and to whom?
Basically I take a joking and friendly approach. I saw someone suggest a similar way to do cold telephone calling.
A typical entry goes like this, adjusted depending on the age and gender of the person I'm talking to:
*enter the shop/office*
me: Hello there
.. How are you?them: Fine thanks
me: I'm afraid this is an unsolicited marketing call/visit..
(or some other way of saying the same thing)... have you got a moment?them: ooo I don't know
go on then...me: here, I'll give you my card before you change your mind then... (chortle chortle)
Well, my name's _ _ _ and I'm from _ _ _.... blah blah blah.
Be concise. Tell them a few lines about what you do and then ask them a question like "I wonder, how much do you spend on your phone package per month?"... "Where do currently get your IT support from?" etc etc.
Then let them tell you. Wait until they've completely finished talking. Then comment on what they just told you, ask for clarification of a point if you need to. I haven't really done it yet, but you could also ask them about why they use their current supplier, if there are a lot of options open to them.
If it sounds like they're someone who could use your products or services then just say something like:
"I see. Well, we'd like to put ourselves forward as an alternative here - shall I tell you what we could do for you?"
No one will say "no" here, so then go ahead and tell them a bit more, prices are good, be straight-forward. Tell them the benefits, how it helps them. Obvious stuff, I guess. If they like the sound of it, keep going. At some point, suggest that you take their e-mail address for you to send through some info. I guess you could also try to arrange the next "meeting", likely by telephone, but I don't feel comfortable doing that really.
Then at the end you can say something like "Did you have any particular questions while I'm here?", they might well have, or if not just affirm that you'll send them the info.
Smiles all round, thank them for their time, "have a good day!", and off you go.
I think the key point, though, is making them really warm to you by making the joke before they do - you're a low-life marketing drone here to bother and pressure them while they're trying to work - so just get that out right away. With some particularly happy people you can take it further, like when they give you the go ahead to talk, you could say "ok, I'm not standing on a trap-door here though am I?"
Judge who you're talking to. I am a "young" man, so I approach people with that in mind. Other men my age I can be quite friendly with, almost banterous. With older men, I try to be more formal, slower-paced and deferrent - acknowledging them as my senior. With women I try to be a bit charming, you know.
Each visit will be different. Some things to look out for.
If the person you're speaking to is clearly not the decision maker, then they can still be useful. They can likely still tell you a lot about how the company currently does things, which you will need to know in order to pitch to them later on. If you can win them over personally, then that's also good, especially in smaller companies, because they're then more likely to mention you to their boss.
In any case, find out from them who it is who deals with your kind of thing. E.g. "...is there anyone in particular I could speak to about this?"
Don't ask for a phone number or email address, just ask if you can speak to them - the reason being that then they might well call that person down for you there and then, and you get to speak with them at once. If not, ask if there would be a good time to come back and see them, and if not that even, then you still get the number or email address in the end. Basically it allows you in some cases to skip the difficulty of getting a meeting with the decision maker by grabbing it right away, or arranging it at once. Even if it's done informally, go back at that time and say you've come to see them.
Ok, so I repeat that I haven't actually got any clients with this approach yet, haha... but all I'm saying is that I get a really good vibe from the people I talk to, and they seem interested in what I have to say. This is contrasted with the icy, awkward situation that can arise when doing this kind of work. It also makes it fun.
I do have to step round the corner sometimes, relax my face, take a breath and then reset my smile... It's alright though, no stress.
Let me know what you all think. Has this approach worked for you? What do you sell, and to whom?
