Cold calling or cold emailing?

[Kerwin]

I have been working on a business idea for a while but now I'm ready to find out which businesses are interested in it. The main question is which is more effective: email or phone? I guess I could do both but don't want to come across as spammy.

Also finding businesses is going to be hard because they tend to be micro-entities so don't immediately spring to mind.

What would you do?

 

[WaveJumper]

What research have you conducted to determine if any business would be interested, if you have would these not be your first port of call

 

[Kerwin]

What research have you conducted to determine if any business would be interested, if you have would these not be your first port of call

This is where the cold calling / emailing comes in. I want to get some feedback for the idea.

 

[HFE Signs]

I really don't think we can give you a simple answer on this, it depends on your product/service and your desired customers. Personally we've never touched cold calling as I hate it when I receive unsolicited phone calls. I guess it works for some businesses though. I'd suggest doing 500-1000 of each and measuring the results, that should give you a better idea of where to invest your budget.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

Emails are easy to ignore...
Cold calling is irritating...
I'd try and get face to face, e.g. networking meetings, conferences, trade shows, etc.

 

[Mark T Jones]

You won't get feedback on an idea from either - though both can be effective sales tools if done well.

You need to be crisp and concise with a clear path of action - you are merging/confusing sales with market research- the outcome will be a mess.

 

[Kerwin]

You won't get feedback on an idea from either - though both can be effective sales tools if done well.

You need to be crisp and concise with a clear path of action - you are merging/confusing sales with market research- the outcome will be a mess.

Thank you. That makes sense. I'll do some reading.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

This is where the cold calling / emailing comes in. I want to get some feedback for the idea.

Nah! It is unlikely you will get responses for an idea. - it's difficult enough getting responses for an active product.

Ask here
Go networking and ask
Give something to get feedback (e.g. free subscription, discount etc)
Ask on target SM groups

 

[Kerwin]

Nah! It is unlikely you will get responses for an idea. - it's difficult enough getting responses for an active product.

Ask here
Go networking and ask
Give something to get feedback (e.g. free subscription, discount etc)
Ask on target SM groups

Thanks. I'm currently building a proof of concept website so that I can show people how it would work in a rough way and then can incorporate their feedback into the finished product.

 

[MarketingQuote]

Cold calling/telemarketing will give you results within a day.

 

[NickZ]

Emails: you need to know the source.
E-mail lists sold on the Internet are usually garbage.

 

[Kerwin]

Emails: you need to know the source.
E-mail lists sold on the Internet are usually garbage.

I would be manually collecting email addresses from specific websites in the my niche.

 

[Newchodge]

Cold calling/telemarketing will give you results within a day.

How?

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Emails are easy to ignore...
Cold calling is irritating...
I'd try and get face to face, e.g. networking meetings, conferences, trade shows, etc.

This, 100%

Aside from asking us lot on here, of course

 

[MarketingQuote]

How?

If in 2 hours you contact 30-50 prospects, you will have results, positive or negative.

 

[Newchodge]

If in 2 hours you contact 30-50 prospects, you will have results, positive or negative.

The OP wants to do market research.

 

[fisicx]

If in 2 hours you contact 30-50 prospects, you will have results, positive or negative.

The wrong sort of results. If you read the thread it’s about showing people a proof of concept. You can’t do that with telemarketing.

 

[Mark James]

Just checking- are you (no one personally just a general question) allowed to send cold emails without first gaining some sort of permission from the recipient? GDPR etc?

 

[Annoying Donkey]

Just checking- are you (no one personally just a general question) allowed to send cold emails without first gaining some sort of permission from the recipient? GDPR etc?

My understanding is that if it's a published amail then you're fine so long as it's relevant to the business.

If you're selling viagra, you might get into a bit of strife...

 

[fisicx]

You can safely send an email to an email address published on a website. What you can’t normally do is send an email to a named person without permission.

So for example [email protected] is fine. [email protected] less so unless you have made that email address public or signed up to a mailing list.

 

[Kerwin]

You can safely send an email to an email address published on a website. What you can’t normally do is send an email to a named person without permission.

So for example [email protected] is fine. [email protected] less so unless you have made that email address public or signed up to a mailing list.

Thank you. That is what I was planning on doing.

 

[IanSuth]

Emails are easy to ignore...
Cold calling is irritating...
I'd try and get face to face, e.g. networking meetings, conferences, trade shows, etc.

But bare in mind a lot of people will say nice things to your face about an idea whilst in their heads going "no hope" simply as it is less confrontational and at a networking event they want you to like them for whatever they are selling

 

[Annoying Donkey]

But bare in mind a lot of people will say nice things to your face about an idea whilst in their heads going "no hope" simply as it is less confrontational and at a networking event they want you to like them for whatever they are selling

Well, words are just 7% of communication. Face to face you get the full monty...

And I wouldn't be asking if they like an idea, I'd be asking about the problems they're facing and direct the conversation towards the issues that the idea resolves.

 

[Dany Grantsev]

I have been working on a business idea for a while but now I'm ready to find out which businesses are interested in it. The main question is which is more effective: email or phone? I guess I could do both but don't want to come across as spammy.

Also finding businesses is going to be hard because they tend to be micro-entities so don't immediately spring to mind.

What would you do?

To gauge interest in your business idea, a personalized email outreach may be more effective initially. I've helped others prepare similar strategies, it's really working. What's your business idea?

 

[fantheflames]

If feedback is what you're looking for, why not set up a form and promote your feedback form through a targeted ad to reach the exact audience you need? You'll have all the data right there, centralised, and perhaps offer something in return for completing or enter them into a draw as a thank you.

Personally, I'm more inclined to do those things in my own time or initiative, and I find it's more straightforward to complete a form than respond to emails that feel spammy or take calls from strangers asking for a few minutes of my time. Even on a hectic day or right before stepping into a meeting, if there's a simple form to fill out, I'm likely to consider it... at least for me anyway!

 

[fantheflames]

@Kerwin what did you decide to do in the end or have you put it on pause?

 

[Kerwin]

@Kerwin what did you decide to do in the end or have you put it on pause?

In the end I decided just to work on the website in my own time and see if it is a good idea at a later date. I figured I haven't lost anything even if it does flop as I'll at least have improved my programming skills.

I might open up the website when I have more to show for the idea in the future. For the time being I'm just working on the idea slowly but surely.

 

[fantheflames]

@Kerwin That's a good idea if you've got the space to take things slow, start it up properly without rushing into it too fast. What do they say? Slow and steady wins the...

 

[steps to grow]

This is where the cold calling / emailing comes in. I want to get some feedback for the idea.

If its for validating then i would try both because they would be useful.

Cold calling for validation purposes gives you the oppurtunity to ask a different set of questions (and its easier to have start a conversation) as opposed to an all out prospecting/sales type call which you would normally do after validation.

Cold email just allows you to send more emails than you can make phone calls but just make sure they are personalised.

Also, you need to get the copywriting part right, again for validation try and put into your subject title how you solve the problem and expand on it further in the body of the email.

If you can resolve it in more than one way then use the other solution for A/B testing

Good Luck

 

[A.C Consultant]

I have been working on a business idea for a while but now I'm ready to find out which businesses are interested in it. The main question is which is more effective: email or phone? I guess I could do both but don't want to come across as spammy.

Also finding businesses is going to be hard because they tend to be micro-entities so don't immediately spring to mind.

What would you do?

Hi Kerwin, You might have already made a decision regarding your idea. I've recently joined UKBF and am now sharing my experience and expertise.

It's crucial first to understand people's needs and then develop a solution that bridges the gap or resolves an issue between their current state and desired outcome. Based on your description, it seems you created a solution based on your experience, needs, or assumptions before identifying a target audience need/problem. This approach is one of the four main reasons I've observed products or services failing to sell among my clients.

I hope this reflection proves useful and helps you save time, money, and effort on something that may not be marketable. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Kerwin]

Hi Kerwin, You might have already made a decision regarding your idea. I've recently joined UKBF and am now sharing my experience and expertise.

It's crucial first to understand people's needs and then develop a solution that bridges the gap or resolves an issue between their current state and desired outcome. Based on your description, it seems you created a solution based on your experience, needs, or assumptions before identifying a target audience need/problem. This approach is one of the four main reasons I've observed products or services failing to sell among my clients.

I hope this reflection proves useful and helps you save time, money, and effort on something that may not be marketable. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Hi. You are right in a way but based on competition there is certainly an audience for the website. It is a music streaming site with a difference. It is similar to a cross between Spotify and Soundcloud with a special feature I'm unaware of existing in any other platform.

I appreciate your feedback though.

 

[A.C Consultant]

Hi. You are right in a way but based on competition there is certainly an audience for the website. It is a music streaming site with a difference. It is similar to a cross between Spotify and Soundcloud with a special feature I'm unaware of existing in any other platform.

I appreciate your feedback though.

Thank you for sharing details about your website, Kerwin. I understand your current circumstances. If you’re open to discussing further, could you share whether the special feature you’ve identified is something customers have expressed wanting or have mentioned missing in similar services offered by others? This is a critical point you might have already considered.

 

[Kerwin]

Thank you for sharing details about your website, Kerwin. I understand your current circumstances. If you’re open to discussing further, could you share whether the special feature you’ve identified is something customers have expressed wanting or have mentioned missing in similar services offered by others? This is a critical point you might have already considered.

It'll be a music social network that allows you to live stream concerts and also to live stream musicians as they make their music. So a cross between Spotify, Soundcloud and Twitch.

 

[A.C Consultant]

It'll be a music social network that allows you to live stream concerts and also to live stream musicians as they make their music. So a cross between Spotify, Soundcloud and Twitch.

Thank you for detailing the special feature of the 'music social network'.

My reflection, as someone outside this specialty, questions whether this feature is in demand by customers or noted as lacking in similar platforms. It's crucial since identifying an opportunity doesn't always equate to market demand, potentially leading to resource waste.

Have you gathered interest from 50/100 people ready to engage with your beta version? A positive response supports moving forward, while a negative one suggests a need for reassessment. How do you find this perspective?

 

[Kerwin]

Thank you for detailing the special feature of the 'music social network'.

My reflection, as someone outside this specialty, questions whether this feature is in demand by customers or noted as lacking in similar platforms. It's crucial since identifying an opportunity doesn't always equate to market demand, potentially leading to resource waste.

Have you gathered interest from 50/100 people ready to engage with your beta version? A positive response supports moving forward, while a negative one suggests a need for reassessment. How do you find this perspective?

Thank you. No I haven't done that yet but I can work towards that. I was going to offer a free trial and as a reward for testing they would get free access to the site for life. Honestly I'm not too sure how to go about finding willing testers.

 

[fisicx]

It'll be a music social network that allows you to live stream concerts and also to live stream musicians as they make their music. So a cross between Spotify, Soundcloud and Twitch.

How are you going to get people to switch to your platform from the above? Do people even want to listen to some bloke in his bedroom putting together their latest drum and bass thing?

 

[Kerwin]

How are you going to get people to switch to your platform from the above? Do people even want to listen to some bloke in his bedroom putting together their latest drum and bass thing?

I think it has a chance to succeed. The main thing is streaming live concerts so that people who can't attend in person can buy a "virtual" ticket which will open up a whole new market for bands and musicians.

 

[steps to grow]

I think it has a chance to succeed. The main thing is streaming live concerts so that people who can't attend in person can buy a "virtual" ticket which will open up a whole new market for bands and musicians.

Whats currently on the market thats same or similar?

 

[Kerwin]

Whats currently on the market thats same or similar?

In terms of purely live events? Real time streaming of game championships. I think the concept would work in much the same way.

 

[fisicx]

In terms of purely live events? Real time streaming of game championships. I think the concept would work in much the same way.

The promoters of the gaming and sporting events run the live streams. Which means you will need to negotiate with the promoters of each live music event and probably the musicians themselves. Unlikely to be cheap.