Can you beleive some companies don't want free customers?

12 years ago

Originally Posted by ScottW

So I've been making some lead gen video sites and forwarding the customers to a "To Big to Fail" business (Hill Electric). I figured I'd call after a few customers were sent to them and say "Wanna keep this going?". Found a problem, seems companies get tons of computer generated calls daily and just hang up on them. Since I had my wisper running, so when I called to close they would say "Oh Yea! I remember that"! So I called and said "Hey, did you get these leads and they said "Huh? So the receptionist gives me the manager and I explain what I'm doing and ask "Do you want me to continue to send these customers?" He says "NO"!!!!!!!

So they are now going elsewhere! Gonna have to change and call these people FIRST and see if they even want any business before sending anyone! The morale of the story? CALL FIRST some people don't need anymore business and if you use wisper to announce your lead they will hang up on them!! Go figure?

Did the same thing - the whisper get's them to hang up, I learned the hard way as well.

I would also target someone that would appreciate what you have done - i.e. blue collar niches, smaller businesses work best -

If he says "No" :

"Thanks"

Then dial his competitor:

"Just got off the phoen with competitor name, he does not want the leads generated from my video/website, can you use more business?"

The whisper is loved by current clients that use their cell phone as their business phone: they know to put their game face on and not answer with just a "hello"

Ry

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ScottW 12 years ago

Yep, gonna call servicemagic folk. At least I know (am pretty sure) they want and will pay for leads.
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sandalwood

12 years ago

When you say, "whisper running" what does that mean? I haven't heard that one b4.

Tom

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jimbo13 12 years ago

What is whisper?

Also is Hill Electric famous in the US? I only see hillelectric.net is that who you mean? I'm not a US bod.

How would they know to track what came in from you if they had no idea you had set it up?

Dan
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ScottW 12 years ago

Wisper is a service on Callfire that will announce a message when the forwarded call is picked up then make the connection. For instance "Scott calling" then connects the caller.
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ScottW

12 years ago

They are US. Big company. The idea was to send a few leads then call and say "How did they work out?" So you would come in "Warm" instead of "Cold"

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iAmNameLess 12 years ago

Originally Posted by ScottW

They are US. Big company. The idea was to send a few leads then call and say "How did they work out?" So you would come in "Warm" instead of "Cold"

Imagine just calling them, letting them know you have a website that ranks high in google, and you want to rent it out to them? It will likely work just as well.
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- ScottW 12 years ago
  
  That would save any confusion! Still, I was hoping for a little edge. Plus gotta send folk somewhere in the meantime.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  ryanmckinney 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by ScottW
  
  That would save any confusion! Still, I was hoping for a little edge. Plus gotta send folk somewhere in the meantime.
  
  If you have something generating leads right now, and the first person didn't want em' -
  
  Send them to your own phone (or if they opt in to an e-mail) - then just call up a business and let them know you have someone right now this second looking for their services..
  
  Ry
  
  Thanks
  
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- jimbo13 12 years ago
  
  ^ Correct.
  
  Just phone and say you have a proposal for them, get the ok, set it up, get feedback.
  
  Not exactly warm call, but not exactly deep freeze either as you aren't looking to sell them at that point. Simply a proposition. Soft word proposal/proposition.
  
  Job done.
  
  Dan
  
  Okay you typed before me. My arrow is aimed at Iamnameless - lol. Make the call before you redirect then otherwise you may get the same response.
  
  I don't see the point in the announcement myself but that is for you.
  
  Thanks
  
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Jason Kanigan

12 years ago

The issue is that they don't know you, so they don't trust you.

Even giving away things takes selling, these days.

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umc

12 years ago

I own service businesses. If you sent people my way without my knowledge and did so through a site that I didn't approve and didn't know the message of, I wouldn't take them either. How do you know that the message you are putting forth meshes with that businesses brand? You could be out there sending a message that I don't agree with.

A simple way around this is to get the leads, ask them if they would like them, and move on if they don't, rather than cramming them down their throat. As I've mentioned before, if you sent them my way you could cause me problems because I'm super busy and might have to turn people away, thus leaving those people with a bad impression.

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ScottW

12 years ago

The message is generic to any business (Trust, quality, Reliable) few phrases in a video. Not a website promising the world. Simple lead gen stuff. I think its great that you can turn away leads because your so busy, don't think that fits most business models right now. I could be wrong though. The problem with getting the leads then asking some business if they want them doesn't work for this model. Most of the leads need service now! They are buyers looking to solve a problem on the phone now! Not an email gathering we'll get back to sometime jobbie. I'd rather pass a lead on without credit then have a dead end on the phone.

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umc

12 years ago

Originally Posted by ScottW

The message is generic to any business (Trust, quality, Reliable) few phrases in a video. Not a website promising the world. Simple lead gen stuff. I think its great that you can turn away leads because your so busy, don't think that fits most business models right now. I could be wrong though. The problem with getting the leads then asking some business if they want them doesn't work for this model. Most of the leads need service now! They are buyers looking to solve a problem on the phone now! Not an email gathering we'll get back to sometime jobbie. I'd rather pass a lead on without credit then have a dead end on the phone.

What would preclude you from simply calling them first and telling them that you are a lead gen specialist that has an overflow of leads coming in and that you would like to send them their way of they would like the business? Obviously, people in general are leery of anything offered for free because nothing is truly free in life, there is always a cost. If they are leery, just tell them that you are overwhelmed with leads and want to make sure that people are taken care of, or offer it as a free trial or something. Then forward the calls to them with your whisper.

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ScottW

12 years ago

Originally Posted by umc

What would preclude you from simply calling them first and telling them that you are a lead gen specialist that has an overflow of leads coming in and that you would like to send them their way of they would like the business? Obviously, people in general are leery of anything offered for free because nothing is truly free in life, there is always a cost. If they are leery, just tell them that you are overwhelmed with leads and want to make sure that people are taken care of, or offer it as a free trial or something. Then forward the calls to them with your whisper.

Absolutely nothing wrong with this! Reck'in that's the ticket.

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zoro

12 years ago

Originally Posted by umc

I own service businesses. If you sent people my way without my knowledge and did so through a site that I didn't approve and didn't know the message of, I wouldn't take them either. How do you know that the message you are putting forth meshes with that businesses brand? You could be out there sending a message that I don't agree with.

A simple way around this is to get the leads, ask them if they would like them, and move on if they don't, rather than cramming them down their throat. As I've mentioned before, if you sent them my way you could cause me problems because I'm super busy and might have to turn people away, thus leaving those people with a bad impression.

If people are seeking quick solution to an Emergency it's no good hanging onto the leads before you pass them onto a prospective client. You need to send the lead directly to the business asap.

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Eddie Spangler 12 years ago

Originally Posted by kaniganj

The issue is that they don't know you, so they don't trust you.

Even giving away things takes selling, these days.

And this is exactly why you might as well go in looking to provide a service and charge a price for it.

I wasted over a year giving away free stuff hoping to turn people into customers before I realized that its generally just easier to present a value proposition and make a sale than to give away free stuff HOPING to get a sale later.
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BrainCopy

12 years ago

I'm a graphic designer at heart and my uncle opened an Italian restaurant.
When I was designing his menus he kept getting calls after call after call for about
two months straight.

In fact he had people calling to try and set up an SEO campaign... His first words were WTF is SEO? and hung up. He's Italian and really is impatient... BUT yet
ended up putting the business in the yellow pages that cost him more than what he would have paid for the SEO campaign. And that was because the rep came over to talk to him.

You really have to learn how these business people are and how they react to certain things.

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mr2monster

12 years ago

This has happened to me before. It's actually more common than you think.

This is also why I refuse to send out freebies anymore. I don't even build a site for a niche until I've secured a client for it.

I spent way too much time building lead sites, generating freebies, not being able to find a client to take on the sites at the price I needed, and wasted tons of hours in the process.

It all falls back to basic principles of marketing and sales.

Step 1. FIND A NEED.
Step 2. Fill that need.

You're doing it backwards.

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agkfl

12 years ago

This is common,

Some people don;t like being strong armed into a position to buy. They will always not trust you even if you get the business. Remember they are buying YOU, as a potential dealer/provider, not your product 80% of the time. Keep that in mind and you will sell more.

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anamikasingh

12 years ago

Customers are very smart these days.

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mayankgangwal

12 years ago

You gona be kidding. How can any one say no i don't want customers.

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agkfl 12 years ago

Originally Posted by mayankgangwal

You gona be kidding. How can any one say no i don't want customers.

its not that they dont want customers, its that they don't belive in your sales tactic. Works on some, lots it dosn;t.
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ScottW

12 years ago

A truism in sales "A confused mind never buys (says Yes)!". how can anyone not takes something free? TRUST!

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econnors

12 years ago

People know and understand that anything you call "free' normally means you are going to sell them something. I remember my mother telling me when I was younger, "There's nothing free but air and water." Now you have to pay for air and water at any gas station you go to. The only air that's "free" is the air you breathe if you are outside your house. Somehow you're paying for that, too. There's no such thing as a free lunch, so they are waiting on your to double drop kick them with your sales spiel at any moment...

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JimOrr

12 years ago

I think they figure there has to be a catch and they don't have time to figure it out. People's instinct when you present them with something they do not understand is to say no.

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mrinternational

12 years ago

There's no FREE lunch, that's why they said no.

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Matthew Iannotti 12 years ago

Originally Posted by mrinternational

There's no FREE lunch, that's why they said no.

^ THIS..

Please don't expect them to be dumb enough to know you aren't about to pitch a service or try to sell them something. The fact that you are being coy will scare off many into believing you are full of BS. Here in NYC - businesses appreciate straight up sales pitch over beating around the bush.
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Rick Britton

12 years ago

I proved to myself that "free" does not work

I went on the local radio, got a half hour slot where I got interviewed as an "expert" and at the end I offered my service entirely free to anyone for a month existing customers included. The station repeated the message 7 times

didn't get a single call

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Can you beleive some companies don't want free customers?

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