Another newbie gets excited about his cold calling results

17 replies
Ok so I just want to start a thread documenting my hits and misses.
Any comments are welcome of course.

70 dials today equaled 2 appointments set up for Wednesday and a possible third website for a family relation of one of the above appointments.

I asked some key questions to make sure they are interested. ie How soon do you want to get started ? and What is the main purpose of the website?

Once I got some interest after the introduction I told them we are offering a website that normally sells for €1000 for €500 till the end of January only.

Im hoping I can outsource the website for about €100/150 leaving me with €350 profit per website.

I don't want to get my hopes up about any of the appointments because I was let down before and it killed my motivation.

I just want to make sure I have a list in front of me everyday so I keep calling and making contact with people in need of a website.

I have to say it is a great thrill when you uncover people in need of a website and I cant see any reason why i cannot make a decent income if I consistently keep making the calls.

Im going to take the time tonight and build another list for tomorrow which is Saturday and see if I can add another couple of appointments to next week.

Thanks to John Durham and Nick Ferrara for there no bullshit approach to making money fast.
#calling #cold #excited #newbie #results
  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    Just wondering, what script have you been working off of? Was it John's or did you write it yourself? Good job on the results this far.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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    • Profile picture of the author hypnopotomus
      The script is as follows " Hi John my name is Luke Martin and Im a new web designer in town. Real quickly John, I’m just calling around, trying to let folks know about our service, and hopefully drum up some interest … I was wondering if you folks already had a website for your company, or had maybe given any thought to doing any web projects in the future”?

      Thats it, so easy and I didn't get one rude response to my surprise, in fact when people said they had one already or were not interested I put on my nicest sounding voice and said thanks so much for taking the time, take good care. Goodbye. I noticed most people just reciprocated the niceness and were wishing me the best of luck in there nicest sounding voice. Totally pleasant experience, but it took me those 70 dials to let my brain know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with calling people and offering your service. I actually got the feeling that people were enjoying the conversation because at no point was I "selling" them anything. I just making a simple enquirey (cant spell that word) that they were interested in or they were not.
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
    Kudos on taking the plunge and getting some appointments; if you can do that day after day, I have no doubt that you will keep getting appointments, and that some of those will turn into paying clients! Excellent work!
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  • Profile picture of the author boatree
    Well done and thanks for the tip about closing them on a half price package as an incentive to sign up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
    You could always go for the $1000 and if you think you're going to lose them over that, let them know that you could lower the price because you think you two would fit well together. The catch? He has to sign up that day and gets your site for $500 if he refers you to his friends when the work is complete and he likes what you have done.

    Just an option.
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    “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” ― Jordan Belfort

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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Originally Posted by hypnopotomus View Post


    I have to say it is a great thrill when you uncover people in need of a website .
    "Uncovering" is a good word. Keep thinking that way.

    In every pile of leads, someone needs your service, you just have to keep taking the layers off until you uncover them. Trust me they are always there.

    Good for you my friend, as long as you keep doing it, you will keep uncovering people for the next twenty years, trust me, it wont saturate, they will always be there somewhere down in a pile of numbers...Just "uncover them".

    Good way to think of it, thats really all it is.

    -John

    Originally Posted by hypnopotomus View Post

    The script is as follows " Hi John my name is Luke Martin and Im a new web designer in town. Real quickly John, I’m just calling around, trying to let folks know about our service, and hopefully drum up some interest … I was wondering if you folks already had a website for your company, or had maybe given any thought to doing any web projects in the future”?
    Nice See, thats not "selling", its just "uncovering" and it works!

    Dont ever let people talk you into making it more complex than that.

    Some days will only take 70 numbers, and others may take 200, but dont ever forget that if you keep peeling off the layers you WILL uncover that guy. Keep it easy going and always know that.
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    • Profile picture of the author hypnopotomus
      Thanks John and all for your feedback and support. I know Im giving them a fantastic deal at €500 and Im actually feeling good about helping out fellow business owners even if I could have gotten another few hundred out of them. Someone mentioned a good reason to say why your giving a good deal is that you are looking for referrals and yes I will be pushing that and thanks for the reminder. Im actually thinking of giving them some kind of incentive with free hosting for 3 months for every referral they give me. Hosting costs me nothing as I pay it already so dont see why I shouldn't take advantage of that. I lost motivation doing this before because of time wasters and the fact that I wasn't qualifying the prospect correctly but Those couple questions I learnt from John How soon do you want the website to go live ? and, What is the main reason you want a website? just weeds the time wasters out and lets me get on uncovering more people in need of a website. Thanks again
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      • Profile picture of the author CreekChub
        Just make sure that you don't discount folks who already have a website.

        I read on here, alot, that "it's easier to sell someone who already has a site..." and I totally discounted it. I figured that it would make much more sense to focus on businesses who didn't have a web site, because "duh. Everyone knows they need one."

        I found in short order that this simply wasn't the case. Sure, you'll run across the odd bird who doesn't have a website and just happened to be thinking about it the other day. For the most part, though, if they don't have one they are either lost in a technological wasteland, or they REALLY just have no need for a site. The odds of you making that sale are very slight.

        Once I got my head around it, businesses with existing sites that suck are where I have the best luck. When you're talking small businesses, 90% of them have crappy websites. They were done 5 years ago, and by someone's cousins-brothers-nephews-friend.

        But guess what? They understand the value in having an online presence, and most often they're willing to pay for it. Quite often, it can be a fairly easy sell. "This is what I do, and this is why you should pay me."
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      • Profile picture of the author John Durham
        Originally Posted by hypnopotomus View Post

        Thanks John and all for your feedback and support. I know Im giving them a fantastic deal at €500 and Im actually feeling good about helping out fellow business owners even if I could have gotten another few hundred out of them. Someone mentioned a good reason to say why your giving a good deal is that you are looking for referrals and yes I will be pushing that and thanks for the reminder. Im actually thinking of giving them some kind of incentive with free hosting for 3 months for every referral they give me. Hosting costs me nothing as I pay it already so dont see why I shouldn't take advantage of that. I lost motivation doing this before because of time wasters and the fact that I wasn't qualifying the prospect correctly but Those couple questions I learnt from John How soon do you want the website to go live ? and, What is the main reason you want a website? just weeds the time wasters out and lets me get on uncovering more people in need of a website. Thanks again

        No prob. You are on the PERFECTLY right track.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidCDS
    I wish my cold callers could get 2 appointments off of 70 calls.
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  • Profile picture of the author kellyyarnsbro
    Nice and and Script you have there. Congratulations man. Where did you get those script? Is it your own script or you have it benchmarked? Did you hire someone who'll do it for you? If then, how much did it cost you? Thanks in advance.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by kellyyarnsbro View Post

      Nice and and Script you have there. Congratulations man. Where did you get those script? Is it your own script or you have it benchmarked? Did you hire someone who'll do it for you? If then, how much did it cost you? Thanks in advance.
      It's the script from this free report: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...rting-now.html
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  • Profile picture of the author hypnopotomus
    Thanks for all the support and advice folks, very much appreciated. Ok so I had 2 appointments today.
    1 for an electrician who said €500 was out of his price range which is weird because I told him that was the special deal over the phone. He said €300 was more in his budget so I said I could do a basic 3 page website that would get him on the search engines etc. I felt a little deflated as i thought he was keen and had the money to move on the site. he said he would think about it and get back to me.
    The next appointment was with a 2 ladies who are opening a beauty salon. They knew the price was €500 but informed me at the start of the meeting that they were also looking around to find the best price.

    I engaged them well and asked lots of questions. I also told them about registering there google places listing and I explained how facebook would work well with there type of business and that I would optimize that for them and also show them how to use facebook correctly. Post 2/3 times a day, always use an image, tell fans to "like" "share" and "comment" in each post etc.
    My main focus though at all time was the site. they said the wanted a site with colours pink silver and black. I followed up with an email after the meeting as i said I would and I sent on a theme that has those exact colours and it looked exactly what they wanted.
    I'll follow up with a phone call tomorrow.

    Just as I left that meeting I had a voicemail from a carpenter who I had left a message with last Friday. He is coming over to my office tomorrow at 1pm for a meeting. I also have another electircian who basically said on the phone that he wanted a site but Im waiting for him to get back to me with content, images etc.

    Im starting to realise how important it is that I stream line the process as much as possible and also that an appointment does not mean a sale, especially if they are at the lower end and dont currently have a site. I've learnt that to get meetings you have to make calls and to get sales you have to do meetings. I dont want to get dis heartened as I know once I get a few solid sales under my belt that it will start to flow more easily.

    My strengths I feel are making the calls. I have a good phone manner and Ive been in sales most of my life so making calls is really no issue. My focus now is on having a list of numbers in front of me and really finding out as much over the phone about the potential customer and there needs so as to weed out the time wasters. Maybe I went a little low at €500 and that is coming back to bite me also I went for folks with no website!!

    I have only designed one site through an outsourcer before and though it looks great im still not super confident on targeting more established business with a bigger advertising budget!
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by hypnopotomus View Post

      Thanks for all the support and advice folks, very much appreciated. Ok so I had 2 appointments today. 1 for an electrician who said €500 was out of his price range which is weird because I told him that was the special deal over the phone. He said €300 was more in his budget so I said I could do a basic 3 page website that would get him on the search engines etc. I felt a little deflated as i thought he was keen and had the money to move on the site. he said he would think about it and get back to me.The next appointment was with a 2 ladies who are opening a beauty salon. They knew the price was €500 but informed me at the start of the meeting that they were also looking around to find the best price. I engaged them well and asked lots of questions. I also told them about registering there google places listing and I explained how facebook would work well with there type of business and that I would optimize that for them and also show them how to use facebook correctly. Post 2/3 times a day, always use an image, tell fans to "like" "share" and "comment" in each post etc. My main focus though at all time was the site. they said the wanted a site with colours pink silver and black. I followed up with an email after the meeting as i said I would and I sent on a theme that has those exact colours and it looked exactly what they wanted. I'll follow up with a phone call tomorrow. Just as I left that meeting I had a voicemail from a carpenter who I had left a message with last Friday. He is coming over to my office tomorrow at 1pm for a meeting. I also have another electircian who basically said on the phone that he wanted a site but Im waiting for him to get back to me with content, images etc. Im starting to realise how important it is that I stream line the process as much as possible and also that an appointment does not mean a sale, especially if they are at the lower end and dont currently have a site. I've learnt that to get meetings you have to make calls and to get sales you have to do meetings. I dont want to get dis heartened as I know once I get a few solid sales under my belt that it will start to flow more easily. My strengths I feel are making the calls. I have a good phone manner and Ive been in sales most of my life so making calls is really no issue. My focus now is on having a list of numbers in front of me and really finding out as much over the phone about the potential customer and there needs so as to weed out the time wasters. Maybe I went a little low at €500 and that is coming back to bite me also I went for folks with no website!! I have only designed one site through an outsourcer before and though it looks great im still not super confident on targeting more established business with a bigger advertising budget!
      1. Break this up into paragraphs so people can read it please. Gray potato smear don't taste good.

      2. Guy was shopping on price, trying to see what he can get you to drop to. Common tactic, and it works. Your response:

      "Sure, we can lower the investment. And what features would you like to remove to get there?"

      3. Ladies said they were price-shopping. And here you go giving them a free education so that you look like the expert, right? Wrong move. What do they need you for after you educate them? Ask questions to differentiate yourself: What expectations did you have? What would this website look like when we're done? How did you want to work with your designer?

      At least you got in front of some people who are looking for what you offer. But don't get so excited. They are just as interested in getting your expertise for free as you are in making the sale.
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      • Profile picture of the author hypnopotomus
        Sorry about the grey potato smear :-/

        Thanks Jason I appreciate your advice.

        Yes the guy was shopping on price, he even said someone could do him one for €100 and that he didnt have money right now so I just thought Id try get something out of the meeting.

        I can see now how I probably should have come straight out and said I that what I was offering was worth far more than €500 and that he was getting the bargain of the century ....

        If he didnt get that I should have told him to go talk to his friend who will do one for him for €100....
        I got burned before giving to much info and maybe I did it again. Yes Ive gotten in front of prospects but I dont have a list of good leading questions for the meeting. Thanks for pointing that out.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Hey, if you look at it realistically:

    1: You are just starting
    2: You got shot down twice, it wont be long before you have a 50% conversion ratio on preset appointments.
    3: 1 out of three-five is what a beginner should expect.
    4: Try to set 10 appointments per week, that averages out to two per day- a couple of hours of calling.
    5: If you close 3 out of 10 you are making 6k per month with your pricing model.
    6: If you get tired of running f2f appointments, you can always set phone appointments the same way.

    Even I myself could strike out twice in a row, what matters is how I do over ten. I have about a 50% f2f ratio, but it doesnt always work out on the first two. I may miss three, then hit three in a row. When I started it was only 30%. So 6 appointments for me rakes in 2k or so based on your pricing structure... Not bad for 20 hours work.

    That requires 5-10 hours of appointment setting and a few hours running them.

    Now relook at it.

    If you work 20 hours per week and make 6k per month you are doing way better than most jobs, so its worthwhile.

    Keep the faith. Your number ONE goal right now is to make sure you keep your appointment schedule booked.

    You can do that. The rest will fall into place.

    -John

    Ps. While price helps you get in the door, sell "value" once you are there, make them want it bad enough to pay $1,000. , and make price the after thought.

    More or less, this is just something you will start naturally getting after a few more appointments. Dont think too hard, and keep making appointments, it will CLICK in a moment how to sell them, and you wont ever have an issue again. You are just a few appointments away, if not less than that, from saying "I GOT IT! It Clicked! I have A Check!"

    You will probably go to the next appointment after that and nail two in a row.

    Its kind of like Mr. Myagi's "Wax On/Wax Off", you are developing some instincts right now unknowingly by keeping yourself in front of people, and in one moment they will all just CLICK, if you keep going where others fell off and didnt make it to that moment.

    Dont say anything that is un natural to you, just keep setting the appointments and running them, then BAMM! It's over, you got a check and its like riding a bike.

    You are closer than you might think, if you make sure that you keep the appointments rolling. Hence you will think of f2f as the easy part.
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