cold calling...does it work for you??

[cash_is_king]

does anyone do cold calling still? or is the preference SEO and adwords so people contact you instead?
I know cold calling requires some balls (lets be honest) so is that the reason we go for more indirect easier approaches? thoughts welcomed

 

[Multi-store]

Depends of what your selling, but generally speaking yes it does work.

Many people on here will tell you it works, many will tell you they hate it. Just search "cold call" on the forum and you;ll find many talks about this.

What are you selling?

 

[ITsoldUK]

Cold calling doesn't work for us no.

Tele-marketing does though...

 

[businessfunding]

Cold calling works.

One of the reasons it works is that so many people 'opt out' and go for soft options leaving the door open for good, professional callers.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Cold call, but warm the leads up first, i.e target your lists and if you can somehow shotgun to get an 'interested' list first then all the better.

This is a generic reply of course, there are some instances where cold calling is frowned on, however if you want information, then pick up the phone and get it.

 

[ITsoldUK]

Cold call, but warm the leads up first, i.e target your lists and if you can somehow shotgun to get an 'interested' list first then all the better.

This is a generic reply of course, there are some instances where cold calling is frowned on, however if you want information, then pick up the phone and get it.

Thus it no longer is cold calling grasshopper...it is tele-marketing

Well, to me it is anyways.

 

[patientlady]

I would be out of business if I didn't cold call! However some might call it warmed cold calling as above
I cold call from purchased (life style) data leads
B2C by telephone, never door knocking
B2B by door knocking, generally
I have never used email, fax, seo, but have in the past used mail shot successfully...

If the law changed and cold calling was outlawed I would be unemployed...

 

[silliker]

I think no one's using it now.

 

[garyk]

I think no one's using it now.

Based on what information??? :|

As others have said it is still effective. I have always found it effective whether its calling from a purchased list or even completely cold.

It's a numbers game and you can make alot of calls in a short time.

Gary

 

[Multi-store]

I think no one's using it now.

Wish that was true, it would make it a lot easier for me if that was the case....

 

[maxine]

Of course B2B cold calling works ... ice cold, warm, semi cold.. there's a range of different approaches that can be taken depending on what your product or service is and who your audiences are.

However, getting a good balance of return on investment and finding the best balance of money versus results can be the tricky part of the project.

There's various pricing structures ... retainers, fixed rates, pay per lead, pay per appointment, low fixed rates plus bonus, guaranteed retainers (off the top of my head)

Some work well on their own, others work better with a combination of email and phone.

But it really isn't for every industry and product as some are just too costly versus the results and the profit margin within certain products or services just doesn't bear the cost to acquire each lead.

Sometimes therefore it may be just one part of your product/service offering that is worth promoting via telemarketing (rather than lower margin products).

It always seems a bit odd to compare telemarketing with SEO but what I will say is that sometimes telemarketing can bring in instant profit that can then be reinvested into ongoing SEO work.

Oh and if I had a pound for every SEO company that wants telemarketing to introduce and sell their services I would be very rich

 

[Nino11]

I hate cold-calling ... I hate it so much that i've dropped it.

But there are waaay beter methods instead of cold calling, which is not only exhausting but also a very bad way to spend your time! Really.

You can make a video that describes your product and how it helps the potential client and then burn it to 100 cds... then go and spread them among potential clients. Or you can mail them!

 

[prjbicell]

Cold calling (whilst not everbody's cup of tea) is alive and well. Without it we would never be able to reach those that do not have access to a pc and able to give a quick doorstep presentation to benefit the householder.

I personally hate it but I have members of my teams that just love getting out there and calling on complete strangers, making our services known and knowing that they have helped somebody in the community and also getting paid to do so.

Yes, we do get the door shut in our face often. Some are polite and some are just downright ignorant and sad excuses for humans. But that is the nature of the beast. And when I do find a good doorknocker who has a skin like a rhino and a permanent smile then they are just as treasured as any salesman

 

[CallboxInc]

Yes, it still works. The reason for this is because of its ability to be able to reach prospects and get immediate response. Best if you pair cold calling and email marketing.

 

[Richard BF]

As what PJ said above its well and truely alive !

I think it depends whole heartedly on the approach of which you take for a success/pleasant refusal .


I for one cant get enough of cold calling (houses) when the weathers decent as you just cant beat getting out and about no day is ever the same !


Rich

 

[Tim Jones]

It can work - but it needs careful planning.

You need the right person, delivering the right pitch, to the right person.

There needs to be a product or service that people want to buy, with the right proposition, it must be realistic and it needs to be followed up in the right manner.

All these elements need to be considered - we had such an awful enquiry yesterday where the client just wanted a "price" for such a poor proposition - but had no patience to consider each of these points, and we know she will fail until she does.

I love Maxine's comment on SEO companies using telemarketing to sell their services - says it all!

Tim Jones
24 I.S. Limited

 

[AlexanderR]

Law of averages state that cold-calling (on the phone) should bring you 1 interested person out of every 100 you speak to.

I love cold calling, but I don't ever go straight for the jugular, I tend to get chatty with the people on the other end first, thus making things easier.

However, face to face is much more efficient, law of averages states 1 interested person out of 10 you speak to, and that has been how I work for some time now. It's no where near as fun as cold calling, and in the winter it's a brutal way to work, but it is more efficient, and can be great on a summers day.

Comparing this to common adverts, where the law of averages requires a 4 (sometimes 5) figure number before you find 1 interested person, you can see why so many companies and freelance agents spend their time down this road.

So yes, cold calling works for me, and thousands of other companies across the world. And as long as companies stick to DSA regulations, there is nothing to worry about.

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

I hate cold-calling ... I hate it so much that i've dropped it.

But there are waaay beter methods instead of cold calling, which is not only exhausting but also a very bad way to spend your time! Really.

You can make a video that describes your product and how it helps the potential client and then burn it to 100 cds... then go and spread them among potential clients. Or you can mail them!

What's your conversion rate on the 100?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

For these face to face meetings do you appointment set or drop in?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[AlexanderR]

The conversion rate on video's would be interesting to know. For the face to face I drop in, not sure how to get an appointment without contacting them first. Also an appointment wouldn't be a cold call, since the prospect is going to know why your meeting them, and probably have a little background on you too.