Oh No, COLD CALLING!!

I've done a lot of cold calling and the best way was to go to an area and personally visit all of the businesses in that area. You do get alot of negatives but you also end up meeting alot of people. Most of the time you only need one sale to make that whole day worth while. Art T.

I always use a cold call as my second point of contact. I first select my targets and send a brief email or post card offering a discount on my services and put in print that I will be contact them shortly to answer any questions.

I then use that initial contact as my 'in' to the conversation...

"Hello [insert name], My name is [insert your name here] with [insert business]. I didn't catch you at a bad time did I? Great! I'm just calling to follow-up on an email/postcard I sent to you last week offering a discount on some of our services. I wanted to take just a moment of your time to answer any questions you may have regarding our offers."

Something along those lines is how I start. I then move in to locking in a meeting from there if appropriate.

Notice I give them an out by asking if I caught them at a bad time? If they say yes, then I lock them into a follow-up call. Now it is no longer a cold call. It is a follow-up based on a previous conversation; regardless of how short it was.

I find that by showing respect for the value of their time right up front, they are more likely to have a conversation with me or at least more willing to set-up a follow-up conversation.

We hired a sales rep once. Our business is easy enough to find leads for through linkedin, known word of mouth (talking to our vendors and colleagues). I gave him my address book and notes on who to talk to to get leads. Instead, he cold-called from some lousy list he had. That was two months of pointlessness before we had to let him go. That was when I realized cold-calling doesn't work.

Elizabeth, For your line of busness, cold calling is a big turn-off...at least for me. I get calls everyday from some headhunter somewhere looking for someone that does something that's mentioned once on my website, but totally unsuited for me...I've never heard of them, I don't know them, and usually I just say no thanks and hang up. But once in awhile I get call from someone that's done a little homework: They talked to someone that recommended me and tell me so, they already understand what kind of work I can do, and they put some effort into matching my skills with the position. Those I always listen to. Some work out, some don't. My last two positions started with calls from these kind of recruiters.....before I went indie ;)

Cold calling just takes practice. I spent nearly ten years in outside sales cold calling hundreds of people.

It does help to send ahead a piece of mail or have a reason to launch into the call.

On the phone, get a hot mug of tea and warm your hands. It will calm you. If you are cold-calling in person, have info or a gift.

Cold calling works tremendously for many businesses.

Seattle is hard though as people refuse to just give you a "no". Don't waste time on prospects that string you along. Two maybes equals an "I'm too scared to just say no".

Just to preface my post. I've done alot of cold calling in the Seattle area. If fact I did some today. About 15min. worth. Its almost alway productive for me. I do it in person out in the feild. Yes, I get alot of nos but some of my best accounts have come from this type of work. If your going to do it you need to be dedicated and positive or it won't work. I don't beleive that industry has as much to do with success as your attitude toward what you're doing. Good luck. Art T.

I concur with John Allen that if you do your homework on someone, their company, and their industry, and have something to offer the person you are calling, it isn't a cold call. More like a warm call.

One technique I learned early on in the dark ages (before computers) was to send people articles that pertained to their industry or an article I had read about them in the newspaper (or Web.) With e-mail, you could always send a link.

You should always be thinking, "What am I offering the person I am calling?" Think of it as a form of telephone networking.

When you go to a Biznik event, how do you connect with people? The same applies to calling people.

Ditto to everything Keith just said!

I actually have coached lots of people on cold calling by phone for job hunting, networking, and developing client relationships (aka sales, I guess). I use many of the same techniques he mentions.

The two things I would add are to prep your mental/emotional state before you make a phone call. Walk around your home thinking about how you feel when you are doing the aspects of your work you love the most; where you feel most proficient. Really get the feeling in your body. What you will notice is that your posture changes, you hold yourself up straighter, your voice will sound firmer and more confident. Make the call from that emotional state because that you is who you are offering when you are calling.

Secondly use the phrasing and tone you will use when the person is a client. Don't get into "Mr. Brown" type of titles unless you normally call your clients by Courtesy Titles. Call as the You that you want them to hire.

I give many tips in my Joy of Successful Networking workshop which I plan to offer again soon. You might want to sign up for one of them.

I agree with Viv.

For phone cold calling... or sales in general:

Get a check up from the neck up before picking the phone up.

Good attitude = Good sales Crappy attitude = new profession

Being a Real Estate Agent I have done my fair share of Smiling and Dialing. What I have found to be the most effective is the personal touch. Meeting people face to face so far has been the best way for me to generate new prospects. It is a little easier for me to do this since everyone is a potential prospect for real estate.

I have done some consulting for a few other companies, specifically a marketing company that sold promotioanal products. By just dedicating an hour a day to finding new leads by knocking on doors helped to increase their gross sales by over 40%. That is a huge increase in sales, all from an hour a day. It just takes a little dedication.

I just posted an article to my profile (which is currently being approved) on how to Terminate Telephone Terror. It might be of some use to you (and others!)

Wendy Weiss http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

It's a great article, Wendy, thanks for sharing it here. Here's the link: http://biznik.com/learn/articles/marketing-sales/top-ten-tips-for-terminating-telephone-terror.

I do a fair amount of cold calling. In fact it DOES work. My advice is to be very clear about what you offer in the way of a product or service, be brief (30-40 seconds), and if they say what you're offering is not something they want, be gone.

Cold calling is all about finding people who are ready to buy what you're selling right now. You'll wade through a lot of no's but the appointments you make will be with qualified prospects, not "lookers". Julie Main's comment above about "maybes" is right on. There are an amazing number of prospects out there who are loathe to say "no".

Great post, Elizabeth.

In my opinion cold calling when performed at a high skill level can yield excellent results. I believe there is much more to cold calling than "finding people who are ready to buy what you're selling right now". In fact I'd much rather be working with a prospect entering a window of disatisfaction than a prospect who is actively searching for alternatives. The difference as I see it is "position" vs. "competition".

When I started selling men's clothing 10 years ago I built my business on cold calling in person and on the phone. I would walk into an office & ask the receptionist who the best dressed guy in the office was. They usually laughed. I would then ask if I could meet him right then & there. If he wasn't available I'd leave my card & a swatch of cloth, get his card and call him later in the day.

The best time for cold calling in person is the morning & on the phone, the afternoon. Especially after 5pm when the boss has to work late but the screener has gone home.

My experience with cold calling hasn’t been too positive. First, I don't get humans on the other line; second, when somebody answers they are rude. What actually works better for me, since I am graphic designer and I am selling a service, is going to networking activities then calling prospects that I meet. They are usually much better when you tell them I met you at “x” event. An other thing that works is asking people you meet if they know somebody that needs your services, people are usually happy to help and give you referrals.

On that note, find a common ground with the person on the other side, for instance, we have work with your type of client and prove very successful. Give them a reason to hear what you have to say.

Erika

Every once in a blue moon I will do a cold call just to get the blood flowing again. I always have fun with it... that's the key for me.

Thank you for the compliment, Elizabeth.

Funny, the other day I was having lunch with a fellow colleague and we were discussing the effectiveness of the Cold Call. Both of us were pretty adamant that it didn't work. As I arrived back to my office, my business partner informed me that she just got a meeting with a new prospect after doing a cold call.

What I find really helps is to send an email first, usually with some relevant information that will be of interest to the prospect and also inform them to expect a call from you. If that email is intriguing enough, it'll make the entire cold calling process easier and in fact won't be a cold call anymore.

Cold Calling has worked for me. But as many have mentioned a tepid call is better and a warm call better yet. Send mailers, brochures, and drop by with something you can call about. We have used cans filled with candy to great success. People have forgotten my name but never forget that I am "THE JELLY BEAN GUY." After a drop of candy we call & say "I was calling to see if you received the candy I dropped off" Great segway into setting up a face to face or giving your two sentence offering summary.

My first job in college was knocking on doors selling a service. 85% of my revenue came directly from that. We didn't sell at the door, just developed leads to call and set up a sales apointment. Again Cold call for leads, call leads to sell.

Does anyone remember the lyrics from Kriss Kross's "Warm It Up" If you ever need a pre-cold calling jam to heat things up..."Warm it up Kris I'm about to - Warm it up Kris cause that's what I was born to do"