Cold walking - how to do it the right way? | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

12 years ago

I do a lot of cold calling. Start off with a question as soon as you can .The way to control a conversation face to face is through questions. Have a few that direct you right into the presentation in a nature that you don't have to ask if you can start.

Second thing to do is think of all the possible things they may bring up and talk about those issue before they bring them up. Anytime you can be pro-active gives you the credibility.

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newbizideas312 12 years ago

You really want to succeed? Test everything out. Maybe a cold walk in is good, but intro call could be better. Only test out one variable at a time...

Start with your cold walk, or start with a intro call, or try an intro call promoting a webinar/teleconference. You need to figure out what your customer is worth to you, and then you will be able to figure out how much you can spend to acquire a customer.

Don't try to do everything on your own. If you are making a few hundred dollar profit then invest in leads and salespeople while you concentrate on whatever you do.

Cold calling sucks, and so do cold walk ins..You are presuming they are looking for a solution to your problem. I get calls/emails like this all the time. Hey do you have seo work? I can do a great website design for you, and we have good rates.. I don't even need a website lol...Find out if they have a need, and if they do offer a usp.

For instance just off the top of my head. "Hey I was in the area and wanted to introduce myself. I am a marketing expert and work with ____(their type of business, and I wanted to show you how we could get you more customers. In fact if I can't deliver you don't pay a dime. Would it be worth 5-10 minutes to show you how?

Relationships/ innovation is what is going to help you out. I don't know what you are promoting website design, or marketing, but maybe you can give away a free trial or guarantee.

You could also try to figure out what the logical before/after sale would be of your ideal client.. If a company already sells to your customer base, strike a deal where they could offer you leads, this would help their customers, and offer them a percentage of the sale/additional revenue. (for instance if you sold seo services for dentists then approach a website development company focus on dentists. Then you can refer customers back and fourth)

Just some thoughts.. as i read them out loud more like rambling lol. Just test everything out from the first words you say, to your pitch, and close. Good luck, and ask for referrals.
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tryinhere

12 years ago

Originally Posted by agonce

I
"I have created a cost effective {service} plan for your business(marketing strategy) which will double (triple, whatever) its effectiveness and will help you generate a lot more customers / back end profits . I have prepared a very short presentation for you, all I need is 10-15 minutes of your time to show how this works." -

I Know most people are busy when I call, so today I am setting a time for those interested so i can drop back at a more suitable time for them, what would suit you best ? (say a few days / times here if you want) most will probably at this point say now is fine anyway but you have pitched in an nin aggressive way the meet / presentation.

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agonce

12 years ago

Originally Posted by tryinhere

I Know most people are busy when I call, so today I am setting a time for those interested so i can drop back at a more suitable time for them, what would suit you best ? (say a few days / times here if you want) most will probably at this point say now is fine anyway but you have pitched in an nin aggressive way the meet / presentation.

wow thanks, thats a nice strategy. The way I wanted to do it was definitely going to scare them away, or thats what I thought w/o yet trying it.

thanks though, this really helps

I will def. try it.

Thanks

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Jason Kanigan

12 years ago

Hi everyone, for cold calling walk-ins, this article from inc mag is an oldie but a goodie. And it's in-depth, over-the-shoulder of some great walk-in cold callers, not some trash piece that gives you a stupid list of "things to remember" that you never will under stress.

Note the "being a little unsure" ("I'm wondering if you can help me out") for getting the gatekeeper to become an ally. Do this.

Also note that the trainers against cold calling are bitching about how expensive it is, and that the 'footsoldiers' are going in to see unqualified prospects. Baloney! The salesperson IS qualifying--he's picking affluent parts of town, nice-looking buildings, and particular types of businesses. Look at his 'read' of the person he meets in the hallway on page 1. Qualification is going on here.

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Sue Bruce

12 years ago

You will find "No Soliciting" signs on the door of many businesses. Have something presentable and professional to leave for the owner.

It gives a new meaning to direct mail!

Thanks
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agonce

12 years ago

Originally Posted by kaniganj

Hi everyone, for cold calling walk-ins, this article from inc mag is an oldie but a goodie. And it's in-depth, over-the-shoulder of some great walk-in cold callers, not some trash piece that gives you a stupid list of "things to remember" that you never will under stress.

Note the "being a little unsure" ("I'm wondering if you can help me out") for getting the gatekeeper to become an ally. Do this.

Also note that the trainers against cold calling are bitching about how expensive it is, and that the 'footsoldiers' are going in to see unqualified prospects. Baloney! The salesperson IS qualifying--he's picking affluent parts of town, nice-looking buildings, and particular types of businesses. Look at his 'read' of the person he meets in the hallway on page 1. Qualification is going on here.

thats a very nice article indeed. thanks for the tip too.

Originally Posted by Sue Bruce

You will find "No Soliciting" signs on the door of many businesses. Have something presentable and professional to leave for the owner.

It gives a new meaning to direct mail!

hmmm now I am confused whether I should direct mail or just cold walk.
Even if i walk in, the worst thing they will say is "no we are not interested" or just "go away".

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iAmNameLess

12 years ago

Originally Posted by Sue Bruce

You will find "No Soliciting" signs on the door of many businesses. Have something presentable and professional to leave for the owner.

It gives a new meaning to direct mail!

THIS! ^ One of my buddies started a sign company and he was walking by to businesses. He was ticketed for not having a peddlers license. Pretty dumb, since it really isn't peddling, but thats how it goes I guess.

I do think that more people are willing to hear you face to face but in a matter of time, cold calling still is the winner!

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Steve Solem

12 years ago

Originally Posted by kaniganj

Hi everyone, for cold calling walk-ins, this article from inc mag is an oldie but a goodie. And it's in-depth, over-the-shoulder of some great walk-in cold callers, not some trash piece that gives you a stupid list of "things to remember" that you never will under stress.

That's a great article, however I think it's important to be aware of the differences between his business and anyone selling any offline services. Not only was that guy selling services worth many thousands of dollars, he only got paid if he collected - so there was no cost to the client upfront and there was absolutely no risk involved for his clients.

I think just about any marketing approach is worth trying out to see what works best in your unique situation, but only you know your numbers and what will work for you, so you need to know (or learn quickly) how much a new client is worth to you, how many hours you need to cold walk to get x number of meetings and how many meetings you'll need to get a paid client from all of that.

Personally, if you don't mind talking to cold clients, I think your time would be better spent at a networking club or chamber of commerce meeting where you've got people you know are looking to get more business and they're all in one place too!

If there aren't any networking groups in town, why not start one up yourself! You'd get a lot of attention as the leader of a local networking group and I think you'd get more "yes's" inviting people to a networking mixer where they can meet other local business owners than you would trying to sell your services to them one to one.

That's just me - but whatever you decide, be sure to take detailed notes so you know just how much time and money you're investing to get each new client and when you're able, test different marketing methods to see which produces the greatest ROI for you.

Cheers,

Steve

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lanew

12 years ago

Originally Posted by kaniganj

Hi everyone, for cold calling walk-ins, this article from inc mag is an oldie but a goodie. And it's in-depth, over-the-shoulder of some great walk-in cold callers, not some trash piece that gives you a stupid list of "things to remember" that you never will under stress.

Note the "being a little unsure" ("I'm wondering if you can help me out") for getting the gatekeeper to become an ally. Do this.

Also note that the trainers against cold calling are bitching about how expensive it is, and that the 'footsoldiers' are going in to see unqualified prospects. Baloney! The salesperson IS qualifying--he's picking affluent parts of town, nice-looking buildings, and particular types of businesses. Look at his 'read' of the person he meets in the hallway on page 1. Qualification is going on here.

Fantastic article. I often use the ally approach to gatekeepers, and it does work. I think I naturally have a very "mystified look" to my face. Thanks for sharing.

Be well!

Thanks

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Jason Kanigan

12 years ago

Get out there and do walk-ins! Direct mail is slow to generate responses. You can get results from walk-ins the day you do 'em. "You gotta give action to get action!" If you haven't got anything going on, it's because you haven't taken enough action. The key is that you have to be persistent: it takes a couple of weeks to start building up inertia. Once you're past that startup phase, though, and you just keep doing the actions, you have enough going on that if one person cancels an appointment or stops being a customer it's no big deal.

It doesn't matter what your service or product costs, or when you bill; if you're looking for pain and qualifying your prospects, you're sure to find someone who needs what you have to offer if you use your brain and visit enough places.

My rates aren't introductory, and for much of what I do I get 50% up front; when I *need* work and $$$ NOW I get it, today!

I ran a metal fab shop for awhile in the mid 2000s. When my guys were going to run out of work, I simply got in one of the shop trucks and started driving around town to every construction site I could see. Within a couple of hours I'd get a project or two for custom metal brackets (1/2" or 3/8" thick steel shapes) to hold up the roofs. Or I'd get custom driveway gates or railings or fence projects, which are $5000 - $20,000+. Walk-ins work. As the guy said in the article, "It shows you that this interference thing is just a head trip."

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Jagged

12 years ago

If the business has a website already but no mobile site or is not mobile ready......try pulling it up on your cell phone / ipad and show them that this is what your customers are seeing when searching on mobile devices. With 4x the amount of people searching on mobile devices than on home computers....chances are that customers will shy away if they see a distorted or hard to navigate site. Show this to the right from the start....should grab their attention fast.

Oh, and cold walking....wear comfortable shoes and bring water....last thing you need is an excuse to stop...

~Ken

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agonce

12 years ago

wow guys, I really appreciate all the comments, suggestions and tips.

@Steve, yeah the article involves promotion of a different product of what we are selling here, however, I believe most of the things mentioned there can be implemented in any niche when it comes to doing walk ins.

@kaniganj, thanks for the motivational post. I will definitely get out there and start promoting my service tomorrow. as I said, I dont expect anything worse than a rejection but i dont plan to give up.

@Ken, thats exactly what I am promoting. I have a feeling that what I am offering is a MUST for the businesses that I have targeted and if they don't want it, then its is their loss and not mine. the best thing of all is that there are sooo many businesses/owners out there who need a mobile site. thanks for the 'bringing water' tip !

Thanks

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bryson

12 years ago

I know you want to hit as many biz as possible in a short time but i would recommend doing a little reseach on each biz before hand to find all the holes in their marketing. Then you can walk in and as a dirct question along the lines of "I noticed this....and there is a way you can fix this and get more customers". Do you have 15 minutes to take a look at..." Or something like that. If they say no, leave them a short report of all the problems and solutions. Then follow up in week if they don't call you back. If they still say no move on.

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agonce

12 years ago

Originally Posted by bryson

I know you want to hit as many biz as possible in a short time but i would recommend doing a little reseach on each biz before hand to find all the holes in their marketing. Then you can walk in and as a dirct question along the lines of "I noticed this....and there is a way you can fix this and get more customers". Do you have 15 minutes to take a look at..." Or something like that. If they say no, leave them a short report of all the problems and solutions. Then follow up in week if they don't call you back. If they still say no move on.

thats what Im thinking to do too. I will be creating mock ups for all the things that I am offering and then show them how and why my solution will improve whatever strategy/tools they are using.

thanks

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bryson 12 years ago

Once you get out there and get started be su
re to give some updates on your progress.
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agonce

12 years ago

I will do that bryson. I just got the htc evo 3d today and now I am able to present to a client how things work. I am all ready, I might even go out tomorrow and visit 4-5 businesses

thanks all, will update in the coming days...

Thanks

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RentItNow

12 years ago

Originally Posted by agonce

"I have created a {service} plan for your business(marketing strategy) which will double(triple, whatever) its effectiveness and will help you generate a lot more customers. I have prepared a very short presentation for you, all I need is 10-15 minutes of your time to show how this works." - And then wait a few seconds for their initial reaction. If they show A LITTLE interest, I will continue with: "can I start now?"

OK, if you use this approach I can tell you the typical business owner's thinking and something you should learn now. The business owner knows more about their business than anyone and you approaching them saying you have a magic system that they did not know about that will double their income, who the hell are you? Are you in the business of xyz and have doubled your business?

Btw, do not be afraid of cold-walk ins. It is how I built my offline REALLY fast and refined my offers, pitches etc. Now I mostly just talk to people that can possibly be my client and things fall into place. I would never hesitate tho if I need cashflow to walk into 50 businesses a day.

How I would do it is have a HUGE QR code printed out and walk in and say, "Have you seen these all over? Do you know what they are and how you can use them to get more customers today?" Scan it with your phone and say look, I just sent you to my website for an offer and you are right in front of my to take advantage of it just like your customers will be.

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midasman09

Banned 12 years ago

"Cold-Walking!" Holy Camoly! I've been "Cold-Walking" ever since I sat down at my desk...picked up the phone and spent an hour "Cold-Calling" and got ZERO interest.

Hung up the phone...put on my coat...grabbed my 3-ring binder (I call it my "Pitch-Book) with my Presentation of WHAT I'm doing...WHERE I'm doing it....HOW MANY I'm doing...and my Rate Sheet....walked into an Auto Parts Store....asked if the owner was in....clerk pointed me to a bald guy at the end of the counter....went over to him and said;

"Mornin', I've got a New way for you to get more business! Do you have a "Quick-Minute?"

I don't even tell them my Name (they could care less WHAT my Name is) I just open my Pitch Book to first page and start reading....I get to the Rate Sheet....read the Rates....pull out my "Order Form" and begin writing in their Name and business name. If he doesn't stop me....I keep writing...fill in the numbers....show him the sheet and tell him to "Make a check out to Advantage Marketing"....hand him a Yellow Cop and ....that's it.

They either buy MY thing or they don't. Now...they don't all go this way BUT...enough do to allow me to pick up 4 to 6 checks a day when I'm out "Cold-Walking"!

I'm not selling BIG-Ticket stuff. My stuff is less than $500. If they can't make a decision NOW...I DON'T come back. The ONLY REASON to make a "Call-Back"....no matter what prospect says....is to get a "NO!"...so why waste your time!

Don Alm...."Cold-Walker" from Waaay Baaack

Thanks
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RentItNow

12 years ago

Originally Posted by midasman09

"Cold-Walking!" Holy Camoly! I've been "Cold-Walking" ever since I sat down at my desk...picked up the phone and spent an hour "Cold-Calling" and got ZERO interest.

Hung up the phone...put on my coat...grabbed my 3-ring binder (I call it my "Pitch-Book) with my Presentation of WHAT I'm doing...WHERE I'm doing it....HOW MANY I'm doing...and my Rate Sheet....walked into an Auto Parts Store....asked if the owner was in....clerk pointed me to a bald guy at the end of the counter....went over to him and said;

"Mornin', I've got a New way for you to get more business! Do you have a "Quick-Minute?"

I don't even tell them my Name (they could care less WHAT my Name is) I just open my Pitch Book to first page and start reading....I get to the Rate Sheet....read the Rates....pull out my "Order Form" and begin writing in their Name and business name. If he doesn't stop me....I keep writing...fill in the numbers....show him the sheet and tell him to "Make a check out to Advantage Marketing"....hand him a Yellow Cop and ....that's it.

They either buy MY thing or they don't. Now...they don't all go this way BUT...enough do to allow me to pick up 4 to 6 checks a day when I'm out "Cold-Walking"!

I'm not selling BIG-Ticket stuff. My stuff is less than $500. If they can't make a decision NOW...I DON'T come back. The ONLY REASON to make a "Call-Back"....no matter what prospect says....is to get a "NO!"...so why waste your time!

Don Alm...."Cold-Walker" from Waaay Baaack

That's some b@lls man! Love it. I cant cold-call. Too impersonal and I cant read people's reactions fast enough to adjust pitch during conversation. Love this tho! My feet always pays the bills when i need it to. Wish I learned that 20 years ago.

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iAmNameLess

12 years ago

Originally Posted by midasman09

picked up the phone and spent an hour "Cold-Calling" and got ZERO interest.

Perhaps that is why you got ZERO interest.

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agonce

12 years ago

Originally Posted by iAmNameLess

Perhaps that is why you got ZERO interest.

lol I think he was explaining when he started out, how he decided to go with cold walk ins instead of cold calling at first.

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Sue Bruce

12 years ago

Agonce,

The name of the game is time management. This time of year, it is hard to "pound the pavement'. Heres a few tips that I found helpful selling B2B.

Make friends with everyone you meet. If there is a receptionist, smile like you just won the lottery. Try to be cheery and humorous. People like to laugh and feel better when you walk out than they did when you walked in.

You need the receptionist to tell the owner "There was a really friendly guy here today and he left this for you to take a look at"

If the owner wasn't in, I would fold my flyer in half and grab a paper clip from my pocket and attach my business card to it. Ask the recep who you should address it to. Get the recep's name as well. This way you have not wasted time, in your case, making a mock up and walking out with nothing.

Basically you will be hand delivering direct mail pieces without having to pay postage. A certain percentage of these people will call you. Sometimes, the same day.

If you leave a business and the owner is not in, be sure to ask "When is the best time of the day to speak with him? Will he be in tomorrow? Now you can call the business when you know he's in and say that you were speaking to "Mary". You have the owner's name so you can ask for him directly. Very important, especially if its not "Mary" who answers the phone.

I know its really fast to make a mock up. However, I want to share with you info from a huge company I worked for (as in 18 billion a year)

"Our top sales people earn $100,000+/yr. How do they accomplish this? Their goal is to visit as few businesses as possible. Why? They are spending their valuable time closing sales."

Basically one person will run in and out of businesses dropping business cards on receptionists desks. Another person will know how to manage time better to build relationships. In this particular business we kept a sheet that showed how much time we spent actually talking to people.

The top sales people made 4 sales a day @ $200/sale. You should be able to do this easily with a little experience.

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Aktion

8 years ago

Bumping this old thread.

This below advice is very motivating to me. Same strategy I will be using.

Originally Posted by Sue Bruce

Agonce,

...

Make friends with everyone you meet. If there is a receptionist, smile like you just won the lottery. Try to be cheery and humorous. People like to laugh and feel better when you walk out than they did when you walked in.

You need the receptionist to tell the owner "There was a really friendly guy here today and he left this for you to take a look at"

...

Basically one person will run in and out of businesses dropping business cards on receptionists desks. Another person will know how to manage time better to build relationships. In this particular business we kept a sheet that showed how much time we spent actually talking to people.

Thanks

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Vikuna2009+

12 years ago

Originally Posted by midasman09

"Cold-Walking!" Holy Camoly! I've been "Cold-Walking" ever since I sat down at my desk...picked up the phone and spent an hour "Cold-Calling" and got ZERO interest.

Hung up the phone...put on my coat...grabbed my 3-ring binder (I call it my "Pitch-Book) with my Presentation of WHAT I'm doing...WHERE I'm doing it....HOW MANY I'm doing...and my Rate Sheet....walked into an Auto Parts Store....asked if the owner was in....clerk pointed me to a bald guy at the end of the counter....went over to him and said;

"Mornin', I've got a New way for you to get more business! Do you have a "Quick-Minute?"

I don't even tell them my Name (they could care less WHAT my Name is) I just open my Pitch Book to first page and start reading....I get to the Rate Sheet....read the Rates....pull out my "Order Form" and begin writing in their Name and business name. If he doesn't stop me....I keep writing...fill in the numbers....show him the sheet and tell him to "Make a check out to Advantage Marketing"....hand him a Yellow Cop and ....that's it.

They either buy MY thing or they don't. Now...they don't all go this way BUT...enough do to allow me to pick up 4 to 6 checks a day when I'm out "Cold-Walking"!

I'm not selling BIG-Ticket stuff. My stuff is less than $500. If they can't make a decision NOW...I DON'T come back. The ONLY REASON to make a "Call-Back"....no matter what prospect says....is to get a "NO!"...so why waste your time!

Don Alm...."Cold-Walker" from Waaay Baaack

I,m with Don on this. No need to ask for 15 minutes or whatever. If they agree to a "quick minute", you got a potential buyer. Asking for 15 minutes is way too much. Save yourself some time. If they can't agree to a quick minute, you do not have an interested buyer. Simple as that.

As far as pulling out my order sheet and start writing, well, that requires more b*lls then I got, lol.

Bottom line, if you can show them in a few split seconds what it is that you got, "a quick minute" could easily turn into a sale and a two hour conversation where you could upsell even more.

Just my 2 ore, Eva

Thanks

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localvseo

12 years ago

Another strategy that combines a lot of what has been said is to cold-call in order to setup in-person appts. If you really want to be strategic about it do your research ahead of time. Visit the streets you want to target, note the businesses you think would be best for your strategy, do some web research and learn more about what they do, who the right person to talk to is etc. You will probably have much more success lining up appts. the more info you have about your potential customers.

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agonce

12 years ago

thank you all for your responses. very helpful and I will be reading the posts over and over again to remember and implement as much information as possible from here. I hope other people who needed help with cold walking found this thread helpful too

keep 'em coming!

Thanks

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Tony Jones

12 years ago

I suck at any cold marketing. I tried cold calling once and failed so hard!

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Charles Harper

12 years ago

One thing that could be an ice breaker is if there is a writeup anyplace published about your prospect. I would search the local news papers, trade journals and association journals. If they are listed in there you can someplace talk about what you read about them. If they are semi-sophisticated they may have and be mentioned in a press release someplace. If you acknowledge some real success they have this can work.

Also, you could feature some of the business owners you meet on your local blog and then just go in to basically request an interview with them. You can put it on your blog as a writeup or if you are bold enough, you can do a Blog Talk Radio show interview and rank the show in your area. This is a variation on the "Jobless Dad" strategy by my good friend John Spangler (yet another good Central PA man). If you search the forum, you should read his threads they are great.

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't say that you should have a good lead generation report with a call to action in your hands to give the business owner.

CT