Anyone succeeding with cold calling / Is there a method that is working very well for you?

20 replies
Hi Guys,

I have worked in BDM/Consultant positions that have involved cold calling and face to face follow up meetings for the last 6 years.

I am very good at cold calling but I don't enjoy it anymore. For the sake of success with my own business however, I will swallow up any negatives and give it my all. I am thinking realistically along the lines of making 35-50 (well researched in advanced) cold calls a day if it yields competitive results.

I have noticed that people tend to play down cold calling with offline marketing for numerous reasons... Can anybody confirm, they are cold calling on a regular basis and generating a healthy level of clients (2-3 new clients a week)?

For the ones who do not cold call and utilize other strategies... can you recommend the 'one key strategy' you can share, that is the lead generator for your offline business?

PS. If you need any advice around cold calling - feel free to shout out with any specific questions you have and I will be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

Thanks,
#calling #cold #method #succeeding #working
  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
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    • Profile picture of the author boatree
      Wow those are great statistics... Are you referring to your "Internet Marketing/Web development" business?

      If you are, can you explain what services you generally sell the most of and the rough pricing if possible?

      Also in response to your reply re the numbers: Ha ha, as you would know people have different ratios. I.e. it might take you 100 calls to generate 5 appointments, where as it could take me 50 calls, vice versa.

      I use to bang out 150-200 calls a day when I started, over the years I've started to take a more strategic approach by doing a lot of research on the people I am calling and have bettered my call to sale/meeting ratios.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
        Originally Posted by boatree View Post

        Wow those are great statistics... Are you referring to your "Internet Marketing/Web development" business?

        If you are, can you explain what services you generally sell the most of and the rough pricing if possible?

        Also in response to your reply re the numbers: Ha ha, as you would know people have different ratios. I.e. it might take you 100 calls to generate 5 appointments, where as it could take me 50 calls, vice versa.

        I use to bang out 150-200 calls a day when I started, over the years I've started to take a more strategic approach by doing a lot of research on the people I am calling and have bettered my call to sale/meeting ratios.
        The calls we make are not for our own business. We make cold calls for other clients. In many industries, which is why their numbers vary. Most clients we set appointments for, some we do surveys for, or just gather emails...just depends. The services range from cleaners, photographers, chiropractors doing seminars, legal, tax, education sales, seo/web, consulting...all of our clients do different things, all of their products/services range in price, and some are free offerings. I can't really answer what we sell the most of, because we don't sell. We set up our clients to make their own sales. The sales they make are based on their qualifying questions that we ask, and then their ability to sell that appointment.

        Each caller, client, pitch, list are all different and different combinations will bring you different results. I simply stated that you should call more than 35-50 a day for the reason I stated above...you're not going to reach them all on the first call, and the more calls you have going out, the better your response will be.
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        • Profile picture of the author digichik
          Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

          Oh, and no, we aren't telemarketers.
          Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

          We make cold calls for other clients. In many industries, which is why their numbers vary. Most clients we set appointments for, some we do surveys for, or just gather emails...just depends. The services range from cleaners, photographers, chiropractors doing seminars, legal, tax, education sales, seo/web, consulting...all of our clients do different things, all of their products/services range in price, and some are free offerings.
          In case you don't realize, you are telemarketers. You do marketing by telephone = telemarketing. In the quote box is a description, by you, of the services you offer = telemarketing.

          Telemarketing, when done right, is not a bad thing, it's a very good and effective service. That's why every Fortune 500 company and their advertising agencies and marketing consultants use it.

          To the OP who asked "Is there a method that is working very well for you?" Yes, I just pick up the phone and do it. It always pays off.
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          • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
            Originally Posted by digichik View Post

            In case you don't realize, you are telemarketers. You do marketing by telephone = telemarketing. In the quote box is a description, by you, of the services you offer = telemarketing.

            Telemarketing, when done right, is not a bad thing, it's a very good and effective service. That's why every Fortune 500 company and their advertising agencies and marketing consultants use it.

            To the OP who asked "Is there a method that is working very well for you?" Yes, I just pick up the phone and do it. It always pays off.
            Yes, we offer telemarketing...we do not label ourselves telemarketers as it has different meanings to different business owners. By the same token a chiropractor that offers massage is not a masseuse.
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    • Profile picture of the author ej155
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      • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
        boatree,

        You asked,

        Can anybody confirm, they are cold calling on a regular basis and generating a healthy level of clients (2-3 new clients a week)?

        That's all I do is cold call. Don't like any other method. Went to meetings and all the other stuff that is successful for others but it doesn't work for me. We get a minimum of 2-3 appts a week when I cold call.

        As for clients, sometimes it is 2 sometimes it is 3 and sometimes it is none. We are picky about who we will work for. We won't work for any demanding types and the whiners are always shown the door. Had one idiot who liked screaming at us. Gave him his money back and said don't call us we'll call you.

        But that's how we do it and don't really care how anyone else does it. Not being a horse's ass just stating fact. We found what works for us and do it over and over.

        Good luck to you w/your new venture. Hope you make a million.

        Tom
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        • Profile picture of the author boatree
          Originally Posted by sandalwood View Post

          boatree,

          You asked,

          Can anybody confirm, they are cold calling on a regular basis and generating a healthy level of clients (2-3 new clients a week)?

          That's all I do is cold call. Don't like any other method. Went to meetings and all the other stuff that is successful for others but it doesn't work for me. We get a minimum of 2-3 appts a week when I cold call.

          As for clients, sometimes it is 2 sometimes it is 3 and sometimes it is none. We are picky about who we will work for. We won't work for any demanding types and the whiners are always shown the door. Had one idiot who liked screaming at us. Gave him his money back and said don't call us we'll call you.

          But that's how we do it and don't really care how anyone else does it. Not being a horse's ass just stating fact. We found what works for us and do it over and over.

          Good luck to you w/your new venture. Hope you make a million.

          Tom
          Tom thanks for that mate.

          Just to clarify, are you saying you never meet your clients face to face and it's all done over the telephone?

          If so that's awesome work on your part, as you have basically created a "telesales" lead generation channel.

          I was originally implying that I would make cold calls to book appointments (building rapport and the relationship in the process), to then meeting the client face to face and closing.

          I know everybody's call ratios differ, but can you provide a rough outline on how many hours you spend cold calling per day / how many calls you make?

          With the prices you are charging for your services, how satisfied are you with your income based on utilizing cold calling as your main lead channel?

          Sorry for the barrage of questions, I am a curious fella.

          Thanks,
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          • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
            boatree,

            You asked,

            Just to clarify, are you saying you never meet your clients face to face and it's all done over the telephone?

            We always meet our clients face to face. We only operate in our backyard. I know some others operate all over the US but we don't. Probably could make a ton more money but we like knowing our locals.


            I know everybody's call ratios differ, but can you provide a rough outline on how many hours you spend cold calling per day / how many calls you make?

            I spend an hour a day mostly. Sometimes less and almost never more. We have two businesses so I divide my time. One is a brick and mortar and the other is web. I cold call for both btw.


            With the prices you are charging for your services, how satisfied are you with your income based on utilizing cold calling as your main lead channel?

            We happen to be satisfied at our current level. I just decided to step up into the five figure a month channel and have a call for the 15th. I believe I will land this contract and when I do, we will go from four figures to five figures and probably six figures a month. It is all a mindset and we decided to up our game.

            Hope all that helps. BTW, if we do land the contract, we are prepared to work it plus we have created the capacity to add more like them. A person has to be able to do the work otherwise don't solicit business. That was an afterthought I believe to be important.

            Good luck,

            Tom
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            • Profile picture of the author boatree
              Originally Posted by sandalwood View Post

              boatree,

              You asked,

              Just to clarify, are you saying you never meet your clients face to face and it's all done over the telephone?

              We always meet our clients face to face. We only operate in our backyard. I know some others operate all over the US but we don't. Probably could make a ton more money but we like knowing our locals.


              I know everybody's call ratios differ, but can you provide a rough outline on how many hours you spend cold calling per day / how many calls you make?

              I spend an hour a day mostly. Sometimes less and almost never more. We have two businesses so I divide my time. One is a brick and mortar and the other is web. I cold call for both btw.


              With the prices you are charging for your services, how satisfied are you with your income based on utilizing cold calling as your main lead channel?

              We happen to be satisfied at our current level. I just decided to step up into the five figure a month channel and have a call for the 15th. I believe I will land this contract and when I do, we will go from four figures to five figures and probably six figures a month. It is all a mindset and we decided to up our game.

              Hope all that helps. BTW, if we do land the contract, we are prepared to work it plus we have created the capacity to add more like them. A person has to be able to do the work otherwise don't solicit business. That was an afterthought I believe to be important.

              Good luck,

              Tom
              Great Tom, read you loud and clear.

              That's great to hear you are progressing... Onwards and upwards

              Thanks,
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              • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
                Originally Posted by boatree View Post

                Great Tom, read you loud and clear.

                That's great to hear you are progressing... Onwards and upwards

                Thanks,
                Since you are in Sydney go by Dulwich Hill and see my Anglican priest buddy, Father Dave Smith. Tell him I sent you. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at the people he knows. He and his wife are into web work as well. They may be able to give you some pointers. Oh yeah, if you like boxing, he knows a lot of professional boxers.

                Tom
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                • Profile picture of the author boatree
                  Tom,

                  I love boxing and all forms of MMA... Some good friends of mine are boxers and have trained with A grade trainers like Johnny Lewis. I've also trained with guys like Hector Lombard (UFC) who was a good lad and gave me a few pointers on my Muay Thai back in the day.

                  Thanks for the referral... I will be sure to contact him if I find it difficult to get my business off the ground.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bayo
      Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

      ...I would recommend doing more than 35-50 calls a day.
      Wait, we are talking bout running a business and not operating a telemarkting service. If you're making this number of calls a day, where do you get time to do the things that actually build relationships?

      I have used telemarketers before and those are the people that will happily do this for you if the compensation is right and they're skilled.

      What we're talking about here is someone that is serious about setting up and operating a successful offline consulting business that's built on solid foundations, and what you're talking about is not going to lead to that.

      NOBODY can spend that amount of time cold-calling and create the business they desire to have.

      BAYO
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      • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
        Originally Posted by Bayo View Post

        Wait, we are talking bout running a business and not operating a telemarkting service. If you're making this number of calls a day, where do you get time to do the things that actually build relationships?

        I have used telemarketers before and those are the people that will happily do this for you if the compensation is right and they're skilled.

        What we're talking about here is someone that is serious about setting up and operating a successful offline consulting business that's built on solid foundations, and what you're talking about is not going to lead to that.

        NOBODY can spend that amount of time cold-calling and create the business they desire to have.

        BAYO
        Thanks for the question, we make way more than 50 calls a day - that number if he's doing COLD CALLS, is still not enough. You've got to remember, he's not doing actual sales or appointments calls...he's states he's calling well researched potential clients. Granted, he doesn't have to call hundreds per day, but he's probably not going to reach all 35-50 the first time he calls...so it would be wise for him to prepare a good long list and call as many as possible each day until he sees results.

        Oh, and no, we aren't telemarketers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bayo
    Originally Posted by boatree View Post

    ...For the ones who do not cold call and utilize other strategies... can you recommend the 'one key strategy' you can share, that is the lead generator for your offline business? ,
    Hi,

    First of all good on you for being an action taker, but at the same time, I want to extend my sympathy for you trying cold calling. You can read any of my previous posts about it.

    Personally I only use cold calling if there's no other way to reach a potential client that I really need to get in front of. That's how it works best for our business. So, to be clear, cold-calling has its place and some people claim they use it well for offline consulting...but sitting behind a phone and calling people up at random isn't a wise way to use time, you're better off getting out from behind a phone or computer and going where your ideal local business prospects are.

    The one key strategy...I host events very regularly. I have in-person seminars (really lead generation), I have live and automated local business webinars and teleseminars on specific topics of interest to my target demographic (professional services businesses).

    Topics include email marketing for local businesses (which thankfully a lot of marketers have abandoned with the growth of social media, simply means there's much less competition), how businesses can use 'virtual events' to attract more leads etc.

    Have done this for years now and they work very well. I went automated back in 2011 and it has been one of the best decisions we made for generating leads and calls into our business.

    Having said all that, what we do is work to a plan that's written and not just trying a little bit of one thing, then another, then another.

    Nothing beats having a plan that you follow and that involves more of real world contact that cold calls or scraping details and sending blasts to total strangers.

    BAYO
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  • Profile picture of the author Andy Lemos
    The best way to do it is study the market that your calling and immediately trigger conversation that will attract their interest. It's always a plus to a have a pleasing personality. Research any rivals or competitors and let the customers/potential costumers know the benefits with you or your company.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Go here and you will see 20 success stories in a row. Seriously. That should build your faith some.
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
    Originally Posted by boatree View Post

    For the ones who do not cold call and utilize other strategies... can you recommend the 'one key strategy' you can share, that is the lead generator for your offline business?

    I can give you two key strategies (having just one strategy is
    not a great idea because many strategies feed off the results
    of another strategy.)

    # 1: Direct mail. Specifically the Amazing 4 Line Letter (which
    is only available to current paid gold members of offlinebiz.com).

    That brings in from 20% to 30% response rate from letters you
    send.

    There are various kinds of direct mail that can work but you need
    to be aware that the way you handle the prospects who respond
    to direct mail pieces is crucial.

    You still need some skill in dealing with those prospects to take
    them to the next step in the sales process.


    # 2: Referrals. A referral from a business owner is often the easiest
    lead to convert into a paying client.

    There's a good argument to be made for calling a business owner
    recommended to you from a friend and just asking that business
    owner who he knows who might benefit from your service (in other
    words having the primary strategy of asking for referrals).

    If you're not using some kind of referral system you're probably
    reducing the potential size of your client base by 80% or more.


    And here's a bonus:

    # 3: Go back and contact past clients and business owners you've
    talked to in the past.

    You can focus on getting referrals from them, just give them valuable
    useful information or you can offer them a service you haven't
    offered them before.

    Clients who've paid you in the past and have made good profits from
    the work you've done will hire you for new projects in the future if
    you show them the potential profit value.

    It's an easy contact to make and again if you're not making it then
    that too can reduce your potential profits by 80% or more.


    Most businesses focus way too much on bringing in new clients
    but the real money is usually in looking at the people you're already
    building relationships and making the most of the relationships you've
    already built.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
    I wrote a post over a year ago that ended up becoming VERY popular that was all about how to cold call effectively.

    I recommend you check it out here: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...nge-today.html

    I hope this helps!

    -Ben
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  • Profile picture of the author bsummers
    Got to agree with AndrewCavanagh. One strategy is not effective.We are living in this world where everything is changing. Maybe the strategy your using will not be as effective in the coming years. Try to mix and match other marketing strategies and you'll be amazed with the results.
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  • Profile picture of the author ambrking
    If you really want to get the most of your cold calling, pair it up with email marketing. Send out an introductory email first.
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  • Profile picture of the author moneyman2010
    Appointment setting is working best for me..I call up local business owners offer to me at a local Starbucks show them how we can help there business and close the deal..This yields a consistent flow of new clients weekly..
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