17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Cold calling for web design, SEO, ORM clients?

by harro1
13 replies
Just wondering you guys are having any success with cold calling to get SEO, Web design, ORM clients in the USA?
#calling #clients #cold #design #orm #seo #web
  • Profile picture of the author TheProductReviewGuy
    Banned
    Me personally, cold calling is one of the worst ways to get clients. It's time consuming and the conversion rate is pretty low. Why bother calling 500+ businesses only to make 3 clients. Sure they could be high paying clients who you are with long term but it's demanding and you may need to spend more money paying someone to call them,

    What I tend to do is advertise my service. I'm going to be making a WSO based on this offline method but the jist of it is that you get clients to contact YOU, Not you contacting them. If they contact you, it means they want to purchase from you. Get 100+ people to contact you and you're making a killing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9873381].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author harro1
      Originally Posted by TheProductReviewGuy View Post

      Me personally, cold calling is one of the worst ways to get clients. It's time consuming and the conversion rate is pretty low. Why bother calling 500+ businesses only to make 3 clients. Sure they could be high paying clients who you are with long term but it's demanding and you may need to spend more money paying someone to call them,

      What I tend to do is advertise my service. I'm going to be making a WSO based on this offline method but the jist of it is that you get clients to contact YOU, Not you contacting them. If they contact you, it means they want to purchase from you. Get 100+ people to contact you and you're making a killing.
      If you are talking about online advertising it can be costly, but if you are talking about offline advertising then yes maybe it can work, but i live in a country which is not as savvy as USA or UK people, do you think offline advertising will work in this case? I wanted to target USA clients , only way to do it is through cold calling, or maybe i can hire some college student in USA to do offline advertising for me?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9873396].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by harro1 View Post

        If you are talking about online advertising it can be costly, but if you are talking about offline advertising then yes maybe it can work, but i live in a country which is not as savvy as USA or UK people, do you think offline advertising will work in this case? I wanted to target USA clients , only way to do it is through cold calling, or maybe i can hire some college student in USA to do offline advertising for me?
        Ignore him... he's a moron.

        It's fine to be against cold calling because you aren't good at it, but to make a statement like 3 sales a day but it's too tough, is just stupid. 3 sales a day at $1,000 per sale is 3k/day 15k/week and 780k/year. This dude is trying to sell templated videos at $97 a pop...

        Anyway... cold calling is effective. Your thought that online marketing costs more than offline is incorrect for the most part. It all depends on the methods you use.

        I think planning to cold call the USA as a foreigner may not be the best thing to do... and hiring college students isn't a good idea either. Best bet... offer some white label deal and hook up with people already getting clients.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9873688].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Freebiequeen1999
        Originally Posted by harro1 View Post

        If you are talking about online advertising it can be costly, but if you are talking about offline advertising then yes maybe it can work, but i live in a country which is not as savvy as USA or UK people, do you think offline advertising will work in this case? I wanted to target USA clients , only way to do it is through cold calling, or maybe i can hire some college student in USA to do offline advertising for me?

        You probably won't like what I am going to say but it is the truth - it would be easier for you to sell your services in your country


        You could also work online as a freelancer - various sites not just the ultra cheap fiverr


        Getting through to a biz owner when you are not in their city? Good luck with that. If you are from another country>? very hard


        Same with hiring "college students' ....lots of web biz companies want to hire folks on commission....not that easy to do and much harder since you are overseas somewhere.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9873691].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      If I call 500 businesses and get 3 clients, I'm in Nirvana. I jump with joy. I think I grabbed God by His foot.

      Because I can call 2 days, work for 6 to deliver, and have all the money I need for the month and for the retirement account.

      Originally Posted by TheProductReviewGuy View Post

      Me personally, cold calling is one of the worst ways to get clients. It's time consuming and the conversion rate is pretty low. Why bother calling 500+ businesses only to make 3 clients. Sure they could be high paying clients who you are with long term but it's demanding and you may need to spend more money paying someone to call them,

      What I tend to do is advertise my service. I'm going to be making a WSO based on this offline method but the jist of it is that you get clients to contact YOU, Not you contacting them. If they contact you, it means they want to purchase from you. Get 100+ people to contact you and you're making a killing.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9873715].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JNAssociates
      Originally Posted by TheProductReviewGuy View Post

      Me personally, cold calling is one of the worst ways to get clients. It's time consuming and the conversion rate is pretty low. Why bother calling 500+ businesses only to make 3 clients. Sure they could be high paying clients who you are with long term but it's demanding and you may need to spend more money paying someone to call them,

      What I tend to do is advertise my service. I'm going to be making a WSO based on this offline method but the jist of it is that you get clients to contact YOU, Not you contacting them. If they contact you, it means they want to purchase from you. Get 100+ people to contact you and you're making a killing.

      500 calls is basically 9-5 with a half hour lunch break. 3 deals would be considered a very good day. Experience: Owner of a telecom call center for 3 years and over 10 years of outbound telecom telemarketing experience. (I don't think this would be effective for most foreigners though or people who just aren't "closers")

      I haven't dabbed in seo/marketing packages but I assume if you call leads that have a small web presence or those who have none at all, it will work out. Just try not sound like an idiot, talk to them personally about the ROI & it should be more effective than email blasting, etc.... (not saying you should not also do that though)
      Signature
      Don't be duped into tricking others for money. Click here to learn how an average person can make over 100K telemarketing for Top Tier Telecom Providers
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9885402].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Hostnetric
        Cold calling can work if you know your prospective clients and their needs. Your product or service has to give them something they don't have or cannot do without. Some people do not know that they need a service or product until they see it, but you have to design your approach to "WOW" them.

        We approach our target market in this manner. We know that many of our prospective clients know nothing about the services we provide and how it really can affect their business if they just use any service. So our approach is geared to show the value of our services when we approach them.

        One thing to be noted though is that cold calling takes a special type of person. It should be people that truly enjoys sales. Just sending anyone will only make your business look unprofessional and keep you from converting a good percentage of your prospective clients.

        Know your target audience, do your research and hire people who have a real passion for sales.
        Signature

        █ SSL Certificates - All Major Brands
        █NameShark - Premium Web Hosting
        █ NameShark offers Shared, VPS and Dedicated Web Hosting Solutions.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9885524].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author harro1
    I don't understand the point of targeting USA clients from foreign countries, most SEO companies are located in india, phillipines, and similar countries and american clients hire them all the time as they are much cheaper. Also i would appreciate if you guys make posts as per your real experience and not just make speculations on what will work or not.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9873964].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      Originally Posted by harro1 View Post

      I don't understand the point of targeting USA clients from foreign countries, most SEO companies are located in india, phillipines, and similar countries and american clients hire them all the time as they are much cheaper. Also i would appreciate if you guys make posts as per your real experience and not just make speculations on what will work or not.
      You want real experience? I live in the USA and call over seas to get work, because it is flat out easier to land clients. calling the states suck. is that real enough?
      Signature
      Success is an ACT not an idea
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9874163].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Freebiequeen1999
      Originally Posted by harro1 View Post

      I don't understand the point of targeting USA clients from foreign countries, most SEO companies are located in india, phillipines, and similar countries and american clients hire them all the time as they are much cheaper. Also i would appreciate if you guys make posts as per your real experience and not just make speculations on what will work or not.

      Ok real experience? I know biz owners who complain bout overseas sales calls...
      seo seo seo...blah blah first page google blah blah


      I get annoying emails from people from out of the country myself


      You were told the truth - freelance....hook up with a company that outsources...maybe white label


      You are not able to walk into biz in person and sell them, and I don't see how you are going to train a group of college students from far away


      Maybe you can find a "warrior" to sell your stuff but it seems like many of them don't want to walk into a biz or cold call and sell their own services so why would they sell yours?


      I don't think you are going to get Americans to work for you very easily
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9874230].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by harro1 View Post

      I don't understand the point of targeting USA clients from foreign countries, most SEO companies are located in india, phillipines, and similar countries and american clients hire them all the time as they are much cheaper. Also i would appreciate if you guys make posts as per your real experience and not just make speculations on what will work or not.
      Most of those SEO companies are hired by American SEO companies.

      My experience... if someone cold calls me with a foreign accent and it's not some hot female British accent, I hang up.
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9874383].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author shadow92
      Originally Posted by harro1 View Post

      most SEO companies are located in india, phillipines, and similar countries and american clients hire them all the time as they are much cheaper
      You're mistaking "Located" and "Location". The companies you speak of are dominantly LOCATED in the U.S....The sweatshops you're referring to, are simply LOCATIONS where labor is cheap.

      U.S companies setup shop because they can train these foreign folks to do basic tasks...you build up enough basic tasks and you have a system, you have a system you have results. Point is...they run them like rats on wheels to power a much more sophisticated system...for cheap.

      The answer to your little problem is pretty complex. If you have an accent, you can forget about Americans hiring you via cold calling. It's not impossible, you're just going to have to make about 10X the amount of calls as a call center in america would.

      If you ask me...the short answer is...you should probably start studying on the art of emailing. You actually have some advantages being in a foreign country....if you know what I mean
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9874421].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author christina21maria
    appreciate the input man! I did feel that the prices were slightly low, but as you said I have a good margin and I'm just starting out lol. I see what you're saying about fiverr but there are some quite reputable suppliers on fiverr. Also, if I'm able to find a good supplier on fiverr
    Signature
    Cheap and relevant guest posting service , Indian Fun Pic
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9903181].message }}

Trending Topics