Social media vs email vs cold calling small business

14 replies
Sorry about the messy headline, and if this isn´t the correct forum..

So we´re basically running a small company that provides a hands on service (HR- field, health services on site) for corporates, medium size businesses over 20 employees etc. I got employees and I got some costumers that happened by either luck or connections.

The market is there, and we´re right now early in the process of marketing. We dont have a lot of bigger competitors. Maybe one or two thats bigger, but there´s a lot of sole workers doing the same thing that we´re competing against..

Keep in mind that I´m in Scandinavia, so the business world is perhaps a bit less cruel and hard than in the US. People in general aren´t as professional minded and costumer/relationship-minded and/or "superficial" as americans might come across (at least for us) But they are usually very good at what they do, but ..less eager to talk perhaps, less straight forward etc. So just keep that in mind. Other than that I would assume it´s pretty much the same - technology wise etc.

So we´ve got a facebook page with way too few likes/followers. We´ve run some ads that I think has paid off nice when it comes to reach. But getting likes it seems like a waste of money. About 2 dollars per likeclick.

We recently started doing some twitter-husteling, and that seems pretty easy to get followers. I´m struggelig to get the followers I want, but at least I get followers that arent too shady (some even are persons and the companies I get are all right)

And I started to cold call companies. I´ve mapped out over a thousand companies the past months, and made my script. I probably suck at it, and I´m not a great talker. But I have a good voice and I believe in my product.

So far I´ve called about a 100 companies, in which about 10 allready had the service (which is good I guess). About 60 werent interested at all, and about 30 I´m either calling back, not the right person, sending them a mail etc..But I doubt I´ll make any sales.

I read that I should be happy if i make 1/120 calls a sale..so I´m not stressing about it yet + I´m a rookie.


But my question(s) are..which of these should I focus the most on? Since it´s a service that everyone on the workplace would benefit from (and the business too - reduce its sickleave etc) I would try to reach out to pretty much anyone working in a business that fits our prospecting.

What would you put most of your attention on?

Hope to share some thoughts here.

cheers,

Vikinghustler
#b2b #business #calling #cold #email #media #small #small business #social
  • Profile picture of the author FemaleAddadotcom
    In your case, both cold calling and social media will work. Cold calling works best if you do it with emailing. Just imagine, the person who has already said no to you once, now sees a mail of all your services.. maybe reads it once.. now he will see it on his fb page.. someone else using it.. thats how trust is build. Why would anybody trust a call, he will however take some out to explore if he sees your brief but informative advertisement.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikinghustler
      Originally Posted by FemaleAddadotcom View Post

      In your case, both cold calling and social media will work. Cold calling works best if you do it with emailing. Just imagine, the person who has already said no to you once, now sees a mail of all your services.. maybe reads it once.. now he will see it on his fb page.. someone else using it.. thats how trust is build. Why would anybody trust a call, he will however take some out to explore if he sees your brief but informative advertisement.

      Thanks!

      Would you prefer to call first, and then email that same company later?
      For instance - I call someone today, they reject me. I send them an email, they read it, and take interest (ideally).

      I´ve been doing it the opposite way. First emailing, then some weeks later calling. Maybe that´s the wrong way?

      Or..umm..should I perhaps just send a mail with information regularly to each company? Like every month? 3 months? something like that? Chances it goes straight into the trash, wrong person opens it etc is there I guess? Would that be considered rude in the US to send mail to generic mail adresses more than once? (Company mail address of course) (It´s not allowed to send mail directly to persons where Im from if its marketing)
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  • Profile picture of the author princetotem
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  • Profile picture of the author Aboke
    Hello, I've done both cold calling and social media marketing. They all work,but depending on how you go about it. If you choose to do more social media marketing,then you have to target the right audience and be timely with your posts and ads. Emailing also works, but then you have to take some time to learn more about the company to establish whether or not they are interested. This shall spare you the disappointment of wasting time calling a million companies and getting just a few intrests. All in all, i'll tell you to focus more on cold-calling. Don't abandon social media though.
    Best of luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikinghustler
      Originally Posted by Aboke View Post

      Hello, I've done both cold calling and social media marketing. They all work,but depending on how you go about it. If you choose to do more social media marketing,then you have to target the right audience and be timely with your posts and ads. Emailing also works, but then you have to take some time to learn more about the company to establish whether or not they are interested. This shall spare you the disappointment of wasting time calling a million companies and getting just a few intrests. All in all, i'll tell you to focus more on cold-calling. Don't abandon social media though.
      Best of luck.
      Thanks,

      Regarding emailing..wouldnt it be better to just "spam" all the companies I wanna target? With spamming I mean just sending everyone a mail (to generic company emails like info@) once a month? I read that thats ideal..If theyre not interested, they will probably block me as spam, but if they are, they will probably dont do that.

      The only issue with that would perhaps be that if they at some later stage would be interested in my service (years later with new leaders perhaps or better economy) my mail would be blocked

      But then again..I could just add another name before my company @ ..I guess
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  • Profile picture of the author nwik
    Focus on where you can get more clients.

    The reason why you have few numbers of likes on facebook is maybe because you don't share your page enough to reach potential clients.

    If you want to get an answer from your clients instantly you should focus on cold calling.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rafay Zafar
    forget inbound marketing (seo, content, social media marketing etc.) if you want to grow fast. If you have an advertising budget test PPC.

    But really, you need to prepare a list of suspects and start prospecting. I am not into cold calling but i see no reason why it cant work. But you should utilize any/all methods including networking events, referrals, email out reach, social media out reach, direct mail etc.

    However, before you start prospecting, it really helps if you do some intelligence gathering about each prospects to make sure they have a problem you can solve. After you have made sure that all the prospects in your list have a problem in your list, start prospecting to find companies that want to solve that problem. Once you have the list of people who want to solve the problem you can solve, only then you should start selling. That way your call is no longer a cold call because it is relevant. It is like you are craving pizza and pizza hut calls you to introduce their new outlet nearby.

    for eg. you can gather intelligence about the HR policies and benefits about the company. Read reviews posted on glassdoor to understand what issues their employees face and how it brings bad press to the company. Those companies have an HR issue that your service could help solve.

    you can also look at the job openings to understand their hiring process and employee benefits they offer. Find studies to prove that employees prefer to work for a company that offers your solution.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikinghustler
      Originally Posted by Rafay Zafar View Post

      forget inbound marketing (seo, content, social media marketing etc.) if you want to grow fast. If you have an advertising budget test PPC.

      But really, you need to prepare a list of suspects and start prospecting. I am not into cold calling but i see no reason why it cant work. But you should utilize any/all methods including networking events, referrals, email out reach, social media out reach, direct mail etc.

      However, before you start prospecting, it really helps if you do some intelligence gathering about each prospects to make sure they have a problem you can solve. After you have made sure that all the prospects in your list have a problem in your list, start prospecting to find companies that want to solve that problem. Once you have the list of people who want to solve the problem you can solve, only then you should start selling. That way your call is no longer a cold call because it is relevant. It is like you are craving pizza and pizza hut calls you to introduce their new outlet nearby.

      for eg. you can gather intelligence about the HR policies and benefits about the company. Read reviews posted on glassdoor to understand what issues their employees face and how it brings bad press to the company. Those companies have an HR issue that your service could help solve.

      you can also look at the job openings to understand their hiring process and employee benefits they offer. Find studies to prove that employees prefer to work for a company that offers your solution.
      Thanks alot

      I get the gather information part, but on the other hand, I seem to get a grasp and figure it out pretty fast when i cold call. Since im selling a service which basically any company with sickleave could use (and that i strongly believe would benefit the company) ((although we dont target comapanies with 15 or less employees)) we are basically targeting everyone.

      So when I make a cold call, I usually meet a happy gatekeeper..I mean, who wouldnt want their employer to provide that kind of service to their employees. So allready there I usually have a strong hand. The problem is ofcourse reaching the correct person, but I can do that in about 30% of the calls (cold calls-first calls).Answer is usually send me a mail on my personal company mail, or they have the service or theyre not interested.

      I keep track on the calls and make notes. I dont delete ant contacts, but i store them as "not active"

      So even though cold calling is scary, it´s IMO effective.


      Social media marketing is for the fact that most companies arent happy to be sold things over the phone. They wanna shop. And there are also bidding processes for these kind of services. So we wanna be recognised on both google, facebook and maybe even attracting customers on twitter etc by posting relevant stuff.

      The usual deal I guess..
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  • Profile picture of the author Hearn
    $2 pe like that's too much even for Scandinavia. Targeting US you can easily go below 1 cent/like in some niches. For likes, you can have a wider audience so you keep the price down but if you want to market your offer directly you should target business owners in your niche. If you don't get enough sales from your ads(people don't usually buy when 1st seeing the offer especially business owners), you have to promote your picture/video posts and try to get your audience to engage with your Facebook page without trying to sell right away. With posts to your blog and a website tab some of your Facebook fans will land on your website. Make sure to invite people that like your posts to like your page. Have a retargeting pixel on your website so at least you build a list even if they don't buy from you when they 1st visit. Later you can target those people again with a more personalized offer.

    I am not sure about unsolicited emails. You should start building an email list but if business owners are your only target it will not be easy. They don't usually go for freebies. But you can offer something like a free consultation if they subscribe to your email. Or just post your phone number and let them call you for a free consultation or a trial run.

    Try different things, and focus on what works. You have to find your own success.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikinghustler
      Originally Posted by Hearn View Post

      $2 pe like that's too much even for Scandinavia. Targeting US you can easily go below 1 cent/like in some niches. For likes, you can have a wider audience so you keep the price down but if you want to market your offer directly you should target business owners in your niche. If you don't get enough sales from your ads(people don't usually buy when 1st seeing the offer especially business owners), you have to promote your picture/video posts and try to get your audience to engage with your Facebook page without trying to sell right away. With posts to your blog and a website tab some of your Facebook fans will land on your website. Make sure to invite people that like your posts to like your page. Have a retargeting pixel on your website so at least you build a list even if they don't buy from you when they 1st visit. Later you can target those people again with a more personalized offer.

      I am not sure about unsolicited emails. You should start building an email list but if business owners are your only target it will not be easy. They don't usually go for freebies. But you can offer something like a free consultation if they subscribe to your email. Or just post your phone number and let them call you for a free consultation or a trial run.

      Try different things, and focus on what works. You have to find your own success.
      Thank you,

      I tried to ad-boost some of my posts instead of going for like clicks, and i reached alot of people, but it didnt get me any new likers.

      Agree that 2$ per like is ridicilous..Maybe I´m doing something wrong.

      I´m not necessarily targeting only business OWNERS, but even..or maybe specifficly HR-personell who are in the leaders board/group.

      Basically I can target any person who´s someone that gets things done. Unfortunatly I dont know who that person is at that particular workplace. So I would have to prospect and find that person.

      I have Pretty big email list which I have been working on for 6 months. About 700 businesses from the biggest multinational to smaller law firms etc. After calling etc i take notes and "rate" each business - basically how much effort I think I should put into that particular business (that estimation can however change when I get new info etc)

      We offer FREE trials worth about 150$. We would come to the workplace and do our service for a handpicked group. (leaders, HR etc)

      We do have 7 costumers/companies allready..which is one good annual income for us. But none of those we have landed due to marketing. Or at least not targeted marketing, calling, emailing etc.

      So, we´re trying to step it up a notch or two..About two months now..no results so far, but I feel that we´re growing a little bit online. The numbers are increasing, I´m cold calling more, finding out new things, we´re basically working either mentally or practically 15 hours a day. Instead of drinking beer and watching TV, I´m drinking beer and working with my call lists etc.

      Im just..is this how it is done? It feels like it for sure..We´re investing a whole lot of time into something that hopefully pays off later.

      Am I missing something? Or does it sound like we´re on track here?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kobita Maruf
    Here are some interesting facts on social selling, it will really change the way you sell your company!

    Social Selling:

    55% of Business 2 Business buyers search for information on social media (MediaBistro)
    Over 40% of salespeople say they’ve closed between two and five deals as a result of social media. (Social media and Sales Quote Survey)
    75% of customers say they use social media as part of the buying process (IBM)
    2 x higher ROI from e-mail marketing than cold calling, networking or trade shows (MarketingSherpa)

    Cold Calling:

    91% of the time cold calling doesn’t work (Harvard Business Review)
    90% of C-suite executive say they never respond to call calls or emails blasts (Dale Carnegie)
    82% of B2B decision makers think sales reps are unprepared (SiriusDecisions)
    60% more expensive per lead that other methods (HubSpot)
    Only 5% of business lead phone calls lead to a sale (DSWA)
    After reading some statistics on cold calling and social selling, It really is time to move on from employing these so called ‘phone bashers’. And start selling the social way!
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikinghustler
      Originally Posted by Kobita Maruf View Post

      Here are some interesting facts on social selling, it will really change the way you sell your company!

      Social Selling:

      55% of Business 2 Business buyers search for information on social media (MediaBistro)
      Over 40% of salespeople say they’ve closed between two and five deals as a result of social media. (Social media and Sales Quote Survey)
      75% of customers say they use social media as part of the buying process (IBM)
      2 x higher ROI from e-mail marketing than cold calling, networking or trade shows (MarketingSherpa)

      Cold Calling:

      91% of the time cold calling doesn’t work (Harvard Business Review)
      90% of C-suite executive say they never respond to call calls or emails blasts (Dale Carnegie)
      82% of B2B decision makers think sales reps are unprepared (SiriusDecisions)
      60% more expensive per lead that other methods (HubSpot)
      Only 5% of business lead phone calls lead to a sale (DSWA)
      After reading some statistics on cold calling and social selling, It really is time to move on from employing these so called ‘phone bashers’. And start selling the social way!
      Thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author loyaanderson
    I would like to share if it is already an existing customer then cold calling will surely help. If it is a new customer e-mail and cold together can help. But to get new customers social media an important tool to show who you are? what you are up to ?
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  • Profile picture of the author onehalf
    I suggest that you identify who your target audience or client, so you an also concentrate your marketing efforts on this particular group. Also, this will help you decide on which method to use for getting more clients for your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author asdqwezxc1
    Why not combo everything together.

    This what I would suggest.

    Post your email & phone number on social media accounts to make sure you're able to reach.

    Cold calling & follow up emails, on the call you've to convince the person who you talk to make them read the email. If they do you're actually very close to closing a deal.
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