Started cold Calling

Keep it as simple as possible, don't bother trying to incorporate fancy things like yes ladders. You won't lose sales by keeping it basic. You just want to have a proposition that is very easy to understand. You will make sales by finding the people that are thinking about buying already before you called. Don't worry about objection handling on the first calls, just look for the super easy sales and keep calling.

I'm gonna jump on this with you Robyn435. I'm gonna do 25 calls tomm. Haven't seen a Yellow Pages in a while. I live in NYC. hmm

In my opinion, the first thing you should do is start focusing on your call volume. I agree with Matthew about keeping it simple, as simple as possible!

The biggest thing a beginner has against them is inexperience and anxiety. Don't worry about being perfect, you will get better with time and practice. Get the call volume up. Make at least 100 calls a day and you'll start improving in no time.

Once you're making calls in volume, it's much easier to integrate other techniques and tactics to improve your dial to lead ratio.

Don't overthink it...pick up the phone...smile and dial. Just "do it"

Don't overthink or beat yourself up ...don't waste time worrying or wondering or 2nd guessing yourself

You basically need to look for that owner .....or two or three or four out of 100 who has some interest...when you hear that interest, when they start to "converse" with you that is when you set the appointment or make the sale....listen for that "spark" of interest....and grab on

It truly is a number game....you need more than 25 calls, you may get lucky on the first 25 but for consistent sales 25 is not enough IMHO.

Try to "connect" with the person on the other end of the phone. Avoid being too "salesy"...see what you can do to help them (get more biz, save money whatever)

One thing I like to do is call busineses that already are advertisiing...lot less "out of order" numbers, they are active in biz and trying to get customers and spending money. I look at their ads and figure what I can do to "help" them do better <grin<

When you're prospecting, you are FILTERING.

Not selling right away.

Just filtering.

WHO is interested in what I have to offer? Are they in a situation that is a match-up for what my solution fixes? Are they willing to talk to me?

That's all you're looking for at the start.

Most calls won't progress beyond this point, and that's fine. The key is to Not Take It Personally.

It has nothing to do with you.

Half the people you call won't be available.

Half who do pick up can't actually talk right now.

This means, on average, if you call day in and day out, the best you'll experience is being able to talk with about 1 in 4 prospects and have them be available and willing to speak with you.

Imagine if you're a newbie and don't know this. You would freak out because "only" 25% of people you call are talking to you. Then you'd rush back here and try to adjust every single variable you can think of: time to call, tone of voice, opener, whatever you can imagine is the problem--and now you've completely dumped all consistency. You can't manage what you can't measure. Change a half-dozen variables at once and you have no idea what worked or didn't work.

Relax and know this is your starting point. 1 in 4. You can improve this later, but for now this is what you'll experience.

Also, don't make the mistake of dialing a number once and then crossing it off your list. This is the dumbest thing I see people do. Why would you do that? You just got MARKET RESEARCH about that contact. Schedule a callback and do it. Keep zeroing in on that prospect.

You need way more than 25 calls. Two posts to help you:

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

and

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

As for your tone, script etc. don't worry so much about that. Concern yourself with a) learning about the habits of your target market (what time are they available? when are they busy? what are their pain points?) and b) making the dials consistently and booking the next attempt.

It is probably going to take you several attempts to reach a prospect. Just be aware of this; it's not a big deal and is what everyone using the phone has to deal with.

Just "be the messenger" as John would say. If someone doesn't want to hear your message, or is having a bad day, that's not your issue. You didn't cause that. They're simply not receptive at this time. Jeff Steinmann did a quick 5-minute audio tip where he says, "I'm interested in new chairs for my office. But if you called me right now, I wouldn't talk to you, because I"m making this podcast!"

Be politely persistent and zero in on those prospects who:

> are available to talk to you

> want to talk to you

> demonstrate a need for what you offer.

Do this and you'll start some good conversations. And good conversations are what lead to sales.

I started like you, 0,0 experience. I am a true INTJ. Introvered. Analytical etc.

I have a full year experience of 5 days a week cold calling. I call 6 hours a day.

I can tell you, it will get easier. Lots easier. Keep it very simple and call a lot.

Hi, my name is Thet. I do this. Can we meet?

Is better then making long pitches.. clever stuff to say.. etc

Get the volume up, up and up and just make conversation.. No call is alike and they are all the same.

Added the bolded part.. because it's so easy to get chatting while losing focus of your objective.

No brute force needed. The yellow pages are as good as just about any other cold list frankly, and BETTER than some.


Make it very easy on yourself. "Im not selling, I am just delivering the message and trying to find out if there is interest".


Be easy going. Just call and say basically "Hey Im new in town, just trying to spread the message, and was wondering if you have any interest..."


No problem, easy going, no pressure... it will naturally lead to some sales conversations.


Rebuttals are not for EVERY call... a good opener that's easy going will lead you into conversations whereby rebuttals come naturally. Your job is not to rebut every person, but rather to look for opportunities to potentially turn a no into a yes, and use them there...


No pressure. Just dial a lot of numbers and have fun saying Hi to people and being nice. Someone will return your energy. Trust me.


No pressure , "Just deliver the message", and sales will come. Conversion will increase over time. For now, just have fun saying hey to people and introducing your new business to as many people as possible. Sales will come from that attitude.


You will have a lot better experience if you don't pressure yourself and just tell yourself you are going to spend an afternoon saying "Hi" to other local biz owners and letting them know you exist. You will stumble upon interest, no doubt, have great conversations, and have an easy going (no pressure) call session that produces positive results.


If not a TON of people out of 200 have interest, then NO BIG DEAL, you let them know you are in business for future reference if nothing else, and created some cozy rapport from being nice and considerate. You EXPECTED that only a few would be interested, from the beginning.


Did I say "no pressure" enough? Mostly no pressure on YOU!


Your easy going mindset, and rationing your energy, throughout your session is your greatest asset. This isn't a boiler room, you are calling from home. You don't have a high pressure atmosphere to work in...go with the grain. It will work. You aren't sitting down to pressure, you are sitting down to have fun saying "Hi" to some people and letting them know you are in business.


The thing you should watch (monitor) the most is your own energy. As long as you aren't beat down and defeated a sale is coming... if you get to feeling defeated, you are going to sound that way , and attract defeat.

The key is to keep sounding like the whole world is going great, and sounding, and BEING lighthearted. The key to doing that is to manage your own expectations. You expect to "Just deliver the message", in a friendly way.


Trying a bunch of techniques on every call , that you aren't comfortable with is PRESSURE...you are pressuring yourself to make them work, and you are pressuring your customers to respond to them, and you are pressuring the techniques ("Why aren't you working").... Don't do that. Just say hello to people and be nice and tell them about your business. Trust me.


The nature of a call session from home is different than one in a boiler room. The advice I just gave you is what will work for you.


-JD


ps.


One big thing that helped me learn to telemarket was when I realized "I may have said this pitch 20 times in a row, but the next person that picks up the phone has NEVER heard it, and they deserve my best. Like they are the first pitch of the day".

Treat every greeting like it's the first one of the day!

If you get to feeling like "I have said this 40 times and NOBODY is interested..." then you can start sounding that way... and you are unknowingly pushing success away.


If you keep an easy going attitude , you are attracting a YES.

It's important to realize that the next guy you dial has never heard you. As far as he is concerned this may be your first call of the day. You need to treat every call like it's the first time they heard you, and give them the benefit of the doubt that they MIGHT be interested. That's how you do it!

Give your best attitude on every call. The next guy to answer the phone might be the one who suddenly says "Yeah! I'm glad you called. I was just talking about this to my secretary the other day..."


You need to have your positive energy intact for that.

Basic telemarketing 101.


The best way to maintain positive energy is to manage your self expectation "Just deliver the message". If you deliver it to enough people, in a FRIENDLY MANNER, the inevitable will occur.


If you pressure yourself too much , then you wont deliver it to enough people, and you will end up sounding defeated, pushing success away... Make your call sessions something to look forward to, and just enjoy saying Hello to people and telling them about your business. Trust the process.


The biggest thing you should expect from yourself is to dial through all the numbers every day (completely) and be nice and light hearted to every single call , down to the last one. Success will naturally come from that.


I suggest 200 numbers per day, personally.


About 2 1/2 hours.


Hope this helps.

Good luck. I hope you can use it to get to a certain level and then can move on and greatly increase your success rates. Ignore advice that tells you don't need to do that. It's not advice that will help you in the long-run to scale up and run a really successful business, assuming you have goals and ambitions and want to do that. It will have you replicating failure instead.

Ramp up your calls and you might get some decent capital and sort your money problems out, but don't get into a cycle and stay there. Many people are stuck in that cycle because they don't use the money properly with a business brain and are flat broke. And refuse to entertain anything else or change the record, often because they have a vested interest in doing that.

Make some good money, then invest in growing your business and in continually learning and testing and improving what you do.

The best thing to do is not use tricks, just say why you are calling and find out if there is interest. You can spend a lot of time and energy "leading" someone to a place that you later find out they weren't even interested in going to...


Waste of time.


If you just say what you do genuinely, and why you are calling, there wont be anything to remember or stumble through, or get a "brain freeze" over, and there wont be any fear of getting "found out".


SOMEONE wants to do business with you, with just what you have to offer. Look for THEM. No need to try and lead people around the real issues... just get to the ones who are receptive to YOUR offer; the people who want THAT.


Get to the people who want to do business with YOU... as is.


Some people will be interested JUST BECAUSE you aren't with a big company. Uncover THOSE people by stating your offer clearly, simply, and genuinely. Portraying only what you ARE in the present, and offering only what you offer in the present.


No need for parades.

I agree...trickery won't work, cause what if they want to verify the "association"? directly or indirectly...or try to "verify" it down the line? ouch

JMO...that guy gave you a very good insight....most small biz owners do not want to hear about techy stuff...that is a huge gap that opens up when techy people call them

They do not care about the behind the scene stuff..they want more customers,more calls, more orders,more business...whatever...

press the right buttons - I used to think of it as a key

some "door" have NO keyhole (not interested, gonna retire next year, my church guy built my website and that is it)

some doors have different keyholes...

one might want a new website out of pride - all the other salons have better website, a rival spa just got a beautiful site etc

one might not want a new website but just wants more clicks and business....you need to show him how that would work

one might not want a new website but did not know about the new "google" "mobile friendly" rule coming in and that might be the hook

you might find a restarant that delivers but has no menu or online ordering

making it specific, talking to them, finding what they need, what works for them

go from a pitch into a conversation but keep control and keep using your pitch "benefits" and "objections"

open (interest?)...then pitch....benefits....objections

a lot of new telemarketers rush into the objections too fast...sometimes they just rattle off their rebuttals without even hearing the actual objection or any objection !...just like a grabbag
when you relax and "listen" to the person on the other end of the phone you can see what to do...
thank them for their time and hang up....probe some more....pull out a benefit tailored to their needs....listen for their objection and give the correct rebuttal