I haven't made a sale since i started cold calling last week, what am i doing wrong ?

You are literally telling him "Just tell me you can't handle any new clients, and I'll go away"

See? I told you so.

You can get past that point by not asking if they could use more clients.

Nobody cares who you are. Nobody wants to hear small talk from a salesperson. Get to the point. What are you offering? Make a big benefit claim and then ask if they would like to hear more.

You don't have to say "The reason for my call today is..."

Tell them what you do. Tell them as quickly as possible. And then let them either hang up or say they want to know more.

I don't want to sound insulting. But for the last couple of weeks a few of us have given every little bit of information you needed to start really selling. And yet your post indicates you haven't learned any of it.


Read this thread again.

https://www.warriorforum.com/offline...usinesses.html

I see two opportunities here, and a comment.

First, the comment. You are seeing that B2B sales is much different than B2C, especially something like timeshare sales, where high pressure closers are kings (and queens).

B2B relies more on facts and logic. There is still an emotional component, but it's not the same as B2C. In B2B, buyers are primarily interested in two things -- will this help the company, and will I look good for buying it? Then there's the "what happens to me if this goes toes up?" question.

Couch your approach in those terms, and see if it helps.

On to the opportunities...

1) Gatekeepers are not your enemy. Before cold calling, spend a couple of minutes to see if you can determine the actual title of the person who can say yes. For online marketing, it may be Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, VP of Marketing, etc. Being able to ask for a title helps you get past the initial screening. It also gives you the chance to ask the person's name.

Much as it may seem like it, gatekeepers are not there purely to screen out sales calls. They are there to help filter useful calls from timewasters.

2) Learn to love voicemail. Develop a version of an elevator speech that offers a real benefit to the person you are calling (reference comment above). Straight to voicemail is becoming more and more common, so get used to it.

Your voicemail message has two goals -- get the person to call you back, and failing that, to leave a positive impression that will leave him or her open to taking your follow up call. The follow up can be as simple as telling the gatekeeper "I left a message for so-and-so, and he hasn't gotten back to me yet. Can you connect me?"

One more thing...

Unless what you are offering is an impulse purchase with no real downside risk for the buyer, you shouldn't be going for a sale on the initial call. You should be starting a dialog and setting up the next conversation. In all but the smallest companies, there are generally more than one person who has to sign off on purchases. Find out who they are and what they need to move things to the next step.

Many years ago, I cold called setting up appointments for a company that basically was a time share RV park. Never went for a sale on the cold call, always an appointment with a closer. Went fine until the company folded because they "forgot" to pay their taxes and the IRS padlocked the offices.

I also spent a summer cold calling for Time Life Books. That was a purchase that was an impulse and could be sold pretty easily on the initial call.

During my time as a design engineer, I fielded a lot of calls from salespeople, on everything from cheap hand tools to multimillion dollar CNC machines. Even if I wanted to buy, I had levels of approval I had to get before a purchase order was issued. That's just how the B2B world works.

B2B cold calling is selling the appointment about something they will get for free i.e. Assessment, interview, etc. There's opportunity to collect information from the gatekeeper, so your set-up dialog with the DM can go smoother.

patience is key, as always I think if you keep improving you'll see results.

I think you diagnosed your sticking points well.

I second the idea that researching more about the companies on Linkedin so you have a name instead of asking for the person in charge of marketing will definitely help.

Also it's only been a week, you have to be a little less outcome dependent or you'll stress yourself out.

You're asking questions which lead to the response you're getting so change the questions to those which get the response you prefer.

So here are my thoughts:

ME: This is first lastname with company name , how you doing today pretty good ? the reason for the call is i wanted to see if you had the capacity to handle more clients.

"how you doing today pretty good?" we all know you don't really care how we're doing. So that gives the sense you're insincere.

I think instead if you can get right to the pain point, making your offer and asking if you can help, then it's just yes or no on their part.

"My name is OP and I'm with the XYZ Company. I help with *service description* so that *how that person/company benefits.* I've previously done work for *well-known companies.* If you think it would help you, would you be open to *your offer*?"

It's not about converting every call. You're just calling down the list to find the person who says "yes" as efficiently and fast as possible.

Update: im getting pass the opening by my updated script that i can't share with you guys yet.

I smell a sale coming in a few days.

I had a conversation, pitched what i had to offer, used tie downs, used some take away closes like the following:

if you're already using facebook ads or doing xyz, then you should be satisfied with what you got, i don't see a reason for you to do anything else, you know what i mean ?

(you bet they justify that they need more business) he sounded interested

but i didn't have the confidence to ask for the sale because i felt it was too soon to ask.



he threw the "let me talk it over with my wife objection".

And i rebuttal, and

"if your wife likes it, what other questions would you have for me ?".

Testimonials, see if it working for them.

Maybe i just should have asked for the sale.

Just didn't feel like it was appropriate to ask yet.

Do the opposite of what other are doing.

Start with get some infos of the company you are calling and tell them "i've read that your company (name) need this, and im the solution of better performing and optimizing time." then ask a question, simple, suddenly to let them speak

Update

Did another 100 cold call session(probably 130 i think)

one potentially interested in april

and

one potentially a sale.

We had a normal conversation, talked about price, and he gave me his email to send him, what i can do for him.

I think this part is easy, i can build alot of value with this site auditor thing i got.

It just a matter of him emailing back saying lets do it.

Anyone who is reading this, please cold call i don't give a f**** if you don't feel like it or not.

Everyday you get better, before these "almost sales happened" . I thought about giving up, or "taking a long break" until i can afford buying a list instead of digging it up. It amazes me how the universe has your back.

Am I right in thinking the OP is selling a service to get businesses a higher ranking in Google?

That's all I can glean from the original post?

If that IS the case then the OP has got a huge uphill battle on their hands
as this is one of the most pitched services by cold callers to businesses.

You may not suck at all OP.......it's just that the task you have taken on is
monumental given the amount of activity there is in this crowded arena.

Also customers have been so bombarded by untalented tele-marketers
already that they simply put up barriers and generally make life difficult for you.

I haven't read every post in this thread but I can see others have made various
alternative suggestions and really you ought to consider at least testing another
way to get the attention of your potential buyers.

I train start-ups and new ventures how to get started cold calling. I'm good at it,
very good at it.....and I have to confess that even I would be trying some alternative
ways to get the potential customers' attention first.

If you'd started out simply knocking on the doors of these people, I'm pretty sure
you'd have signed one up by now.

'I don't have time for that'....I hear you say!

Well to be honest, your time is not being used well with this venture so far is it....so maybe rethink?

I think that's what this was to begin with - same questions - same rationalizations and weaknesses in people skills - same city - as a member who asked pretty much the same questions a few months ago...'clautusoar'.

Repetition but perhaps good for teaching. If you have no self confidence, no people skills...cold calling is going to be a frustrating experience.

simple: What am i doing wrong?"

Ans: Cold calling

Hint: It rhythms with told, sold, bold, mold, etc...