Which is best Offline Methods? Cold Calls? Post Cards? Cold Visits?

I'm new to this also here's what I've learned:

There is no answer what works best everyones pitch is different everyone different things to offer and how it should work.

I think starting out you should go in person with flyers with your services and offer discounts because you need to build your portfolio. Keep letting them know your services will indeed benefit them they know about investments so they aren't new to throwing money at something to help their business.

If you're convincing enough they will surely use you you just need to keep it simple and sweet.

The best method I have found time after time is carefully selecting and targetting vendors/clients. Do some heavy research and find all their faults, and cater my pitch and services to their valued needs. Could go more in depth but basically I produce high quality research reports showing the bleeding deficiencies within a business within one document and if they turn me away I drop it off and let them ponder about it.

Your question does not have a simple answer..."It all depends"! Are you comfortable with cold calling? "Do you have a successful converting and tracked website/offer"? "Have you done post card/direct mailing"?

The best way to do things offline is to first decide what type of consultant/personality you are capable of being from the getgo! Can you handle rejection/NO's...constantly? Or do you prefer to soft sell with direct mail/postcards and be contacted by the prospect first?

All the methods you mentioned work and have worked for ages...but...you need to find your "comfort angle"! Once you do that then you will have answered your own question! They all work alone and together!

Combine them all.

Send a letter, send an article they would like, give them a call then drop by. I just came up with that really quickly but you get my point. Develop a prospecting system, not just one-shot in the dark tactics.

Thanks for the useful info I think I will hit em with all 3 to increase my chances of them saying YES PLEASE HELP MY BUSINESS!!

I will also do more research to show there where they are losing out on a lot of money.

Thanks for the tips everyone keep em coming!!

If it were me, I would contact sites with crappy websites. Ones without a website will probably be harder to convince they need a website.

Here's what I did to get a good selling letter (this can be done with a postcard too).

I hired 3 different copywriters and tested all three in batches of 100. One stood out and got the best response so I use it exclusively for consistent results. I am selling mobile sites right now but will use this method again when marketing other offline services.

I would say a SYSTEM. Whether it be with cold calling, postcards, visits or whatever. A well thought out system with any of these that you can stick to religiously will be awesomely effective if you stick to it and perfect it!

Great! Glad you enjoyed. Yes try it out for a while, it's a killer converter!

Great! these methods will surely work out,and let me tell you your hard work is being appreciated,and it will take you places..most in for all your clients will be happy.

I must say that there are different strategies that work for every one depending on the niche you are targeting. If your customer have a website, then you need to check if it is optimized seo friendly. If not, then give them free consultation or free advise, but do not reveal at that time or do not be desperate to get that job. If you really convince him to have a deeper look, then definately that is your customer for lifetime.

Go one by one to each sites for your local area and contact them by email or phone giving them advise.

As many others suggested, I think a lot of it has to do with the type of industry/company you are targeting. For example:

- I have had better success when trying to work with a restaurant, when I stop in-person between their lunch and dinner crowd.
- You can generally reach owners in the auto repair field around 7am-7:30am each morning (phone or in person).
- For me, I have had much better results sending very targeted emails to most local dentists, because many of them are booked with patients during the day, and can not possibly see or talk to every sales person that walks in.

Hope this helps

I would say, go egg a bunch of places at night and then in the morning come offer to clean up their windows. That should get you some easy money.

In all seriousness, though, it's a metaphor. It's all about creating the need for them to want your service. If you can connect with them and create that need, or your service is so in-demand they are creating the need for themselves and seeking you out, that's even better!

Sorry to be vague but I think that's the core of selling. I'll leave the specifics to the rock stars, but I always liked to look at things from a conceptual level, first. I think it's easier to reach success that way.

Thanks for all the tips everyone closed my first sale yesterday and banked $1070! Cant wait to see what happens today!

I have to say that I hate cold calling, both doing the calls and receiving the calls. I think most business owners are the same way. I am of the opinion that unless you have a superstar telemarketer, most telemarketing is dead. It's over-used.

That being said, cold calling to set up an appointment for a personal visit is a bit different, and offers more respect to the prospect by at least trying to work with the business owner's schedule.

Cold meetings can be just as annoying, but I think are more effective than cold calling. If you can IMMEDIATELY develop rapport and gain interest, then you have a good chance. Other than that, the EXTREMELY BUSY small business owner isn't going to like dropping what he or she is doing this minute to survive in a down economy to listen to a sales pitch. Again, appointment setting can be more effective as it blends cold calling and personal meetings.

I like passive sales a lot better. It may take longer to get results, but the customers seem to be more loyal. Postcards work as long as they stand out. The copy has to catch the attention right off the bat. If not it will get tossed. Remember, these people are busy.

Here's a cut and paste of a post I put on another thread that gives my most successful method:

I have always believed that if a company offers exemplary service, goodwill and value, the company will have loyal customers. While EVERYONE says their company gives good service it is typically hard to prove on a flyer. Testimonials are about the only way to reinforce one's service.

Goodwill and value, however, are extremely easy to offer. I typically use these two concepts to build email lists. That way, if I don't make the immediate sale, I at least have some contact information through which I can push other promotions. When I say "goodwill" and "value", I typically join the two. I promote goodwill by giving away something of value. For example, if I were promoting mobile sites and marketing services to small businesses, I would invite the business owner to visit an opt in page from which the owner could download a free "Marketing Secrets" book (one of which happens to be the massive power of mobile websites.) A revamped PLR ebook can work nicely here. I've also found that a book on building business credit is in large demand.

Once when I was marketing a service for housewives, I gave away a book of recipes which my grandma had compiled before she died. I gave it away for nothing more than a name and an email address. I received a lot of sales from this tactic, and only later learned that I SHOULD have been selling the recipe book. (I got more compliments on that book than anything else.)

Again, generating goodwill by giving away something of value IN CONJUNCTION WITH your already fantastic promotion might just be the last push before you fly even higher.

I have received a number of compliments from business owners thanking me for respecting their time and giving them a reason to listen at their convenience and NOT when I decide to interrupt their day with a cold call or an unannounced visit.

Hope this post gives some "value." LOL!

You can actually target businesses via Click2Mail and use their mailing list system. It lets you select businesses by zip code and once you buy that list C2M will mail out your cards for you after you fund your account. I've used them in the past and had great results.

Good Luck!

Malcolm

This may seem outlandish.. I use QR codes and I leave them at their office. I only mail about 250. Its been converting really well because it shows that I stand outside the box.

I'm about to make your day!

Here's the #1 way to close biz owners and become an offline marketing superstar.

Send them a postcard, but instead of just leaving them your phone # and saying "Hey call me"....

Offer them a free audio CD and give it a snazzy title like "7 Ways A Website Can Increase Your Sales."

That biz owner will 9 times out of 10 request the CD, and they WILL listen to it, and after that they will be blown away at your creativity and they WILL either hire you, or be really excited about talking to you in person.

This is how you beat every one else that just cold calls them on the phone and then gives up.

ya your idea is marvelous you better take some marketing people other than doing it personally. I recommend it because they have the vocabulary and the techniques which a designer or developer rarely have.

All the best

A tool I use that works fabulously is fellow Warriors Barry Plaskow's and Roger D's "Site Lead Machine" that is an OTO for their "Site Crusher" WSO. It allows you to do a quick mock-up for a business of what their new/updated website could look like.

I'll make one, drop by a business, and let them know I made them a custom website. I'll put the URL on the back of my business card, hand it to them, and tell them to check it out. There are times when I cannot even get out the door before they say they want to have it. And, that's my foot in the door to future upsells. It's simple, yet brilliant.

You are starting a thread saying

and in your signature you are trying to educate others.

I wonder when I see such examples

I don't think there is 1 single thing you can do to address it, instead several things like great product, service, asking for referrals, good service after the sale and building you list where people can opt in rather than approached by cold calling etc... is a better way of generating more future and repeat business.

I should do this to get my client. Take a lot of work but if it can produce thousands dollar, who can reject this?

They're all equally lethal. That's what people fail to realize.

It's just how you refine it, test it, optimize it, and utilize it in order to make the most money.

One of the methods which worked for me is coming in person to the place ( and I know that the owner is there) with a fedex envelope with my proposal. That way it is earsier to get his attention and he could talk to you right there.

Of course there are many methods, but at some point cold calls or meetings are necessary. You would not avoid it. So everybody in the offline world needs to be ready for that.

Cold calling by phone, cold calling by visit, and postcards all work, along with many other methods. You may have to use two or more of these methods per prospect before getting the sale. Versatility is the key, knowing which tool to use when comes from experience.