Offline Prospecting Question

Say, "Hi, who am I speaking with?"
"Who are you?"
"Bert."
"How can I help you, Bert?"
"Hi, well I am a business owner and I was wondering if the ad in the yellow pages was helping this business?"

The trick, I've found, is to come across as someone on the same ground, not someone seeking approval. It is psychological.

Not call at all. Create a marketing funnel that incrementally moves them towards qualification as a prospect.

The best place to "cold call" is networking at business functions like rotary lunches, etc...

If you don't know who owns the business, how on earth can you possibly know enough about the business to offer any real assistance?

I trained radio sales people for years and before they were allowed out of the office, not only did they understand what the station could offer, (complete with a word for word presentation) but they had to tell me WHY they were going to see the prospect.

This is key to establishing any relationship where you want to be seen as a trusted resource NOT someone with a commodity.

It's a must to present in the terms of results not offering nuts and bolts.

With nuts and bolts they believe they can comparison shop.

With providing results, you have taken their minds off of the details and allow them to focus on yield.

Mark Riddle

I have found the best way to get a good response from small business owners is to get off the phone and cold call in person.The majority of SM business owners are very good at fielding telephone calls but are not so good and far more responsive to a face to face meeting.Even if they are not available the receptionist is more likely to give you the information you need to make an appointment when you are stood in front of her/him. I worked in B2B sales for over 30 years and making appointments or selling over the phone is a skill which not many can perfect.The personal touch if you are a novice to this kind of sales will work at lot better.
Mark

The strategy and tactics really vary from business to business. Some small businesses like a bakery or a restaurant usually don't have a receptionist type of gatekeeper. You might get their cashier or a person taking reservations or maybe the owner or manager themselves. It's not that hard to get to the owner except as a matter of timing. If it's a full service restaurant you have a window of opportunity once breakfast winds down at around 9:30-10:30 during the week, but before lunch starts at 11 am. Maybe after lunch rush at around 1:30-2pm, maybe later. So bottom line ask for the owners name and the best time to call them.

Other businesses you will many times have a tough gatekeeper. They won't tell you crap without asking you a bunch of questions, and even them might just say they are not interested. If you run into a tough gatekeeper, but really want to be able to pitch the business, call back early morning, during lunch or a bit after close of business. The gatekeeper may very well be at lunch or not working at that moment, and you may even find yourself talking with the boss him/herself.

Not a complete answer I know, but a couple of tips from someone that has been in the trenches many times.

George

Simple...
If you end up speaking with the receptionist or any
employee within the company in question then that's
fine. You just need to be creative and take advantage
the conversation.

Extract some information from him/her about their boss.
Information like: Does you boss play golf? or Does your
boss like wine? etc.

Now, if you think that person can bring significant result
to whatever purpose you want then you should be willing
to shell out something. Bribe him or her, send em golf club
if his in golfing. You get the idea...

"Identify the weakness of the person in question and use it
on your advantage."

This simle tricks works well between the government bureaucracy
and the private sectors and it will work also to any type of businesses
of any scale.

Gama

People in business have built a strong resistance to telephone solicitors....
Much like that call you get at home at dinner time....

Face to face has an advantage...the product has a lot to do with the success rate....
As a kid I sold fresh warm donuts every Saturday morning.....door to door.....easy sell.

In later years I trained life insurance agents to develop prospects...after thier hot list was done...we went to cold calling from a phone book or walking neighborhoods and knocking on doors...that can work...wow hard selling...

In today's financial climate, most small business owners are watching expenses very closely....even the ones in profit...

If I were cold calling (face to face) today, I would try to induce a conversation about their business....break the ice ( there are some techniques that work) and then talk about whatever I had....and it had better be something to put money in his pocket....
because that is what is on his mind...

It is expensive, but when I was prospecting to build my clients, I just sent out letters. Lots of letters. I spent a good amount of time customizing them, and also made sure I was only sending to businesses that I could actually help.

The client's I snagged covered the cost of the letters within the first month, and they are still my clients today

It is nice that cold calling doesn't cost anything, but if you don't want to do it, direct mail does work.

Matt

Purpose and then Value.

You must call with a purpose and by chance if you do get an executive on the phone you will have to show them value quickly in whatever you may be offering.

Really is that simple.

For example, I am an Account Executive with the 2nd largest computer manufacturer in the world.

When we call on acquisition accounts the approach is simple.

Call with a specific purpose. The more research you do on that particular company the better you can customize a targeted pitch.

It would go something like this.

Let me speak with David

(Make sure you command. This is key. If you sound important you have a better chance that decision maker will not question your authority)

Once the you get the decision maker on the phone keep it short and sweet.

Like I said I deal in technology so it goes something like this for me.

Hello my name is David I am a Business Development Leader with XXXX (company name). I understand that your company is involved in XXXXX. I I would like to provide you with information that will strengthen your position within your vertical. Would you agree if I could provide you a solution that would save you $3,000/ month in operating cost and improve the efficiency of your technology resources would that be something of interest to you? Wait for an answer. If yes go into your product pitch and how exactly in will accomplish the claim you just made. If no find out why?

Much has to do with personal style. I get on better with others (and with myself) by establishing a friendly rapport, and the odds of making sales increase dramatically by doing so, thus eliminating the need to play the "numbers game" (people are not numbers). Yes, there are plenty of folks who play the numbers game, mechanically churning out a sales spiel and eventually landing a sale. If you wore a sock on your shirt button and asked every passerby to join you for a coffee, eventually someone might join you.

My approach to offline work is this - "people buy people". Ask anyone on here that I've spoken to on Skype!

I mean that people prefer to use the services of someone they know - or think they know.

Think about it for a moment. If you need an electrician, how do you choose one? In this order, I would suggest:
1) If you have a friend or relative who is an electrician (and you know their work is good), you will use them. (Someone you know)
2) Ask friends/family for a recommendation (Word of mouth)
3) As a last resort look for an advert (Cold)

Unless you are an expert marketer, forget cold-calling. Most of us are programmed to simply say "no thank you" and turn off the phone the instant we realise we don't know the caller and they aren't prospective clients.

To succeed offline you have to meet people. By all means call into businesses. In person. Walk through the door. Ask about their services. Get chatting to them. Be friendly - and above all DON'T dive straight into a sales pitch.

Have some sample sites to show them.

If you decide you want to target, for example, local dentists - do a bit of research first. Look at other dentists' sites. See what info they include. Talk to your own dentist - find out what services they offer. If you are "cold" selling, you at least want to sound as if you know about web sites in the niche you are targeting.

Once you have done one site, then you can show further prospects your existing work.

If someone approaches you, it isn't so necessary to know the niche. The prospect has approached you and you can talk to them, find out about their businesses and what they want to achieve with their site.

So - forget cold calling - get out there. Join your local rugby club, church rota, golf club, parent and toddler group, WI, book club, extreme sports club, yoga class - whatever your interest. You need to MEET people - what's one of the first questions someone asks when they meet you? "What do you do?" In my case that is often followed by -"oh - you're just the person I need to xxxxx". I meet a lot of my clients for the first time at parties, gatherings, etc. Just make sure you have your business cards with you at all times.

There are as many prospecting methods as there are sales people. Cold calling isn't a prospecting tool I currently use however I've personally seen it used very effectively. One key is to listen and engage the person on the other end of the phone in a meaningful conversation, not read a script. Of course that's easier if you know who you're talking to and a little about their business.

The good thing about cold calling is you'll discover very quickly what does and doesn't work. As someone who's been on both sides of the phone I'll say good luck to you if you try some of the "tips" in this thread

There are many resources to find the names of business owners. I start with a google search but have also used resources such as Infousa and their related products as well as publicly available information such as dba/fictitious business name listings, city business tax records and various licensing boards.