How to sell? Telemarketing... Need help

11 years ago

I think you're looking at this the wrong way... and asking the wrong questions.

What myself and anyone else can do is of no consequence to you. Just because I can or can't do something doesn't mean the situation will be the same for you.

You've made sales. How many? We're these over the phone or in person, cold or warm leads? How did you get your foot in the door? Can you replicate this process? Can you call these clients for referrals?

It's not about being average or numbers or one call closes. It's about sales.

If you're looking for advice on certain processes and how you can improve, many here can help. If you're looking for advice on average amounts of calls before a sale is made, call length, etc... many here will offer advice, but none if it will help.

Thanks

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SashaLee

11 years ago

Hi there,

Originally Posted by Ron20

So what i wanted to know is.... What are your average close rates? from 100 calls?

Well it's a bit of a loaded question. Depends on what you are selling and many other factors, but an excellent goal to shoot for is 30%. That means out of 100 calls, you'll close 30 sales. In order to do this you will need:

1. A list that can afford what you're selling
2. A list that needs what you're selling
3. A list that KNOWS they need what you're selling
4. A perfectly placed solution to the list's needs.

Which is a tall order.

Rather than focus on closing percentages that might not apply to what you're selling you should focus on just selling.

Let's say you close 5 out of 100. Then you focus on how you can improve that.

Originally Posted by Ron20

How long does it take usually for a newbie to start making sales? after 1000 calls? after 5000 calls?

This is an impossible question to answer. It can happen on call 1, or on call 1000.

Originally Posted by Ron20

what i noticed is, my time to close a deal usually is about 2 - 4 weeks with multiple follow ups. Is this the same for you? Or do you just do one call closes?

Any other advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks a lot!

For everyone and every product and every sales process these numbers will be different.

One call closes are dependant on the product/service being sold. There's no "one size fits all".

My advice to you now is to record your calls and record your follow up calls. Listen to these calls. You'll hear some calls where it's clear you're hitting the right frequencies. You'll hear some of your calls where it's clear your pitching like a dead duck. Compare the differences, see where you can improve. Make note of the time of day the call was made. Maybe you're on fire in the morning and dragging in the afternoon. Maybe it's the opposite. You can only tell by monitoring your own progress and activities.

This is standard practice for our teams except we have a third party analyze the calls for feedback for our sales teams, but there is no better critic than you. Don't beat yourself up when you hear yourself say something idiotic. Just learn from it.

All the best,

Sasha.

Thanks

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Joe Stewart

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Alright guys! I have learnt loads from this forum. To give ya'll an idea about who i am. I am 20 years old. I started working at an alarm company as the office admin when I was 18. Worked there for about a year n that company had to let me go due to their downsizing. When I was 19 I started my business with my previous boss being my partner. This June makes 1 year since we are in business.

So here'e how it has been workin. My partner used to do the sales by cold calling and i usually manage all the technical work. We provide SEO as the main and now and again we also do website design. Lately i have learnt quite alot about website design and am planning to sell this full force from now on.

The thing is, I have started to sell on the phone lately. At first I remember I used to be scared of picking up the phone. Since then i have come a long way. Now i am quite confident that if i pick up the phone i will get a few interested people. But the thing is I have done probably close to 3000 calls and have only closed a couple of deals i think.

I call yellow pages businesses. Get my lists using mobile renegrade.

I know that a time will come when i am confident in doing sales over the phone. But for now i am just in the learning process. I know that i am below the average closing rates, but i also know that i can improve with proper guidance.

So what i wanted to know is.... What are your average close rates? from 100 calls?

How long does it take usually for a newbie to start making sales? after 1000 calls? after 5000 calls?

what i noticed is, my time to close a deal usually is about 2 - 4 weeks with multiple follow ups. Is this the same for you? Or do you just do one call closes?

Any other advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks a lot!

Hi Ron,

Your question is hard to answer because there are so many things that must be considered. Different industries have different conversion rates. Some sales are a lot easier to get if they have a lower price point. Things with a higher price point usually require more information and take longer.

My first question would be this, how targeted are the people you're calling? Just because they happen to be a business means nothing. Do you know in advance whether or not they have an interest or need for what you are offering? If you're just dialing cold then you're actually "prospecting for prospects". That's going to make your job a lot more difficult. It might be worth your while to invest in 500-1000 very targeted leads for people that have already requested more information about what you have to offer. That'll cost you from $300-$500.00 or more, depending on where you buy them, but it may be worth testing.

My next question would be, are you asking for the sale after every presentation? If not, you're wasting your time and not serving your prospects as well as you could be.

Learn the ABC's of selling = "Always Be Closing".

Ask questions during the call to find out exactly what kinds of problems they're facing. Shut up after you ask the question and let them talk! Take notes while they're talking! The more you know about their needs, the more likely you'll know exactly what hot points to focus on when you're ready to ask for the sale.

Finally, it really is just a numbers game. The more targeted calls you make, the more presentations you'll get. More presentations = more sales.

One more thing, I think you're in the wrong market. It's okay in the short term, but not long term. I'm putting together a report in the next couple weeks that will explain why. PM me and I'll let you know when it's live.

HTH,

Joe

Thanks

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Ron20

11 years ago

Hi guys! Thanks for your replies... Having done so many calls, I do realize that for different products and different services the closing rates might be different. It also might depend on the experience of the individual. The reason I was asking is just to give me some motivation.

Also when i start my month, I say to myself that by the end of that month I should have done 2000 calls. Is this the right way to go about? Or rather should i say to myself that I should have 10 sales by the end of the month?

The reason I pick the 2000 calls a month is because even if i close 0.50 % of those il have my 10 sales. I like to think this way because I love numbers and i believe in numbers...

Thanks
1 reply

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MagicmanVII 11 years ago

You asked if you should set a goal based on calls or sells. DEFINITELY sells! If your goal is calls, you may lose sight of the results & focus on the activity. Unfortunately, in today's world, hard work does not guarantee success!

Telemarketing is challenging. After every unsuccessful call you must ask yourself what you could have done differently. Accept responsibility for the outcome of the call. We all know there are many, many things going on that are not in our control. We do have control over ourselves. As you continue to better yourself and strive for perfection, your results will improve as well.
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Jason Kanigan

11 years ago

Your numbers are your numbers. They don't compare to anyone else's because you have a different skill and experience level, you're calling into a different niche, etc.

However, I can tell you the number of calls you must make to get a sale will drop as you improve.

This will help you:

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...need-make.html

Keep the #s updated as you go, and watch your total drop.

[ 2 ] Thanks
1 reply

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Ron20

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan

Your numbers are your numbers. They don't compare to anyone else's because you have a different skill and experience level, you're calling into a different niche, etc.

However, I can tell you the number of calls you must make to get a sale will drop as you improve.

This will help you:

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...need-make.html

Keep the #s updated as you go, and watch your total drop.

Ohhh Jason! You are my telemarketing guru

I have learnt so much from you. watching ur videos n all tat... Thank you so much for being a help to so many people. I pray that God blesses and takes care of you for the days to come.

I have lost my fear for cold calling and you are one of the main reasons for that

Thanks again so much...

Jason i would gladly be willing to learn more from you, if you are willing to teach me ....

Looking forward to your reply

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2 replies

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Jason Kanigan

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Ohhh Jason! You are my telemarketing guru

I have learnt so much from you. watching ur videos n all tat... Thank you so much for being a help to so many people. I pray that God blesses and takes care of you for the days to come.

I have lost my fear for cold calling and you are one of the main reasons for that

Thanks again so much...

Jason i would gladly be willing to learn more from you, if you are willing to teach me ....

Looking forward to your reply

Appreciate the thank you. Well...what do you want to know? I answered the question you had in the original post, and you've seen my videos, so you're gonna have to ask a specific question for me to respond to

Thanks

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ewenmack 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Jason i would gladly be willing to learn more from you, if you are willing to teach me .... Looking forward to your reply

Hand over some money and get personal coaching
from Jason is a good next step.

Best,
Ewen
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Ron20

11 years ago

Hi jason! So this is my plan... I would like to build my monthly revenue to G.B.P 10,000 per month atleast and when i reach this i would like to expand by hiring sales reps etc.

So now my question is... Does a cheap or lower priced product sell better than a higher priced one? Eg: A 100 website better than a 499 website?

Now i know that many people say that it is not about the price, it is all about the value. I do agree. But the thing is i call people from the yellow pages using the mobile renegrade software to scrape my lists. What do you think is the right price to sell to these people?

Here in the UK yell.com charge a minimum of G.B.P 150 for website design and 20 per month for hosting and maintenance.

So would it make sense for me to sell 10 X 1000 websites per month to achieve my goal? Would this price be sellable to a yellow pages list?

Or may be should I sell 20 X 499 packages?

Thanks
1 reply

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Jason Kanigan

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Hi jason! So this is my plan... I would like to build my monthly revenue to G.B.P 10,000 per month atleast and when i reach this i would like to expand by hiring sales reps etc.

So now my question is... Does a cheap or lower priced product sell better than a higher priced one? Eg: A 100 website better than a 499 website?

Now i know that many people say that it is not about the price, it is all about the value. I do agree. But the thing is i call people from the yellow pages using the mobile renegrade software to scrape my lists. What do you think is the right price to sell to these people?

Here in the UK yell.com charge a minimum of G.B.P 150 for website design and 20 per month for hosting and maintenance.

So would it make sense for me to sell 10 X 1000 websites per month to achieve my goal? Would this price be sellable to a yellow pages list?

Or may be should I sell 20 X 499 packages?

The answer is TEST.

I don't know what will sell better in your market. I can only teach you a consistent sales process, to separate the tire-kickers from the serious people...to uncover the true value and budget of the problem you're solving...to discover the real reasons people want to buy from you...

But I will tell you that the price you charge goes a long way to determining who you find yourself surrounded by. Want a bunch of cheapos who want everything for free? Or people who value what you do? They're both out there.

Thanks

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Ron20

11 years ago

I am looking to build up recurring revinue asap. So do you think it would be a good idea for me to do the bower method?

Thanks
1 reply

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takeactionIM

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

I am looking to build up recurring revinue asap. So do you think it would be a good idea for me to do the bower method?

Hi, I think your problem lies with your prospecting and no your cold calling.Brute force cold calling definitely works but if you dig a little deeper when prospecting you can find gold.I also use mobile renegade and its a god send.Here are some tips.Keep in mind that I havnt made one sale yet so youre probably better off than me but i already have my leads setup and infact am going to start calling right after this post.This is what I did.

I used to the google places scraper in Mobile Renegade with this footprint "copyright 20xx" basically any year after 2004 (any earlier and customer most likely has another website/domain)

These will give you companies with outdated websites, you then call them up and try to sell them redesign, this is obviously GOLD.

Another thing I do is use the yellowbook and yellowpages scrapers to find businesses that already have a website and then go through about 200 of them (its even more boring that it sounds but hey, someones gotta do it)
and find something wrong with the website, sometimes its the same copyright thing,sometimes it isnt formatted properly etc.

And then you have the other pieces of info that you can use to your advantage like email, do they have an ad, and are they mobile ready.I just turned 19 on 13th and after 3 years of being paralyzed by the fear of starting this I have been making steps towards it by making about 200 calls a day.

Take care!

Thanks
1 reply

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Ron20

11 years ago

Originally Posted by takeactionIM

Hi, I think your problem lies with your prospecting and no your cold calling.Brute force cold calling definitely works but if you dig a little deeper when prospecting you can find gold.I also use mobile renegade and its a god send.Here are some tips.Keep in mind that I havnt made one sale yet so youre probably better off than me but i already have my leads setup and infact am going to start calling right after this post.This is what I did.

I used to the google places scraper in Mobile Renegade with this footprint "copyright 20xx" basically any year after 2004 (any earlier and customer most likely has another website/domain)

These will give you companies with outdated websites, you then call them up and try to sell them redesign, this is obviously GOLD.

Another thing I do is use the yellowbook and yellowpages scrapers to find businesses that already have a website and then go through about 200 of them (its even more boring that it sounds but hey, someones gotta do it)
and find something wrong with the website, sometimes its the same copyright thing,sometimes it isnt formatted properly etc.

And then you have the other pieces of info that you can use to your advantage like email, do they have an ad, and are they mobile ready.I just turned 19 on 13th and after 3 years of being paralyzed by the fear of starting this I have been making steps towards it by making about 200 calls a day.

Take care!

Hello mate! Nice to know that you are starting at the same age that i started out

Also thanks for the tips.

Now you said that you use a custom footprint... how do you do that?

Thanks
1 reply

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takeactionIM

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Hello mate! Nice to know that you are starting at the same age that i started out

Also thanks for the tips.

Now you said that you use a custom footprint... how do you do that?

Hey Ron what I do is enter the phrase "copyright 20xx" in the keyword part of mobile renegade, this only works when scraping google places.And dont forget 20xx just means any year in the 21st century lol dont actually put 20xx.You can put it in there without quotes as well.

Thanks
1 reply

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Ron20

11 years ago

Haha thats a good trick

ur a clever guy! u definitely got a good future ahead... y dont we keep in touch since we both in the same boat?
N where are you based by the way?

Thanks
1 reply

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takeactionIM

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Haha thats a good trick

ur a clever guy! u definitely got a good future ahead... y dont we keep in touch since we both in the same boat?
N where are you based by the way?

Thanks alot

this is way harder than I thought and scary as well lol, but I know that if I can stick with it that it will pay off in the end.We should def keep in contact indeed.I am based in Jamaica, Queens.

Thanks
1 reply

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Ron20

11 years ago

Originally Posted by takeactionIM

Thanks alot

this is way harder than I thought and scary as well lol, but I know that if I can stick with it that it will pay off in the end.We should def keep in contact indeed.I am based in Jamaica, Queens.

Cool i am based in the uk...

Thanks

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Gary Ning Lo

11 years ago

Don't think anyone here would be able to give you advise that will make you sell like crazy..

Why not test?

Cheers,

Gary

Thanks
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Ron20 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Gary Ning Lo

Don't think anyone here would be able to give you advise that will make you sell like crazy..

Why not test?

Cheers,

Gary

Yea i have done alot of testing. The thing is, i do get interested people when i do my calls, but it takes so long for me to even convert these people into sales. usually about 2-3 weeks I dont know why this is.

Also i target the builders niche so it is hard to pin them down to an online appointment.
- Thanks
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bsummers

11 years ago

You cannot compare your numbers with others. The success of your campaign will depend on your sales technique and lead generation strategy. This will also depend on the industry you are targeting.

For example, if you are a software company, it usually takes a couple of months to close deals since you cannot rush a software purchase. These kind of things should be taken into consideration.

One tip I can give you is ask the right questions. This way you would know if the prospect is really interested and then you can deliver your pitch. By doing so, you will understand what they need, thus making the possibility of a deal is higher.

Thanks

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PanteraIM

11 years ago

Ron20, Offline Marketing section's first troll.

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Jason Kanigan 11 years ago

Originally Posted by PanteraIM

Ron20, Offline Marketing section's first troll.

Why would you say he's a troll?

He's new and confused, and doing the typical Shiny Object thing, but I don't see trolling.

If he is a troll, and I don't believe he is, he's definitely not the first. We have a couple of winners for that already.
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Ron20

11 years ago

Hello Jason! thanks for your support... why do you think i am after the shiny object thing? the reason i am asking this is because i want to learn. I am trying so hard and am finding it hard to get clients

i have made 300 calls this week and got about 8 interested people. the problem is these guys say, "can you ring me in a month?". So how can i close deals there and then? please can you explain? thanks.

@PANTERA--- As it is I am down and am struggling to make ends meet. I do respect you as i have read many of your posts, but y would u call me a troll?

Thanks
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Jason Kanigan

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Hello Jason! thanks for your support... why do you think i am after the shiny object thing? the reason i am asking this is because i want to learn. I am trying so hard and am finding it hard to get clients

i have made 300 calls this week and got about 8 interested people. the problem is these guys say, "can you ring me in a month?". So how can i close deals there and then? please can you explain? thanks.

Stick with it, most people are not going to be interested/a fit.

Your skill is going to increase the more you do this. So 300 dials, 150 won't be in, 75 won't be able to talk right now, on average...leaves you with 75 potential conversations with DMs.

How you start the call will determine how long it can go on for. Start it badly, and it'll be over in 10-30 seconds.

8 out of 75 is about 10%, that's fine for a beginner. 1 in 10 people you are actually talking to is interested in what you offer. You don't know much about the pain points of your niche yet, so this is where you start. As you learn more about the problems they have that you can solve, this number will start to increase.

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Ron20

11 years ago

Thanks so much for your encouragement Jason. Do you think that i am at a good starting point at 10%? Also to give you an idea of what i have been doing.

I call businesses that have a yellow pages website or a crappy site or if the site is down. Then i say to them " Hi is it ......? Hi, i am ronald and i am a web designer. The reason I called you is, i was having a look at www.x yz.com is this your website? usually they say yes.

Then i say, i noticed that "you have a yell website" or "your website looks quite basic" or "your website is down". What i do is, i work with construction companies like urself and i actually redesign their websites if they are not happy with the current one or if they need a new one. So i thought il give you a call. Have you thought about having your website redesigned?

This is exactly what i say and i have noticed that i actually have a conversation with many people. Do you think this script sounds good?

Thanks
2 replies

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Jason Kanigan

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Thanks so much for your encouragement Jason. Do you think that i am at a good starting point at 10%? Also to give you an idea of what i have been doing.

I call businesses that have a yellow pages website or a crappy site or if the site is down. Then i say to them " Hi is it ......? Hi, i am ronald and i am a web designer. The reason I called you is, i was having a look at www.x yz.com is this your website? usually they say yes.

Then i say, i noticed that "you have a yell website" or "your website looks quite basic" or "your website is down". What i do is, i work with construction companies like urself and i actually redesign their websites if they are not happy with the current one or if they need a new one. So i thought il give you a call. Have you thought about having your website redesigned?

This is exactly what i say and i have noticed that i actually have a conversation with many people. Do you think this script sounds good?

Well that isn't a script, it's an opening. It turns you into a commodity by your announcing that you are a web designer.

Look at this (again?)

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ccess-tip.html

If you are getting some conversations, that's great. The more good conversations you have, the closer you are getting to a sale.

There is a process to selling, though, and while you are uncovering a little "pain" in asking if they want their site redesigned, you are really only identifying the 'liedowns' who are already aware of their problem. Most selling requires a little digging to get past the initial knee-jerk self-protective lying and get to the truth.

Instead of saying something negative about their current site, ask them questions about it. How long have they had it? Is there anything they're unhappy about with it? Is it doing it's job? Do they know it has a job to do?

Thanks
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Ron20

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan

Well that isn't a script, it's an opening. It turns you into a commodity by your announcing that you are a web designer.

Look at this (again?)

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ccess-tip.html

If you are getting some conversations, that's great. The more good conversations you have, the closer you are getting to a sale.

There is a process to selling, though, and while you are uncovering a little "pain" in asking if they want their site redesigned, you are really only identifying the 'liedowns' who are already aware of their problem. Most selling requires a little digging to get past the initial knee-jerk self-protective lying and get to the truth.

Instead of saying something negative about their current site, ask them questions about it. How long have they had it? Is there anything they're unhappy about with it? Is it doing it's job? Do they know it has a job to do?

Hi Jason!
Thanks for the help. I shall definitely try your approach. Another question that i have is--- Lets say i got a list if 1000 numbers okay? So in week if i can finish them i might end up with 20 leads. Now do you think i should ring back all the no answers, boss not in etc or should i rather make a new list n start ringing the new numbers?

Thanks

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PanteraIM

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Thanks so much for your encouragement Jason. Do you think that i am at a good starting point at 10%? Also to give you an idea of what i have been doing.

I call businesses that have a yellow pages website or a crappy site or if the site is down. Then i say to them " Hi is it ......? Hi, i am ronald and i am a web designer. The reason I called you is, i was having a look at www.x yz.com is this your website? usually they say yes.

Then i say, i noticed that "you have a yell website" or "your website looks quite basic" or "your website is down". What i do is, i work with construction companies like urself and i actually redesign their websites if they are not happy with the current one or if they need a new one. So i thought il give you a call. Have you thought about having your website redesigned?

This is exactly what i say and i have noticed that i actually have a conversation with many people. Do you think this script sounds good?

The way you get people on the call is by making them CURIOUS.

You know the buying cycle right?

Curiosity -> Interest -> Want/Need -> Buy

When we start our calls we give BENEFITS without mentioning features or the product.

None of these openings you gave pique their interest enough to get onboard of the call.

Your first statement should get them to ask 'what is it', and is what sets their momentum forward in the sales cycle.

'We can show you an easier way to get 20% more sales in the next 6 months'.

When you give your features you cease the need for them to move onto the INTERESTED phase of the sales cycle because you have shown your hand far too early.
This is why 99% of cold calls don't work because they describe features and benefits simultaneously.

Remember, you are disturbing something they are doing before you called, and it was probably important.

The prospect needs to feel like they are spending their time wisely, and getting them CURIOUS first is the easiest way to get them on the call with you.

You can sell to maybe 10% of your prospects by uncovering pain points, but the problem with that approach is that:

If they are aware of the pain they are probably talking to multiple companies already
They will view your offering as a commodity
You will do a lot of calls with a low ROI

The better approach is to prospect for both a WANT and a NEED.

Maybe 40% of your calls you can sell to IF you are good enough at making them WANT your product as opposed to a NEED. Wants elicit GOOD emotions and NEEDS usually describe a prospect moving away from a negative state.

This is why you should do both a SWOT and a FAB analysis of your products so you can show how what you have to offer is BETTER than what they have already.

NOONE sells like this. It's all 'find the need, sell to the need', Which is FINE. BUT you are only talking to 10% of people who are probably already to talking to everyone ELSE about the same thing.

As I said before, get their curiosity, interest then make them WANT your redesign by showing your advantages and personalized benefits that will make your prospect WANT to buy from you as opposed to hunting for a NEED which probably won't exist.

'People don't know what they don't know.'

This is really skilful selling and looks at the process from a different point of view than traditional needs-analysis probing which is often SHUT DOWN before you even get to the root emotional problems your prospects may face.

You can't POSSIBLY ask questions to uncover needs which the prospect themselves is NOT aware of. You give them new information and advantages which CREATES the vacuum that leads them to BECOME interested, THEN you can start asking questions around what their requirements are.

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Ron20

11 years ago

Originally Posted by PanteraIM

The way you get people on the call is by making them CURIOUS.

You know the buying cycle right?

Curiosity -> Interest -> Want/Need -> Buy

When we start our calls we give BENEFITS without mentioning features or the product.

None of these openings you gave pique their interest enough to get onboard of the call.

Your first statement should get them to ask 'what is it', and is what sets their momentum forward in the sales cycle.

'We can show you an easier way to get 20% more sales in the next 6 months'.

When you give your features you cease the need for them to move onto the INTERESTED phase of the sales cycle because you have shown your hand far too early.
This is why 99% of cold calls don't work because they describe features and benefits simultaneously.

Remember, you are disturbing something they are doing before you called, and it was probably important.

The prospect needs to feel like they are spending their time wisely, and getting them CURIOUS first is the easiest way to get them on the call with you.

You can sell to maybe 10% of your prospects by uncovering pain points, but the problem with that approach is that:

If they are aware of the pain they are probably talking to multiple companies already
They will view your offering as a commodity
You will do a lot of calls with a low ROI

The better approach is to prospect for both a WANT and a NEED.

Maybe 40% of your calls you can sell to IF you are good enough at making them WANT your product as opposed to a NEED. Wants elicit GOOD emotions and NEEDS usually describe a prospect moving away from a negative state.

This is why you should do both a SWOT and a FAB analysis of your products so you can show how what you have to offer is BETTER than what they have already.

NOONE sells like this. It's all 'find the need, sell to the need', Which is FINE. BUT you are only talking to 10% of people who are probably already to talking to everyone ELSE about the same thing.

As I said before, get their curiosity, interest then make them WANT your redesign by showing your advantages and personalized benefits that will make your prospect WANT to buy from you as opposed to hunting for a NEED which probably won't exist.

'People don't know what they don't know.'

This is really skilful selling and looks at the process from a different point of view than traditional needs-analysis probing which is often SHUT DOWN before you even get to the root emotional problems your prospects may face.

You can't POSSIBLY ask questions to uncover needs which the prospect themselves is NOT aware of. You give them new information and advantages which CREATES the vacuum that leads them to BECOME interested, THEN you can start asking questions around what their requirements are.

Thanks pantera, some great advice here. Now i have a question for you.. I ring businesses in the construction sector like builders, loft conversions etc. So lets say i have a person who is interested and wants to know more. Do i explain everything on the phone and then send him an email to confirm or do i rather book an online appointment with him?

The thing i don not like about online appointments is, i have actually tried this approach with about 1000 calls i think and i completed only 3-4 app. The reason being, these people are always out on the go and reschedule a 100 times then it comes to a point when they stop picking up your calls.

So which approach is better do you think?

Thanks

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marketingrep4u

11 years ago

STOP!!! Don't try to get any new business right now via cold calling.

Make YOUR business your own best customer. Employ the marketing tactics you execute everyday for your clients to your own business.

Use what you know to get your phone to ring, rather than sitting at your desk dialing for dollars.

Most people hate cold calling just as much as our prospects hate getting sales calls.

Make your phone ring by using the skills you employ for your customers.

Seems to me that in the back of the mind of the prospect, they're thinking, "If this guy is so good online and wants to help me grow my business, then why is he using the telephone to get my attention?"

Thanks
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digichik

11 years ago

Originally Posted by marketingrep4u

STOP!!! Don't try to get any new business right now via cold calling.

Make YOUR business your own best customer. Employ the marketing tactics you execute everyday for your clients to your own business.

Use what you know to get your phone to ring, rather than sitting at your desk dialing for dollars.

Most people hate cold calling just as much as our prospects hate getting sales calls.

Make your phone ring by using the skills you employ for your customers.

Seems to me that in the back of the mind of the prospect, they're thinking, "If this guy is so good online and wants to help me grow my business, then why is he using the telephone to get my attention?"

Wow! You can ' t really be serious. If Ron20 waits for a business owner to find his website and call him, he'll starve to death.

Using the phone to generate sales shows initiative. If you are ever smart enough to use the phone for sales, you will find, many of the people you talk to were just thinking about web design (or whatever) and you called at the right time. Others will see benefit in what you are selling, even though they weren't seeking the type of service you are offering, and they will buy from you anyway. The phone is an extremely cost efficient, time efficient way to generate immediate sales.

MarketingRep4u, before you give advice about marketing to newbies, I strongly suggest you get a bit more knowledge about marketing and sales yourself. Your post shows your ignorance.

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AndrewCavanagh

11 years ago

Originally Posted by marketingrep4u

STOP!!! Don't try to get any new business right now via cold calling.

Make YOUR business your own best customer. Employ the marketing tactics you execute everyday for your clients to your own business.

Use what you know to get your phone to ring, rather than sitting at your desk dialing for dollars.

Most people hate cold calling just as much as our prospects hate getting sales calls.

Make your phone ring by using the skills you employ for your customers.

Seems to me that in the back of the mind of the prospect, they're thinking, "If this guy is so good online and wants to help me grow my business, then why is he using the telephone to get my attention?"

You make a very good point.

If you're a marketer surely you can come up with a marketing
sequence that doesn't rely on a cold call as the first contact.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do cold calling necessarily (you do
every form of marketing that brings in a profit for you) but
I'd bet some serious money if you put your marketing hat on
and gave it some serious thought you could come up with
multiple ways of either getting business owners to call you
or at least getting them onside a little before you call them.

It's rarely mentioned here (because there are so many people
convinced cold calling is wonderful) but if you're going to be
perceived as a marketing expert then you really want to get
people contacting you first if that's at all possible or at the
very least you want to be following up with a marketing piece
by phone.

The image you project to your prospects can make a huge
difference in the way they rate the value of your skill and
expertise and the value of your service.

Think about ways to get your marketing process more effective.

Think of referrals, of pre-educating prospects on the benefits
to them of doing business with you.

Think of ways to contact them that make it almost impossible
for them not to reply to you.

You're a marketer.

You study human nature.

I know if you asked me to get a particular person to call or
email me back I could get that done one way or another
with a personal contact or a marketing piece.

On a larger scale, give me a 100 and with fairly modest effort
I'll get 20 to 30 contacting me back.

If I'm serious and want to put some real effort in and research
the people I'm contacting I could probably get that up to 70
or more.

If you can do just a fraction of that you're still going to be
getting some great contacts.

THEN you can talk over the phone and sell your service.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

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digichik

11 years ago

Originally Posted by AndrewCavanagh

It's rarely mentioned here (because there are so many people
convinced cold calling is wonderful) but if you're going to be
perceived as a marketing expert then you really want to get
people contacting you first if that's at all possible or at the
very least you want to be following up with a marketing piece
by phone.

It's not necessarily that we are so in love with cold calling by phone, it happens to be cost effective when starting out.

Most of the people who come to this forum don't have large budgets for print ads, direct mail, radio, TV, etc. Most of them have never written ad copy, sales letters or scripts; thus, letting them know that they can get on the phone and make sales or sales appointments, to get their businesses going and earn some money is a great solution for them.

As people are making sales by cold calling, they can then learn to implement, and have the money to implement, other strategies(direct mail, print ads, email, etc.) to grow their businesses.

It will take multiple marketing strategies to grow a business and profits. Cold calling is a great first strategy for those who don't have a large personal network for referrals, those who don't have a lot of money, and those who don't have a lot of marketing knowledge.

There are plenty of great sales phone scripts, qualifying information and sales closing tips right here in this forum for FREE!

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marketingrep4u

11 years ago

Originally Posted by digichik

It's not necessarily that we are so in love with cold calling by phone, it happens to be cost effective when starting out.

Most of the people who come to this forum don't have large budgets for print ads, direct mail, radio, TV, etc. Most of them have never written ad copy, sales letters or scripts; thus, letting them know that they can get on the phone and make sales or sales appointments, to get their businesses going and earn some money is a great solution for them.

As people are making sales by cold calling, they can then learn to implement, and have the money to implement, other strategies(direct mail, print ads, email, etc.) to grow their businesses.

It will take multiple marketing strategies to grow a business and profits. Cold calling is a great first strategy for those who don't have a large personal network for referrals, those who don't have a lot of money, and those who don't have a lot of marketing knowledge.

There are plenty of great sales phone scripts, qualifying information and sales closing tips right here in this forum for FREE!

Sure, there is a great wealth of information on this forum about cold calling, BUT you'll also find a great wealth of information about direct response marketing, sales copy writing, as well as, formulas for ads.

Seems it would take the same amount of effort to learn direct response marketing as it does cold calling IF you relied on this forum alone.

See the third Dan Kennedy quote posted below...

"I can cut out all the old-fashioned cold call prospecting grunt work, get more of his [salesperson's] time allocated to actually selling to qualified leads" -- Dan Kennedy

"If you sell for a living, number one on your hate list should be cold-call prospecting grunt work. My friend Zig Ziglar would call that warm-approaching. If he and I agreed on everything, one of us would be unnecessary. I just don't see anything warm, friendly, fuzzy, happy, pleasant about this process of trying to talk to people who at least emotionally, if not physically, are backing away from you as fast as you are moving towards them." -- Dan Kennedy

"Stop cold calling, and wasting time trying to prospect people who haven't shown any interest..." -- Dan Kennedy

Now, IF budget is an issue for newbies, then why not direct response emails? Not bulk email or spam, but well crafted direct response emails that address each prospect. Seems you could do a lot more with much less using direct response email marketing than cold calling, IF budget is an issue.

Just saying...(IF budget is the only argument for learning how to cold call).

Thanks
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digichik

11 years ago

Originally Posted by marketingrep4u

Sure, there is a great wealth of information on this forum about cold calling, BUT you'll also find a great wealth of information about direct response marketing, sales copy writing, as well as, formulas for ads.

Seems it would take the same amount of effort to learn direct response marketing as it does cold calling IF you relied on this forum alone.

See the third Dan Kennedy quote posted below...

"I can cut out all the old-fashioned cold call prospecting grunt work, get more of his [salesperson's] time allocated to actually selling to qualified leads" -- Dan Kennedy

"If you sell for a living, number one on your hate list should be cold-call prospecting grunt work. My friend Zig Ziglar would call that warm-approaching. If he and I agreed on everything, one of us would be unnecessary. I just don't see anything warm, friendly, fuzzy, happy, pleasant about this process of trying to talk to people who at least emotionally, if not physically, are backing away from you as fast as you are moving towards them." -- Dan Kennedy

"Stop cold calling, and wasting time trying to prospect people who haven't shown any interest..." -- Dan Kennedy

Now, IF budget is an issue for newbies, then why not direct response emails? Not bulk email or spam, but well crafted direct response emails that address each prospect. Seems you could do a lot more with much less using direct response email marketing than cold calling, IF budget is an issue.

Just saying...(IF budget is the only argument for learning how to cold call).

I think your responses in this thread are based on things you have read, not real world experience.

In the real world, even well crafted direct response emails will have a lower conversion rate than cold calls. Having said that it is still a good strategy to implement, at night after you have spent your day on the phone making sales calls or calls for sales appointments.

How do you propose figuring out who to send your well crafted emails to?

Please note, in my previous post I used the word "qualifying". That would be contacting people who spend money on advertising and marketing (ex. Yellowpage ad), already have a website(ex. may need updating or mobile site), because of the type of business, look like they have the money to spend,etc. The same prospecting you would use for an email campaign, you will use for a cold calling campaign.

Instead of telling newbies to put down the phone, better advice would be to tell them to pick up the phone and make sales calls during business hours, for at least 6 - 8 hours per day; then in the evening, put together a "well crafted direct response email" and send it out to 10,000 targeted prospect. To be successful you'll need to do both, and much much more.

Oh yeah, in most cases you are going to have to talk to these people on the phone, so you better be prepared with some type of script or outline.

Note: IamNameless has some great statistics (from his REAL experience) on how many emails need to be sent out for sales to be made. The number is in the 1000s.

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marketingrep4u

11 years ago

Originally Posted by digichik

I think your responses in this thread are based on things you have read, not real world experience.

Is it possible that on a forum that many can contribute and those seeking advice can obtain a wealth of experience from those around him even if everyone doesn't agree with each others approach WITHOUT putting them down because you disagree? I think so.

The OP asked for advice on this forum and he'll get it from many walks of life. When the those of us that need to feel some kind of personal validation begin to pass judgement on others and publicly demean others advice, well, that just shows ones true colors. Good luck in your approach.

There's a great book by Dale Carnegie called "How To Win Friends & Influence People". He goes into great detail about criticism and how unproductive it is. I highly recommend it.

Originally Posted by digichik

In the real world, even well crafted direct response emails will have a lower conversion rate than cold calls. Having said that it is still a good strategy to implement, at night after you have spent your day on the phone making sales calls or calls for sales appointments.

Email marketing was only a suggestion since BUDGET was your argument for low cost marketing.

Oh yes. Almost forgot. I've spent over 20 years in the marketing industry and in my circles of influence, as well as my associates circles, over those 20+ years, cold calling has been the LEAST effective marketing activity to sell anything.
-----------------------------------------------------------
OP: While I'm still a strong advocate of direct response marketing efforts over cold calling, I do have another idea for you.

Since you'd like to use the phone as a primary marketing effort, do it with a twist. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Construct a 'FREE Gift' offer. Obtain a member list of your Chamber. Call each member and tell them that it's your mission to meet every member face-to-face and that you have a 'FREE Gift' you'd like to drop off at their place of business.

This will get you in front of many more people much quicker than making a cold-cold call. At least the members will be somewhat warm. The Chamber is your Affinity group that you can leverage your relationship with the Chamber to be the premise for the call.

The 'FREE Gift' would be something (a service maybe) that you do within your existing business. Make it something where once they 'taste' the benefits of it, they'll want to know how they can get it on a regular basis.

Make their phone ring with new prospects and they'll want what you offer like a crack addict wants more crack.

While you may not convert ALL of them, you'll still get more appointments faster than traditional cold calling. You won't sell to all of them, but your conversion rate using an Affinity marketing model for your calls WILL convert much higher than the current cold calling you're doing now.

Do all those other things with your local Chamber too. Get on a committee. Show up at networking events, etc., etc. This will let them know that you genuinely want to get involved and want to build a relationship with them.

Your typical Chamber dues will run you about $250 a year. That's still a low price to pay to get a targeted warm list.

Now, before this idea gets criticized, I do this in the 'Real World' and it WORKS for me.

Best of luck to you OP!!!

Thanks
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digichik

11 years ago

Originally Posted by marketingrep4u

Is it possible that on a forum that many can contribute and those seeking advice can obtain a wealth of experience from those around him even if everyone doesn't agree with each others approach WITHOUT putting them down because you disagree? I think so.

Marketingrep4u, my response to your comments, in this thread, were not intended to demean you in any way. That being said you were giving questionable advice, in telling the OP stop cold calling in favor of other lead generating methods.

You say you have 20+ years of marketing experience, then you should understand the value of cold calling as a way of quickly generating new business. You should know that integrating cold calling with various other techniques(direct mail, print ads, email marketing, etc.) is an extremely effective comprehensive strategy.

You were given some really good advice in another thread you started, things you should know as a marketer with 2 decades of experience; however, from you responses to my comments, it would seem that you have learned nothing from that thread –

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...-services.html

Cold calling on the phone brings in new clients that would have never seen my direct mail, and would have not gone online to find me. We cold call to find that perfect client that we are eager to please. And we work hard to earn referrals from cold called clients that we would never find otherwise." ~ Claude Whitacre

It is your comments and questions on various threads that led me to believe your marketing experience is limited. You were thinking about giving up on SEO a year ago yourself, yet you advise the OP to put down the phone and spend their time trying to get their site ranked and drive traffic the their website.

Oh yeah, the OP got on the phone and made a sale. Cold calling works!!! Congratulations.

Thanks

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Ron20

11 years ago

Hey Nameless! Have you seen this thread?? Y dont you drop by and help a newbie

I have learnt a lot form you.

Thanks

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marketingrep4u

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Ron20

Alright guys! I have learnt loads from this forum. To give ya'll an idea about who i am. I am 20 years old. I started working at an alarm company as the office admin when I was 18. Worked there for about a year n that company had to let me go due to their downsizing. When I was 19 I started my business with my previous boss being my partner. This June makes 1 year since we are in business.

So here'e how it has been workin. My partner used to do the sales by cold calling and i usually manage all the technical work. We provide SEO as the main and now and again we also do website design. Lately i have learnt quite alot about website design and am planning to sell this full force from now on.

The thing is, I have started to sell on the phone lately. At first I remember I used to be scared of picking up the phone. Since then i have come a long way. Now i am quite confident that if i pick up the phone i will get a few interested people. But the thing is I have done probably close to 3000 calls and have only closed a couple of deals i think.

I call yellow pages businesses. Get my lists using mobile renegrade.

I know that a time will come when i am confident in doing sales over the phone. But for now i am just in the learning process. I know that i am below the average closing rates, but i also know that i can improve with proper guidance.

So what i wanted to know is.... What are your average close rates? from 100 calls?

How long does it take usually for a newbie to start making sales? after 1000 calls? after 5000 calls?

what i noticed is, my time to close a deal usually is about 2 - 4 weeks with multiple follow ups. Is this the same for you? Or do you just do one call closes?

Any other advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks a lot!

I would highly recommend that you subscribe to the marketing methods of Dan Kennedy.

You can find out more about him at GKIC - Small Business Marketing Strategies.

You'll find that he discourages cold calling, just as I did earlier.

Why should you listen to him? Simple answer: He has built multiple million dollar businesses using the same marketing techniques he teaches. 'He became his own best customer' to market his business. AND, he did it all WITHOUT cold calling.

"Effective marketing is almost always criticized by your associates, peers, spouse, friends, and even your mother. However, the blunt truth is that none of their opinions count. The only opinions that count are those expressed by people who might give you money. In other words, it's the customers response that matters!" -- Darcy Juarez, Executive Director of Marketing, Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle.

Focus on drawing in prospects that have 'pain' rather than focusing on ways to reach out to those that don't.

These methods aren't about 'sitting around' while waiting for your phone to ring, as some have pointed out about my advice to you. They're about effective marketing that keeps your phone ringing and keeps you in high demand. With the right marketing system keeping you in high demand, why would you spend so much effort reaching out to the masses where a large part of them are not part of your target market anyway?

Invest in your marketing system that draws many to you. Don't take my word for it. Listen to the guy that developed multiple million dollar companies without cold calling.

Thanks
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AndrewCavanagh

11 years ago

Originally Posted by marketingrep4u

I would highly recommend that you subscribe to the marketing methods of Dan Kennedy.

You can find out more about him at GKIC - Small Business Marketing Strategies.

You'll find that he discourages cold calling, just as I did earlier.

Why should you listen to him? Simple answer: He has built multiple million dollar businesses using the same marketing techniques he teaches. 'He became his own best customer' to market his business. AND, he did it all WITHOUT cold calling.

Dan Kennedy's advice was a factor in helping a client I worked with bill over
a million dollars in his FIRST year consulting.

He didn't make cold calls either.

In fact I'm pretty certain you wouldn't be getting him on the phone at
all unless you'd paid a serious sum of money.

Not putting cold calling down.

Just saying it's one of a whole range of strategies you could
be using.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

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x0r

11 years ago

Hi Ron,
You need rebutals for every objection You get, by solving the objections, You will help Yourself to increase Sales.
I do call past guest customers, i close them 50/50. but must be a catch/reason .
Second thing You need leads that they can afford financially
Third, You need people that looking to buy your product.

Btw, I do have leads that are infomercial leads, and guarantee they have $$...

Hope this advice works for You

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Ron20

11 years ago

Hi marketingrep4u,

Thanks for your response. This is something that I should look into. Although I am now focusing on cold calling and i am determined to learn the skill

Thanks

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Ron20

11 years ago

Hi x0r,

Thanks for the advice. Greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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DirectD_Rahul

11 years ago

You should online directories for your products, that might be interested in. For eg. If I want to sell scripts for IT company. I will check the company which are having production services beneficial with that script.

Thanks

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serryjw

11 years ago

The FIRST KEY to TM success is targeting the correct prospect. You'll call until you are blue in the face if it's the wrong prospect. FIND the low hanging fruit when you are first prospecting in any niche. CALL with the intention of learning first ...THEN selling. A prospect may already have bought BUT is not happy with his choice...You will learn alot from prospect if you DON'T try and sell.

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Ron20

11 years ago

Hey guys! Here is a quick update. I just made a sale for SEO but the guy din want to sign a contract. So he is going to pay me 100 for the first month and the if he wants he will continue.

Now i know that this is not a lot but it adds to my confidence and also gives me the courage to carry on ... Thanks everyone for all the help provided. Especially Jason, Pantera and andrew.. Sorry if i have missed any

Thanks

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PanteraIM

11 years ago

Cold calling's strengths lay in the fact that it is 80% determined by the person doing the selling.

In direct mail or OM for example it is just an activity that builds awareness, with cold calling you are marketing AND selling using one form of media.

I've seen more than one telesales agent outsell an entire team of face to face salespeople selling the same product, to the same market under the same conditions.

When you do it right, you can present to 30+ prospects a day, which is roughly the average. With face to face and you might be able to squeeze in 5 to 6 face to face appointments.

Close 20% of those 30 conversations and you make six sales.

Close 20% of those 6 appointments and make one sale.

It's these kinds of numbers and averages which to me takes the logic out of driving 30 minutes out to see a prospect to have them tell me they aren't interested.

I could have generated at least one good lead if I spent that time wisely prospecting on the phone.

For this reason face to face is becoming a dead art for prospecting and selling.

Prospects are moving towards the telephone to conduct business as people become increasingly time scarce, they are also making buying decisions faster and are more prepared to keep up with the rapid and discontinuous changes in technology and marketing.

You don't have to like cold calling, but anyone who says its' a waste of time clearly do not know what they are doing.

Thanks
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ewenmack 11 years ago

Originally Posted by PanteraIM

In direct mail or OM for example it is just an activity that builds awareness,

I'm having to pull you up on that statement.

For many, yes they are doing it either on purpose or
not on purpose.

Then there is those which use direct mail
to get the reader to take the next step closer to the sale.

They have it down to a science...pay people top dollars
to write the ads, pay them royalties, pay for the right lists

Back in the late 80's I ran ads in regional newspapers
for a weight loss product.

Women would phone in, I'd get them go to the bank and deposit money
then phone me back with the reference number.
Then I'd call my bank to confirm.

That was direct response advertising.

No way was I after awareness.

I was after closing them on the phone when they called in.

Your statement shows a lack of awareness on the subject.

And for the record I do use outbound telephone calls and email as the 2
main forms of bringing in customers to my core business.

BTW, when are you coming to the Auckland Meetup group for internet marketers...?
I'll buy you a beer.

Best,
Ewen

P.S. You'd starve in Germany because email, fax, phone calls are banned
for business to business. USA banned unsolicited fax.

So there is a trend around the world to ban marketing methods
which the politicians think are intrusive.
- Thanks
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