Cold Calling - For Creating Appointments Or Sales?

[Working First Aid]

Evening all,

I am about to embark on the joyous path of cold/warm calling B2B leads.

I have my list, freshly acquired from a reputable dealer, and will be researching each lead as best I can prior to calling (website, LinkedIn etc) to try and build the call around them as much as possible.

I have read numerous guides, blogs and tomes but nothing has actually pointed me towards what I should actually be trying to achieve with my call.

Should I be aiming to book an appointment or actually making a sale?

I guess I am right in thinking that an appointment is both easier to achieve and also likely to increase the total conversion chances, but on the other side it takes up valuable time that is already scarce. If the services I was selling were worth in the £10ks region then I would absolutely look to appointments, but we're talking far, far less than that.

So, basically I'm seeking a little advice from those who tread this rugged course of marketing action on a daily basis. What would you aim for, and why?

Many thanks in advance,

Shaun

 

[Deleted member 138423]

Ok, if we're to assist, it may help us if you answer the following;

Who buys your goods?
What are your goods?
How much are your goods?
Who typically makes the decision to buy?
Is it a one action process or more?
Do you know why potential customers should buy your goods?
What do you want to achieve from the call?
What does your list of potential customers tell you about them?

 

[telemax]

How much is the service worth? Can it justify you going on an appointment?

 

[geester]

It depends on the product/service and who you are selling too. Pointless trying to sell to the cleaner, unless you're selling cleaning products...

 

[businessfunding]

The answer will depend, in part, on how warm the prospect is.

I assume you are selling First Aid training? Is this something they will be familiar with? What are you offering? Is there an incentive to buy now?

In addition to the value of the deal, you need to take into account the overall value of the client (including referal potential) - over-selling can be disastrous unless you are 'hit & run' selling.

As a reluctant telesales person (which the title suggests you are) I would aim for 3 step objectives on each call - again, those steps will depend on what your starting point is.

If things are flowing, keep going but don't try to force the sale if there is opportunity for future development

Above all, create an ongoing sales process, don't just rely on one-off calls. The second call is warmer than the first!

 

[Working First Aid]

Thanks for the replies.

The services I am selling start at £500 for a single order then rise depending on the amount of staff that need training/type of training.

Kickstartbtm you've really helped put things in perspective. I especially like the 3 objectives idea, I'll definitely use it.

I've always been more than happy to meet clients for appointments for the larger contracts (who wouldn't be) but it felt that for the minimum price ones it's taking me away from other things I should be doing in the office.

That said, the point about referrals and future orders is again entirely valid.

I think after reflection appointments are a lot more useful than I was giving them credit for. I was tasked focused towards just making the sale.

Time for a change of strategy methinks!

Thanks again...

 

[RufusC]

Thanks for the replies.

The services I am selling start at £500 for a single order then rise depending on the amount of staff that need training/type of training.

Kickstartbtm you've really helped put things in perspective. I especially like the 3 objectives idea, I'll definitely use it.

I've always been more than happy to meet clients for appointments for the larger contracts (who wouldn't be) but it felt that for the minimum price ones it's taking me away from other things I should be doing in the office.

That said, the point about referrals and future orders is again entirely valid.

I think after reflection appointments are a lot more useful than I was giving them credit for. I was tasked focused towards just making the sale.

Time for a change of strategy methinks!

Thanks again...

Hi Shaun,

I've kept an eye on this thread - if you are looking to spend more time selling there might be great value for yourself in outsourcing your appointment setting.

We offer a very flexible appointment setting service and have a great track record for getting results.

If you want a chat, or just some advice, PM me and we can arrange a call.

-Matt

 

[altwebdesign]

You could try offering them something of value such as an information pack you can email/post to them?

Engage with them, listen and let them know how your product meets there needs.

It's something like 3% of people who are ready to buy immediatly, so if might take a few more calls/appointments/follow ups with each lead before you get anywhere

 

[telemarketer]

Question is how much is the cost of your training? If it is not much then go for direct sell otherwise make an appointment one more thing If you think listener is interested but not taking decision make an appoint with him and clear his mind and convenience him.

 

[pacificdata]

Hi,

I guess "appointment vs cold to sold" on the phone depends on the return on its investment. If a client is going to spend £££££kkk over their lifetime and may need ongoing account management a face to face can work well.

That said I have seen tele-only sales, and face to face both work successfully. It is very subjective to product, value of product, and what your consumer would 'want'.

We only sell face to face. But we have a small tele team supporting existing clients with add-ons, and occasionally will set appointments for a face to face person.

 

[altwebdesign]

Hey shaun - Hows your cold calling going so far?

 

[Multi-store]

Thanks for the replies.

The services I am selling start at £500 for a single order then rise depending on the amount of staff that need training/type of training.

Kickstartbtm you've really helped put things in perspective. I especially like the 3 objectives idea, I'll definitely use it.

I've always been more than happy to meet clients for appointments for the larger contracts (who wouldn't be) but it felt that for the minimum price ones it's taking me away from other things I should be doing in the office.

That said, the point about referrals and future orders is again entirely valid.

I think after reflection appointments are a lot more useful than I was giving them credit for. I was tasked focused towards just making the sale.

Time for a change of strategy methinks!

Thanks again...

In my experience, £500 + sales cannot be achieved purely over the phone, you really need to aim to set appointments. I'd be sending some kind of cheap to produce literature a week before, follow up with phone call, follow up with meeting, sale.

You should set objectives on every call, they could be

1) who is the decision maker?
2) how can i contact the above person?
3) do they have an email address?

You get the point..... Tip from me would be to ask as much as you can on that initial call, you really need to evaluate if you will ever get the sale from them, better to do this in one call than in 3,4 or even 5 times before you realise Mr Buyer is NOT going to take your call.

 

[joeptsearle]

With cold calling it is always best to build rapport before anything else. If you can build a bit of trust before you talk about your product your setting yourself up to win later. Ask questions and when youve established that they need the product, find out why, that will give you a hot button to press later.

 

[telemarketer]

With cold calling it is always best to build rapport before anything else. If you can build a bit of trust before you talk about your product your setting yourself up to win later. Ask questions and when youve established that they need the product, find out why, that will give you a hot button to press later.

Question is how to build trust when people have no time to listen your call? how can you build trust without having any conversation?

 

[businessfunding]

Question is how to build trust when people have no time to listen your call? how can you build trust without having any conversation?

If you replace the word 'conversation' with 'engagement' there will be a wider range of answers!

 

[Working First Aid]

Hey shaun - Hows your cold calling going so far?

Hi, thanks for asking.

I've taken on board some of the excellent advise offered out here and have decided to work on converting my cold leads to warm leads prior to calling.

To that end I have created a small marketing plan (on top of my existing strat) based purely on promoting my company with potential clients prior to making phone contact.

Fingers crossed it works. Even if it doesn't prove successful, at least it will make calling a little easier for me (I can happily attend numerous unpleasant scenes as a paramedic without batting an eyelid, but the idea of picking up the phone to make a cold call fills me with soul twisting dread!)

Thanks once again,

Shaun

 

[altwebdesign]

Hi, thanks for asking.

I've taken on board some of the excellent advise offered out here and have decided to work on converting my cold leads to warm leads prior to calling.

To that end I have created a small marketing plan (on top of my existing strat) based purely on promoting my company with potential clients prior to making phone contact.

Fingers crossed it works. Even if it doesn't prove successful, at least it will make calling a little easier for me (I can happily attend numerous unpleasant scenes as a paramedic without batting an eyelid, but the idea of picking up the phone to make a cold call fills me with soul twisting dread!)

Thanks once again,

Shaun

Excellent - keep us updated with how it progresses for you.

 

[Karllacey]

First time I have picked up this thread and one thing no one has picked up on is your mind set with regards to telesales.

This is completely the wrong way to go about it, you have come across as being defeatist before even picking up the telephone and as direct result, you will be slamming your head against a brick wall - I guarantee it.

I have seen so many telesales over the years doing this, not to mention afterwards they blame everything but themselves.

Telesales is a skill which takes a long long time to develop before you come anywhere near close to perfection, which is why I pass things I am lukewarm at to other people like marketing, proof reading, legal work and such.

This is not a sales pitch mind you, yes I am a telesales person myself but tend to deal with the larger value, or long term sustainable projects/relationships.

 

[KasyaSz]

As you are embarking on cold calling you might want to get familiar with key qualities of successful telemarketers:
hxxp://blog.greatgunsmarketing.com/2013/08/19/what-defines-a-successful-telemarketer/

 

[beasty]

SALES

Saying things over 500gbp do not get sold over the phone is total rubbish

 

[Karllacey]

It is rubbish thats why I have sold things up to the value of £125,000 over the telephone as a one off sale.

 

[Ashley_Price]

To save starting yet another cold calling thread, I'm adding to this one (and it would be great to hear how the OP got on).

I've tried numerous times to do cold/follow-up calling, all I end up doing is feeling physically sick & very stressed even before I've made the first call. Don't tell me that it gets easier the more you do it - it doesn't (at least not for me) - the third call is just as, if not more, painful that the first.

So, to the point of my post: Is it acceptable to use another firm to do the follow up calls? My plan is, as follows:

Week 1: Send a letter
Week 2: Send an email
Week 3: Follow-up call (by third party firm) to try & get phone appointments
Week 4: Call the appointments

But, if a third party is doing the calls for us, and they get a "live one" who is interested in knowing more info there and then, is it acceptable for the firm to get a message to me to call the prospective client immediately, or will it put them off that someone has called who doesn't have all the info? (No matter how much you give the third party, there will always be a question they can't answer.)

I guess my cold calling fear goes back to when we did call answering and how we felt when we had cold callers - also I know that personally I would never use anyone that contacted us out of the blue. Yet, I can quite happily talk to people face-to-face or on the phone if they're interested. (I feel I could be a fantastic salesman, if it wasn't for the cold-calling bit.)

 

[businessfunding]

Hi Ashley

You've hit the nail on the head in that you don't really believe in what you are doing - that is the biggest single barrier.

I see nothing wrong in the approach you have suggested other than the fact that an external agency will never fully share your passion or belief in what you offer

The steps mentioned will help to warm the call, as will clear and precise targeting and concise benefits / USP.

The warmer the call the easier it is

Incidentally, I don't know what sort of numbers you are talking about, but I do relatively small-batch calling & I try to find an image of the recipient (linkedIn or even Facebook) - which helps a lot to humanise the process

 

[Ashley_Price]

Thanks for the reply.

I guess I just have to "bite the bullet" and get on with it.

 

[beasty]

Even porn stars use fluffers

 

[hypertech]

Hi

Being in UK Marketing and Selling activities through my call center , setting appointment is as much easier as customer change their mind after gain their interest in the cold/warm call ,,,, so the golden quote of " Hit the rid while its Hot" might shed you light into strategy u may follow ,

 

[Ashley_Price]

so the golden quote of " Hit the rid while its Hot" might shed you light into strategy u may follow

Erm, it doesn't actually shed much light as I don't even understand what it means. Could you make in clearer?

 

[businessfunding]

Erm, it doesn't actually shed much light as I don't even understand what it means. Could you make in clearer?

TBH I thought it was a quote from Jabberwocky

 

[Josh_Geneva_Digital]

To save starting yet another cold calling thread, I'm adding to this one (and it would be great to hear how the OP got on).

I've tried numerous times to do cold/follow-up calling, all I end up doing is feeling physically sick & very stressed even before I've made the first call. Don't tell me that it gets easier the more you do it - it doesn't (at least not for me) - the third call is just as, if not more, painful that the first.

Ok, you're not a salesperson that's fine but what you've described in your new process is basically a way that allows you to avoid the phone as much as possible!

Thus increasing your costs, increasing your work effort/ time needed, increasing the steps required in the sales cycle. You think you've made it easier but in fact you're only making it easier for yourself and not for your prospects....

Telesales is about confidence, tonality, attitude and a chunk of skill thrown in...


You need to ask yourself WHY you're cold calling?

Is it because business could be better, kids could be in a better school, could have taken another vacation, could have bought your wife that dress she wanted or bought that car you've always dreamed of....

Whatever your reason for NEEDING more sales in your business, that's what you need to visualise before every call.... see it clearly in your mind and know that every call you make you get a step closer to making that real....

If that doesn't work then you don't want whatever it is your striving for badly enough and no marketing or sales technique will work if your heart's not in it. Because then you're just making reasons or excuses on why you're not facing your fears to achieve success...

 

[JMaddox]

This infographic states that if you contact between 4-6pm your chances of contacting a lead rise by 114%...

(Source: MarketMakers)

 

[beasty]

Lovely poster but pretty much nonsense

It can take up to 11 calls to get a deal? not 8 or 13 up to 11

for who, what deal?

between 4 and 6 ? really.. between 4 and 5 people may answer but its a lot easier to say, tomorrow

etc

It is a good idea to ring people just before 9am and I agree with 5PM TO 6PM as generally the gatekeepers may have gone and you get straight through if not to the target to someone different who may help you

Linkedin works, twitter does too though and who you find on twitter depends on how you set up your account if it is full of nonsense then you are going to get zip.. i binned a tiwtter account with 12,000 as it suckd and the new one is better with a 10th of this number