Cold calling - opinions please?

[MGDigital]

I've been considering cold calling as a possible method of getting some new business.

As a business owner, I receive many cold calls, as I'm sure many of you do. I normally tell the person I'm not interested in whatever they have to offer, but on occasion it has resulted in me becoming a customer.

All too often I see a company website which is not fulfilling its potential, where I think I could really be of use to this business. Despite this I have never contacted anyone out of the blue to offer my services as a web developer.

So- my questions are:

What do you think of cold calling as a method for generating new sales?
Have you done it, and how effective has it been?
What tips and advice can you offer on business-to-business cold calling?

Thanks!
Michael

 

[denmar]

hi i have used cold calling as a method of contact it gets results but its not the magic answer, i think it has its place like any other form of advertising, so i would say use it but monitor the results you get, that way if it turns out to be more hassle than its worth you can drop it in favour of more effective forms of advertising

dennis

 

[zsazsab]

Cold calling is an effective method of generating sales -- I know, coz I work in a company that specializes in that and we have received positive feedback from our clients. We usually combine cold calling with email marketing...it's more effective that way. Before you start cold calling, make sure you have a very good list and by good I mean a list that has recent contact information of your target market.

Let me know if you're interested in learning more about this. Feel free to visit our website http://www.callboxinc.com for more information. =)

 

[Trainer Bubble]

I think B2B cold calling can be effective. For me the most important thing is the approach of the caller. If they remain polite and professional even when they get a knock-back, then I don't think it adversely affects a business. When they are pushy or turn into spiteful people when they talk to someone who is not interested, then it can really be a negative for the company calling. It's all about customer service really.

The thoughts on having an up to date list is also important.

 

[webworxindia]

Cold calling is good for lead generation. We do a lot of cold calling and its effective also.

Do not go by a particular script, keep it flexible, short and sweet as per the clients

 

[Simon-M]

There was a similar discussion in a thread last week where a lot of people would wish a nasty death on the salesman. There will always be two types of response to this but you must let the facts doing the talking. Cold calling can give you a good ROI. It needs to be well targeted though.

Simon

 

[Onehourpa]

I did some cold calling when I first started up in business. It got me a few bits and pieces of work when I needed it and i wasn't even a particularly good cold caller. So I think it's certainly a worthwhile activity. There's no quicker way you can connect with possible clients than actually picking up the phone and speaking to them. Having said that, it's also really hard work and you have to get used to a few knockbacks.

I think you need to be well informed about the business you are calling, ideally to have some contact name of the person you want to speak to and to be persistent if you don't get through the first time. I know cold callers drive some people crazy and I know the feeling myself, there's nothing more irritating than getting a call from someone who seems to hardly know what sort of business they speak to and who just gives you a load of sales bs when you're busy in the middle of your working day. However, I usually have time to speak to informed, thoughtful sales people who cold call me and who are convincing.

Good cold calling is a real skill, and if you can't do it well yourself it may well be worth thinking about finding someone who can do it for you.

 

[UKSEOAgency]

I cant say its not been effective with me - I have probably bought on occasion - however as a general rule of thumb - I find cold callers irritating, pushy and not willing to accept im not interested in there product. This is a very bad perception of the industry - Unfortunately double glazing specialists seam to be the worst

 

[Ashley_Price]

At the end of the day if it didn't work firms wouldn't do it? Why do all the double glazing, will writing, etc., firms cold call (both businesses and individuals) because for the relatively small outlay they don't need to get many customers to make it worthwhile.

In fact cold calling is the way we're heading - well, letter then follow up call.

So many people on here will tell you that they only bought something after they had received a letter then a follow up call.

It does depend to an extent though on what you are selling? If you have a product that can be explained to people in seconds then fine; but if you have a wide range of products/services, then focusing on just one or two would be best.

So, although we can provide a complete virtual office, to explain all our services in a letter or on the phone would become cumbersome and the prospective customer probably would get confused. So for the moment we're just concentrating on the call answering service and then we'll introduce the other services to people once they are clients.

 

[CKG]

At the end of the day if it didn't work firms wouldn't do it? Why do all the double glazing, will writing, etc., firms cold call (both businesses and individuals) because for the relatively small outlay they don't need to get many customers to make it worthwhile.

That's the thing. Most of these firms don't even do it that well and it still works for them.

So logic says if you do it well you will sell even more than they do.

I've just started doing it and it has transformed my business after a couple of years of stagnation.

My Mrs has just started working for a little company that started from nothing last September and grown at an amazing rate on the back of one guy sitting at a desk and putting his business infront of as many people as he can in a day

The bloke that owns the business put it to me like this..

'I got a good sales process on the go and started to average a 5% hit rate on the sale of my services that were worth £200 of profit to me.

For every 20 people I call one person gives me £200. It just then became a numbers game.

Or if you like, every call I make now earns me a tenner.'

When put like that it seems daft not to do it.

 

[faststaff]

We use it extensively. I do a bit, and I have a girl comes in one or two days a week. A previous poster said that if you remain professional at all times you'd be OK, and I agree with this.

I think in this country we are still inclined to think or 'merchants', 'profit' and 'selling' as a little bit vulgar. It's strange because people "aspire" to business ownership so much. Everyone wants to do it, but yet we are still a little bit afraid of selling our services.

I would not want to rely on just telesales. Likewise, I would not wish to rely on just Leafletting, Referrals, Directory Advertising, PPC, SEO, Trade Adverts, Networking, or any of the other ways we try to generate business.

Rich

 

[MGDigital]

Thanks for all your input guys.

Well you've convinced me, and I'm going to give it a go. I'm starting off by targeting a specific industry in my geographical area.

I've compiled a list of 10 prospects who I think look promising- not much I know but it's a start. I'll let you know how I get on when I've spoken to them all...

Michael

 

[fuzzygoat]

I once received a call from a trade magazine pitching advertising space.
Following a brief hello the woman went into her sales spiel barely pausing for breath.
After a few attempts to butt in and say I wasn't interested, I zoned out and just waited for her to stop talking.
When she finally did she was rather irritated to find out that we weren't in fact a pool company in hertfordshire and she had just wasted 20mins of her day hard selling to the wrong number.
It made me smile, I use cold calling myself, but I don't have a script, I keep it informal and friendly and always make sure I'm talking to the right person.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Not having a script is a good idea, but you need to at least have it in your mind the points you want to make and the possible responses. There's nothing worse that getting asked a relatively simple question and your mind suddenly goes blank.

Make sure you have all your prices and other info to hand so if they do asked a question you weren't expecting you're not left floundering.

 

[Hogrill]

Im just starting to do some myself along with other marketing activities and will monitor which gives the best returns.

If like me its not something you particulary enjoy maybe consider setting an amount to do each day. Ive decided on 5 per day to start with, but these have to be calls where I actually get to speak to someone about what im offering.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Good ideal Hogrill, like you I don't really enjoy doing the cold calls. But think, if you do just five a day that's 25 a week, it soon adds up.

But then I came up with a motivational saying that works for me "The shark has to go to the fish, the fish won't come to the shark!"

 

[Hogrill]

But then I came up with a motivational saying that works for me "The shark has to go to the fish, the fish won't come to the shark!"

Another one I believe relevant is "slowly, slowly, catchy monkey"

 

[CKG]

One thing i'd advise any one thinking about having a dabble in cold calling to to have some sort of basic CRM system in place.

That way you can track all contacts you make, set call back reminders and have an up to date view of your business 'pipeline' as they call it and run various reports on your results.

There's a few free entry level versions of the popular CRM systems available if you look.

 

done well it can be very successful. One thing you may want to think about is that sometimes its not the fault of the telemarketing agency but the lack of quality USP's from the client, if you can't say what makes you different to the millions of other "web designers" in your market place how is anyone else. Dont justpickup the phone and tell people your a web designer, tel them how what you do will make a difference.

At the end of the day telemarketing will be as successful as the amount of time and effort you put it.

 

[FreelanceSEO]

Just to echo other comments. Telesales done well is a very powerful sales method. Done badly and it won't produce results. The key in my opinion is to research your prospects first and find out how you can add value to their business.

Also you will probably find networking useful in your line of work - granted I'm a bit bias though

 

[ken_uk]

At the end of the day if it didnt work, companies would not be doing it.

At the end of the day if criminals didnt make money from crime, they would not be doing it.

At the end of the day, just because something may work does not mean its the right thing to do.

Its your call, your conscience, your business reputation, but its also your bank balance, so its something only you can answer really.

 

[Ashley_Price]

At the end of the day if it didnt work, companies would not be doing it.

At the end of the day if criminals didnt make money from crime, they would not be doing it.

At the end of the day, just because something may work does not mean its the right thing to do.

Its your call, your conscience, your business reputation, but its also your bank balance, so its something only you can answer really.

I really don't understand the point of this post, you appear to compare cold calling to criminal activity.

Cold calling is a perfect legitimate way of marketing a business - I should think cold calling has been around as long as there has been telephones.

Tell me what marketing activity isn't a conscious call - because at some point, if you think about it, all marketing is going to annoy someone.

As for your remark about it's "your bank balance", cold calling is one of the cheapest forms. Say you ring 1000 people and get 980 saying "not interested", yet you also get 20 who say "yes". Depending on the cost of your product/service, those 20 could easily pay for the outlay of the calls.

Let's assume you are on BT's basic tariff, which is 4p minimum call charge then you are going to pay a minimum of £40.00 to get 980 "not interested" and 20 new customers. Sending 1000 letters 2nd class costs £270.00!

(Why did I say 980 "not interested" and 20 "yes"? Because conventional wisdom says you can expect a 2% positive response rate from direct marketing/cold calling.)

Cold calling is a numbers game, you are going to get a whole lot more "not interested" compared to "yes, please", but the money the new customers spend should pay the cost of the cold calling several times over.

 

[FreelanceSEO]

I really don't understand the point of this post, you appear to compare cold calling to criminal activity.

Cold calling is a perfect legitimate way of marketing a business - I should think cold calling has been around as long as there has been telephones.

Tell me what marketing activity isn't a conscious call - because at some point, if you think about it, all marketing is going to annoy someone.

As for your remark about it's "your bank balance", cold calling is one of the cheapest forms. Say you ring 1000 people and get 980 saying "not interested", yet you also get 20 who say "yes". Depending on the cost of your product/service, those 20 could easily pay for the outlay of the calls.

Let's assume you are on BT's basic tariff, which is 4p minimum call charge then you are going to pay a minimum of £40.00 to get 980 "not interested" and 20 new customers. Sending 1000 letters 2nd class costs £270.00!

(Why did I say 980 "not interested" and 20 "yes"? Because conventional wisdom says you can expect a 2% positive response rate from direct marketing/cold calling.)

Cold calling is a numbers game, you are going to get a whole lot more "not interested" compared to "yes, please", but the money the new customers spend should pay the cost of the cold calling several times over.

Agreed, there is nothing wrong with targetted telemarketing.

 

[Simon-M]

At the end of the day if it didnt work, companies would not be doing it.

At the end of the day if criminals didnt make money from crime, they would not be doing it.

At the end of the day, just because something may work does not mean its the right thing to do.

Its your call, your conscience, your business reputation, but its also your bank balance, so its something only you can answer really.

Come on chaps, let's just put Ken in the "Not Interested" pile and move on to the next call

 

[Chris Kaday]

What do you think of cold calling as a method for generating new sales?
Great - quickest way to a business to business sale

Have you done it?
Yes since I was 19 - cold on the phone and knocking on business doors on industrial estates too. I also built a multi million pound business doing it on the phone for major corporations too. My b2b clients also do it successfully - with my support.

How effective has it been?
Very! Made outrageous income in my early sales career of 5 years on the road. Built my business doing it - cold calling, referrals and seminar speaking (all direct engagement) were our only new business sources - never advertised, did no PR, was in no directories and did not even have a brochure.

What tips and advice can you offer on business-to-business cold calling?
Best tip is to just do it and lots of it - and you will get better and better at it - will be second nature. Your whole presence and ability to articulate your proposition will improve too. Fearlessness is a great assett for building a business. You will learn a lot about how best to adjust your proposition too. I am happy to coach you for free if you want to get started.
Chris Kaday
Business coach and mentor

 

[virtual public]

The success of cold calling lies in 3 factors
1.Indentifing target
2.Service mapping
3.Delivery
-you must have done market research to identify who your prospects are ,do mapping on how your product or service benefits them and sharpen the skillsets of the telesales sales person.
Therefore much preliminary efforts are needed for effective cold calling.

 

[Wild Goose]

I'm up to my eyes in tax returns and don't appreciate the sales calls in January. Even though I know better than to do this, I take the quick way out and say call me back in February when I'm not busy. Being passive and listening isn't an option. Being aggressive has its drawbacks, especially as some of the calls such as free Yell and one or two software suppliers could be important to me. So I take the easy way out and postpone discussions.

I don't think I'm alone in having only two strings to my bow: passive and aggressive responses to cold-calling. I'm assertive when dealing with people face to face, and in most business situations, but have a weak spot on cold-callers. So why don't some of you poachers turn gamekeeper and offer coaching / courses for us telephone unassertives who are easy meat to a seasoned cold-caller with a good script? Would something online work? How to deal with cold-callers in less than a minute and feel good about it afterwards.

 

[telemax]

Cold calling works wonders for gaining business. It's an incredibly quick way of finding out if someone isn't interested. I believe that if someone tells me they are not interested they doing me a big favour. I can simply move on to the next prospect.

It's also a very inexpensive way of marketing effectively, simply the cost of a phone call. Very important in this business climate.

 

[KM Trainer]

I have built my career on telemarketing and indeed I have gained all my clients via cold calling and networking. I never pay to advertise. I also train my clients to do it themselves if they wish. Ethical, professional, targeted business to business telemarketing is proven to offer an exceptional ROI. Its the only form of direct marketing that allows you to communicate directly with key decision makers.

 

[An Oasis]

I don't have a problem with cold calling apart from the fact that 99.99% of calls...

1. have no real idea of what my businesses do
2 the person on the other end of the phone doesn't get how their product could benefit my companies, i.e. they can only see their POV
3. THEY DON'T LISTEN and then try to sell their information, I even give them pointers...
4. don't have expertise in my fields, which is the kiss of bloody death

I could go on but I think you get the drift.

That sounds like I'm being negative. I bloody well am, target and research folks and then get in front of someone who actually wants to talk business. The flippant easy come easy go approach is dead.

 

[Chris Kaday]

Well done chum!
Chris Kaday
Business coach and mentor

I have built my career on telemarketing and indeed I have gained all my clients via cold calling and networking. I never pay to advertise. I also train my clients to do it themselves if they wish. Ethical, professional, targeted business to business telemarketing is proven to offer an exceptional ROI. Its the only form of direct marketing that allows you to communicate directly with key decision makers.

 

[steve67]

Hi , i run my own telemarketing company and i believe that cold calling is a very useful tool for getting your company or product noticed. I have always used a friendly , professional ' soft sell ' approach to any campaign , as i believe if a client has said no to you a dozen times then there really is no interest there ! Too many telemarketing companys concentrate on booking time wasters or half chancers , wasting both your time and theirs, so i would say if you are thinking of employing a cold caller / telemarketing company, then find out their approach to calling...to me , hard selling and too many questions just give us telemarketers a bad name, so concentrate on quality rather than quantity !
Thank you ,Steve larnder
The Appointment Makers
0117 9553863

 

[Ashley_Price]

Welcome to UKBF, Steve and that is very good advice.

 

[nigel woods]

I've been considering cold calling as a possible method of getting some new business.

As a business owner, I receive many cold calls, as I'm sure many of you do. I normally tell the person I'm not interested in whatever they have to offer, but on occasion it has resulted in me becoming a customer.

All too often I see a company website which is not fulfilling its potential, where I think I could really be of use to this business. Despite this I have never contacted anyone out of the blue to offer my services as a web developer.

So- my questions are:

What do you think of cold calling as a method for generating new sales?
Have you done it, and how effective has it been?
What tips and advice can you offer on business-to-business cold calling?

Thanks!
Michael

Yes, as a telemarketing business owner I can tell you that cold calling does work in your market. However, I would strongly suggest that you use a considered approach. Ideally, go in to a specific market segment with which you hjave experience (and success) with an issue that you know that you can solve for that segment. If you talk knowledgably and coherently then people will listen. Over time you should build up your database with people who you can categorise with their probability to buy, when they are likely to buy and what they are likely to be interested in. You can market to them appropriately if you cant get them on the first call. This is called tele-nurturing and I believe that you need a combination of telemarketing and telenurturing in this economic environment. Good luck and let me know if I can help.

 

[Chris Kaday]

Although I had a 200 seat outbound call centre in my marketing business I would strongly advise you take your courage in both hands and do it first yourself, before involving third parties. That way you have firsthand knowledge of delivering your proposition to your audience before you try to scale up by using others. It is far easier to brief agencies from your own success. You will also have to call on the back on their leads and pick up on prospects once they have finished unless it is a 52 week programme so good to get comfortable with this type of engagement anyway.
Chris Kaday
Business coach and mentor

 

[Ashley_Price]

Slightly different question here, but still on cold calling.

What is your opinion on cold calling/following up to mobiles?

I guess as more people use a mobile for their business number it will become less intrusive, but while I don't like to phone a landline for a cold call/follow-up, I really don't think it's a good idea (yet) to do the same to a mobile. Amazingly enough I've seen trades people stop what they're doing to answer the mobile (even if they're up a ladder replacing guttering), and I'd hate to think that I'm disturbing them - or worse putting them in a dangerous situation. Yes, I know it's they're own fault for answering, but still...

Or am I being too negative?

 

[maxine]

Yes, as a telemarketing business owner I can tell you that cold calling does work in your market. However, I would strongly suggest that you use a considered approach. Ideally, go in to a specific market segment with which you hjave experience (and success) with an issue that you know that you can solve for that segment. If you talk knowledgably and coherently then people will listen. Over time you should build up your database with people who you can categorise with their probability to buy, when they are likely to buy and what they are likely to be interested in. You can market to them appropriately if you cant get them on the first call. This is called tele-nurturing and I believe that you need a combination of telemarketing and telenurturing in this economic environment. Good luck and let me know if I can help.

I would also take this approach. If you are going to do yourself then I would start with the following

* Prospect to people in your own geographical area as people generally prefer local suppliers

* Or, prospect to areas where you have already done work (gives a head start)

* Make the most of your existing portfolio. If you have done some great work for say solicitors or accountants, then contact other solicitors and accountants showing them relevant examples

* Do your homework on SEO and be prepared to talk about why such-and-such competitor of your prospect is ranking more highly than your prospect. Explain in real terms what you can do for them and what benefits they are likely to get as a result of this.

* Be prepared to follow up by email with something specific, relevant and attractive to that prospect in particular. Show that you have listened and that you are the best company for them to work with.

* Be organised and follow up when you say you will. CKG mentioned using a CRM system and I think this is a top tip as otherwise you will come across unprofessional if you cannot remember stuff about their organisation or what they have told you already

Good luck

 

[maxine]

So why don't some of you poachers turn gamekeeper and offer coaching / courses for us telephone unassertives who are easy meat to a seasoned cold-caller with a good script? Would something online work? How to deal with cold-callers in less than a minute and feel good about it afterwards.

What sort of thing do you mean?

 

[Chris Kaday]

In a word YES - bless

Or am I being too negative?

Chris Kaday
Business coahc and mentor

 

[adam]

I guess as more people use a mobile for their business number it will become less intrusive, but while I don't like to phone a landline for a cold call/follow-up, I really don't think it's a good idea (yet) to do the same to a mobile....

Or am I being too negative?

I think you are. I might have peopel that could answer the phone but I like to handle new customer calls myself and will often divert the office number to me so a sales call badly handles is even worse when I am paying the divert.

If your number is withheld and I am busy it waits. If your number is displayed I will try and answer you.