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ArticleBot · Jul 11, 2003, 18:00

This is a dedicated thread for discussing the SitePoint article 'Your First Cold Call'

Jul 11, 2003, 18:00

And we shouldn't consider this 'phone spam' because .. why?

EvoVII · Jul 12, 2003, 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous

And we shouldn't consider this 'phone spam' because .. why?

Spam is unaudited and misdirected solicitation.

Cold calling is directed and investigative solicitation.

And we should consider 'Anonymous' smart because ... why???

billiousness · Jul 13, 2003, 16:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvoVII

Spam is unaudited and misdirected solicitation.

Cold calling is directed and investigative solicitation.

And we should consider 'Anonymous' smart because ... why???

ha ha ha ha ha ha

Jul 22, 2004, 00:35

I think i's a great way to get the customers

glyakk · Jul 29, 2004, 12:34

I have never really considered cold calling as a viable option to generate serious leads. I have always assumed it would be nothing more than a waste of time.

But after reading your article I think I might give it a shot.

Corey Bryant · Jul 29, 2004, 16:48

In the U.S. - we have that Do Not Call List & the California even takes it a step farther.

johntabita · Jul 30, 2004, 15:24

I could be wrong, but I haven't heard that the Do Not Call list applies to business to business, only business to consumer.

cica · Sep 2, 2004, 13:35

Very interesting, In Australia we had to change phone number and register new one as silent, to reduce sales people calls.

Ted S · Sep 2, 2004, 15:14

Cold Calling is nothing new in the business world and it’s rarely looked down upon as a practice, although many people dislike receiving the calls (mind you many of those people work for companies who cold call). Most of the normal issues of spam or unsolicited offerings don't apply when you call a business because in truth you aren't calling randomly and it’s an expected part of the business. As the article explained, a good cold call involved some serious preparation, knowing all the details of their business and yours as well (stuttering on the phone because you forgot how many clients you currently have is not a good idea). Cold calling also involves getting good contact lists, some people make them, others buy them from agencies and a few even use the yellow pages. Cold calling is not just for making sales either, if you have a free directory or business portal it may be worth your time to call a few businesses who are not using your site and pitch it to them... offer them whatever free services you have and after they realize how much they like it you may have a new client or advertiser. I’ve never employed the method for my consulting but I have worked in a few offices where it was the lifeline of the company and even with a rejection rate of astronomical amounts we still did very well from the few acceptances we got.

Oct 23, 2004, 18:38

I cold call decision makers every day of the week to set appointments for sales people. In a b2b environment, I've yet to see a more effective way of developing new business.

Apr 26, 2005, 11:31

Would like to know a more effective way for developing new business

johntabita · Apr 27, 2005, 15:32

There are many ways to develop new business. So many, in fact, that you can run off half-cocked attempting too many and having nothing be very effective. The best piece of advice I received is to pick three marketing activites like so:

Something you like
Something you dread, but will "stretch" you
Something that will land clients immediately

Cold-calling can be an effective way to get clients immediately - if done right. If not, it can be a huge waste of time. I wrote an article about it, not because I'm an expert, but I do know a few experts, so I quoted one of their thoughts on the matter.

The most effective way most of us get business is through word-of-mouth. But there's more to this than telling everyone you know what you do and having the business roll in. That's because it's basically passive and depends on the good-will of others. A more effective way is to intentionally generate word-of-mouth referrals. One way to do that is by joining a referral network group. This is a group of people whose sole purpose is to pass quality leads to one another. BNI and Yellow-Tie are examples of such groups. Also, check out The World's Best Known Marketing Secret: Building Your Business With Word-Of-Mouth Marketing, by Ivan Misner.

Keep in mind that, while cold-calling is essentially a "hunter" method of finding business, word-of-mouth is a "farming" method - you plant seeds, build relationships, and eventually you "reap" new business. The worst thing you can do is attend neworking events expecting to immediately land sales appointments. Part of the "planting" process involves helping others build their business by giving referrals to them.

Hope that answers your question.

Robert Warren · Apr 27, 2005, 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by johntabita

Cold-calling can be an effective way to get clients immediately - if done right. If not, it can be a huge waste of time.

At least in my experience, the product/service you're providing also has to be somewhat conducive to this kind of prospecting. Different people value "interruptions" in different ways, and a cold call first contact might just fly in the face of the marketing message you're projecting.

A good example is any type of prospecting involving the media: magazines, newspapers, television, anything like that. Most of those folks are perpetually on extremely tight deadlines and operating under heavy stress.. cold calling those people is simply not a good idea. A number of other professions are similar.

True story: This has been a busy week for me, in some ways a comedy of errors. I'm juggling a half dozen deadlines right now. Yesterday afternoon, as I'm prepping for an afternoon client call, I get a cold call from someone selling This Great New Proprietary Software That Will Get My Website In The Top 10 In All Search Engine Listings! And within thirty seconds of opening the call, he says, "And, just looking at your website.. (tapping at keyboard).. it says.. (tap-tap-tap).. you do Internet marketing. Oh. Well. Uh. Can I still interest you?"

I'd call that a good example of what not to do.

johntabita · Apr 27, 2005, 19:31

You're right... when you cold-call, the deck is stacked against you from the start. You're interrupting someone to offer them something that there's a 90+ percent chance they're not interested in. That's why I believe there are two critical components to cold-calling:

Being absolutely honest and refraining from using any manipulative techniques
Taking "No" for an answer

Having been as much a "victim" of cold-calling as the next guy, I honestly don't mind it when the caller accepts that I'm not interested. What I do resent is having to tell them "No" two or more times, or getting hit with the "Assumptive close" (which doesn't give you the opportunity to even say "No").

The goal of most cold-call attempts involves manipulating people to do what you want (e.g., buy your product, agree to an appointment). But if you change the objective to simply finding out if the other person wants your product or not, the results can be much more effective. The trick is to state your offer in a clear and concise manner, then ask a simple yes-or-no question, such as, "Is that something you want?"

I agree that different industries are less condusive to cold-calling. In that case a cold letter campaign might be more effective. All in all, I believe that it's possible to generate 100% of your business through word-of-mouth, which most people would agree is more desirable. Until you reach that point (which I have not), then cold-calling and cold letters can be another means to get new business.

Pacifer · Apr 28, 2005, 05:14

I second John's post. Yes, you can and should use some techniques, but you should not be pushy (sell, not push). It will only end up pushing you out of the game because of the pain you inflict on yourself. I saw this with a partner of mine. He pushed and ended up not doing cold calling anymore.

worchyld · Apr 28, 2005, 06:02

I've been thinking about asking directors of local new media businesses to business lunch/breakfast - but I don't know how to structure the question without it sounding odd or silly.

On fox news (yes, I know) a security consultant got to the top by ignoring advertising, etc and went straight to the top of each security company and non-security company and had business lunches/breakfasts to see how he could help each company.

How would you ask a director of a company to discuss how you could help over lunch?

TTD · May 1, 2005, 11:59

Quote:

I've been thinking about asking directors of local new media businesses to business lunch/breakfast - but I don't know how to structure the question without it sounding odd or silly.

On fox news (yes, I know) a security consultant got to the top by ignoring advertising, etc and went straight to the top of each security company and non-security company and had business lunches/breakfasts to see how he could help each company.

How would you ask a director of a company to discuss how you could help over lunch?

My suggestion is to simply call them and introduce yourself - don't go for the whole enchilada on the first call. You're trying to get them to take time out of their day to meet with you - be prepared to offer them some value by meeting with you. You don't have to give them anything or offer free services, but instead of talking about what YOU want, try to find out what THEY want and see if what you do lines up with that. If you think of what you're doing as consulting instead of just trying to sell your services, you'll find that the questions you ask and the way you build a business relationship will change.

oeimarketing · May 11, 2005, 10:28

Regular Cold Calling can mean the difference between driving a Ford Pinto and a Porsche.....

Our ENTIRE business is done via cold calling.

nough said.

rpain · Dec 12, 2005, 09:32

This is all great and practical advice. Does anyone know of any good simple systems to track cold calls? (ie that would have fields like company name, email address, contact name, emailed?, phoned?, meeting arranged.....etc.).

If not then I'll put one together myself but just didn't want to re-invent the wheel if there is one already out there.

Richard

peach · Dec 13, 2005, 05:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpain

This is all great and practical advice. Does anyone know of any good simple systems to track cold calls? (ie that would have fields like company name, email address, contact name, emailed?, phoned?, meeting arranged.....etc.).

If not then I'll put one together myself but just didn't want to re-invent the wheel if there is one already out there.

Richard

I think you can make SugarCRM do this with a few mods.

May 8, 2006, 23:41

you can copy paste the telephone number into MS Word, change the color if you called, and search the whole document for the telephone number. that is the simplest way i think.

cold calls give me headache, i would rather go KFC to sale chickens....

maartenvr · Jun 6, 2006, 13:09

Use Maximizer. Get your prospects from www.salesgenie.com

Jan 4, 2009, 04:46

I believe that if you are providing a service they may or may not know they need yet. It is not a cold call! It�s just a simple friendly introduction.
When I make these calls, (and I have made many) I know at the end of the day my services are needed.
The reason cold calling gets a bad rap is many people do it with out their heart in it. To be an effective cold caller you must be friendly, outgoing, assertive, and helpful.
There are too many people in the game now that think you can just read a script (Hating it the whole time) and be effective. The people on the other end can and will pick up on this.
In "Cold Calling" you must always bring you�re "A" game.
You also must believe in your self and your ability to help.
They will then listen.

ButlerPatches · Jan 4, 2009, 20:39

Cold calling is indeed effective. However it is best left to those that are good at it. If you can't sell, you'll hate it and won't get much out of it.

Jul 11, 2003, 18:00	#1
ArticleBot SitePoint Articles Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 0	Discussion thread for Your First Cold Call This is a dedicated thread for discussing the SitePoint article 'Your First Cold Call'

Apr 27, 2005, 15:32	#13
johntabita SitePoint Guru Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: In a big, big house, with lotsa lotsa room Posts: 983	There are many ways to develop new business. So many, in fact, that you can run off half-cocked attempting too many and having nothing be very effective. The best piece of advice I received is to pick three marketing activites like so: Something you like Something you dread, but will "stretch" you Something that will land clients immediately Cold-calling can be an effective way to get clients immediately - if done right. If not, it can be a huge waste of time. I wrote an article about it, not because I'm an expert, but I do know a few experts, so I quoted one of their thoughts on the matter. The most effective way most of us get business is through word-of-mouth. But there's more to this than telling everyone you know what you do and having the business roll in. That's because it's basically passive and depends on the good-will of others. A more effective way is to intentionally generate word-of-mouth referrals. One way to do that is by joining a referral network group. This is a group of people whose sole purpose is to pass quality leads to one another. BNI and Yellow-Tie are examples of such groups. Also, check out The World's Best Known Marketing Secret: Building Your Business With Word-Of-Mouth Marketing, by Ivan Misner. Keep in mind that, while cold-calling is essentially a "hunter" method of finding business, word-of-mouth is a "farming" method - you plant seeds, build relationships, and eventually you "reap" new business. The worst thing you can do is attend neworking events expecting to immediately land sales appointments. Part of the "planting" process involves helping others build their business by giving referrals to them. Hope that answers your question.

Apr 27, 2005, 19:31	#15
johntabita SitePoint Guru Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: In a big, big house, with lotsa lotsa room Posts: 983	You're right... when you cold-call, the deck is stacked against you from the start. You're interrupting someone to offer them something that there's a 90+ percent chance they're not interested in. That's why I believe there are two critical components to cold-calling: Being absolutely honest and refraining from using any manipulative techniques Taking "No" for an answer Having been as much a "victim" of cold-calling as the next guy, I honestly don't mind it when the caller accepts that I'm not interested. What I do resent is having to tell them "No" two or more times, or getting hit with the "Assumptive close" (which doesn't give you the opportunity to even say "No"). The goal of most cold-call attempts involves manipulating people to do what you want (e.g., buy your product, agree to an appointment). But if you change the objective to simply finding out if the other person wants your product or not, the results can be much more effective. The trick is to state your offer in a clear and concise manner, then ask a simple yes-or-no question, such as, "Is that something you want?" I agree that different industries are less condusive to cold-calling. In that case a cold letter campaign might be more effective. All in all, I believe that it's possible to generate 100% of your business through word-of-mouth, which most people would agree is more desirable. Until you reach that point (which I have not), then cold-calling and cold letters can be another means to get new business.

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Jul 11, 2003, 18:00	#2
Anonymous SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	And we shouldn't consider this 'phone spam' because .. why?

Jul 22, 2004, 00:35	#5
squall SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	I think i's a great way to get the customers

Jul 29, 2004, 12:34	#6
glyakk SitePoint Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Houston TX Posts: 0	I have never really considered cold calling as a viable option to generate serious leads. I have always assumed it would be nothing more than a waste of time. But after reading your article I think I might give it a shot.

Jul 29, 2004, 16:48	#7
Corey Bryant Texan at Heart Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Castle Rock, CO Posts: 2,475	In the U.S. - we have that Do Not Call List & the California even takes it a step farther.

Jul 30, 2004, 15:24	#8
johntabita SitePoint Guru Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: In a big, big house, with lotsa lotsa room Posts: 983	I could be wrong, but I haven't heard that the Do Not Call list applies to business to business, only business to consumer.

Sep 2, 2004, 13:35	#9
cica SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 27	Very interesting, In Australia we had to change phone number and register new one as silent, to reduce sales people calls.

Sep 2, 2004, 15:14	#10
Ted S SitePoint Mentor Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 2,681	Cold Calling is nothing new in the business world and it’s rarely looked down upon as a practice, although many people dislike receiving the calls (mind you many of those people work for companies who cold call). Most of the normal issues of spam or unsolicited offerings don't apply when you call a business because in truth you aren't calling randomly and it’s an expected part of the business. As the article explained, a good cold call involved some serious preparation, knowing all the details of their business and yours as well (stuttering on the phone because you forgot how many clients you currently have is not a good idea). Cold calling also involves getting good contact lists, some people make them, others buy them from agencies and a few even use the yellow pages. Cold calling is not just for making sales either, if you have a free directory or business portal it may be worth your time to call a few businesses who are not using your site and pitch it to them... offer them whatever free services you have and after they realize how much they like it you may have a new client or advertiser. I’ve never employed the method for my consulting but I have worked in a few offices where it was the lifeline of the company and even with a rejection rate of astronomical amounts we still did very well from the few acceptances we got.

Oct 23, 2004, 18:38	#11
Danny SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	I cold call decision makers every day of the week to set appointments for sales people. In a b2b environment, I've yet to see a more effective way of developing new business.

Apr 26, 2005, 11:31	#12
chris david SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	Would like to know a more effective way for developing new business

Apr 28, 2005, 05:14	#16
Pacifer SitePoint Evangelist Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 400	I second John's post. Yes, you can and should use some techniques, but you should not be pushy (sell, not push). It will only end up pushing you out of the game because of the pain you inflict on yourself. I saw this with a partner of mine. He pushed and ended up not doing cold calling anymore.

Apr 28, 2005, 06:02	#17
worchyld SitePoint Guru Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 932	I've been thinking about asking directors of local new media businesses to business lunch/breakfast - but I don't know how to structure the question without it sounding odd or silly. On fox news (yes, I know) a security consultant got to the top by ignoring advertising, etc and went straight to the top of each security company and non-security company and had business lunches/breakfasts to see how he could help each company. How would you ask a director of a company to discuss how you could help over lunch?

May 11, 2005, 10:28	#19
oeimarketing SitePoint Zealot Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 157	Regular Cold Calling can mean the difference between driving a Ford Pinto and a Porsche..... Our ENTIRE business is done via cold calling. nough said.

Dec 12, 2005, 09:32	#20
rpain SitePoint Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 0	This is all great and practical advice. Does anyone know of any good simple systems to track cold calls? (ie that would have fields like company name, email address, contact name, emailed?, phoned?, meeting arranged.....etc.). If not then I'll put one together myself but just didn't want to re-invent the wheel if there is one already out there. Richard

May 8, 2006, 23:41	#22
lu fang SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	you can copy paste the telephone number into MS Word, change the color if you called, and search the whole document for the telephone number. that is the simplest way i think. cold calls give me headache, i would rather go KFC to sale chickens....

Jun 6, 2006, 13:09	#23
maartenvr Go ahead! Make my day! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 2,034	Use Maximizer. Get your prospects from www.salesgenie.com

Jan 4, 2009, 04:46	#24
Anonymous SitePoint Community Guest Posts: n/a	I believe that if you are providing a service they may or may not know they need yet. It is not a cold call! It�s just a simple friendly introduction. When I make these calls, (and I have made many) I know at the end of the day my services are needed. The reason cold calling gets a bad rap is many people do it with out their heart in it. To be an effective cold caller you must be friendly, outgoing, assertive, and helpful. There are too many people in the game now that think you can just read a script (Hating it the whole time) and be effective. The people on the other end can and will pick up on this. In "Cold Calling" you must always bring you�re "A" game. You also must believe in your self and your ability to help. They will then listen.

Jan 4, 2009, 20:39	#25
ButlerPatches SitePoint Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 92	Cold calling is indeed effective. However it is best left to those that are good at it. If you can't sell, you'll hate it and won't get much out of it.