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Accountability journal: first week of cold-calling!

by dic
12 replies
Hi everyone,

I'm new to offline marketing, but not to online marketing, and easily know enough to help clients. I've been putting off cold-calling for a while now, but last week I listened to John Durham's Offline On Crack audios, and now I'm ready & pumped to start getting business! (I'd recommend the mp3s to anyone considering cold-calling)

Anyway, I've decided to keep to a strict(ish) schedule this week of calling businesses from 9-11 each morning, and then (hopefully) having meetings with clients in the afternoon. I don't have a car, so I'll be doing presentations thru join.me, and I'm hoping this is enough to close deals.

I thought keeping an accountability journal here would make it much more likely for me to actually keep to my schedule, cos I'm still really nervous about calling strangers, so I'll be keeping you updated all throughout the week... sorry about that

Being a newbie, I also have a few questions.

My goal is to make £800 worth of business this week, as that's how much debt I'm currently in, and I'm really motivated to get rid of it ASAP! How realistic do you think this is? Estimations of results with cold-calling and offline marketing seem to vary wildly, so I never really know what to expect...

Also, do you think the fact I'm 19 is an obstacle I need to overcome? Everyone successful in this business seems to be quite a bit older, and able to convey a sense of experience more easily, but I don't know if this is just a mental block/excuse.

Thanks for reading! wish me luck
#accountability #coldcalling #journal #week
  • Profile picture of the author More Ideas
    I read your thread asking for help, so I'm glad you've taken some of the advice offered. Have you decided which model to aim for? ie, offering free site to a local business and getting referrals, or going the route of selling mobile sites with QR for one-off fee, with a recurring monthly plan.

    I'll be following this thread to see how you get on - good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Keep up the good work, we are all watching and cheering for you... $800 is ultra doable. Just do yourself a favor and dont get up after you have one or two appointments, book five or six, insure the victory. Make it no fail. If you have 4-6 appointments you should SWOOSH this... and if your closing ration is good and you might end up with 2k instead of $800
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    I wouldn't worry about your age. Individual prospects are either going to care about it, or not care about it. You can't control what they think. The ones who care that you're 19 qualify OUT as people to do business with; the rest are people you can work with if they have the budget and the need.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tracy411
    Hi dic,

    That is awesome that you are seeking counsel, planning, and most importantly, taking action. I am bookmarking this thread and look forward to following your story. And I agree that John Durham can be a great inspirational kick in the pants

    By the way, I agree with what John was implying in his comment: shoot for higher than $800 in sales. As a career teacher (not teaching right now), I can tell you that I told my students to always keep their target higher than what they would minimally want to achieve (i.e. they wanted a 65% passing rate on their next test, I'd say to shoot for 80%). This way, if they missed 80%, their chances of being at least at 65% is higher. Besides, who knows, you just might reach that higher mark. The beginning of any achieved goal is setting it in your mind and believing you can indeed do it.

    Wishes for much success

    Tracy
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  • Profile picture of the author NiagaraLocal
    Your goal should be a number of no's each day.. not yes. When you get a yes and a sale you quit.

    If your goal is to get 10 people to say no to you, you may end up with many, many sales because you are only stopping after 10 people have said no.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Bucker
    It is always good to see a man take action no matter how long it takes for him to do so in life. This accountability will be good for you. I am excited to see your progress.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    Ooh I love the thought behind this thread, so I am interested how did your first day go ?
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    • Profile picture of the author dic
      Originally Posted by More Ideas View Post

      I read your thread asking for help, so I'm glad you've taken some of the advice offered. Have you decided which model to aim for? ie, offering free site to a local business and getting referrals, or going the route of selling mobile sites with QR for one-off fee, with a recurring monthly plan.
      Today, I went for John's idea in his audio course, which is to call up and ask if they had a website, or were interested in doing some web projects in the future - and then moving on to ask about traffic & Google Places, etc. Kind of a natural flow of conversation.

      HOWEVER - after today's results I may go a bit more specific with the service... I got pretty much all refusals of work, didn't get anywhere near arranging an appointment. I have a few people to follow up with by email, which I haven't got round to yet; will do tomorrow. Does anyone have any ideas for that? Do emails ever work in closing a deal? I'm guessing I should probably call again as well/instead...

      I was surprised to find so many businesses without websites, who weren't interested in the slightest when I brought the subject up, but I guess I'm playing a numbers game & my sales experience is limited. I was only targeting the companies in the Yellow Pages who didn't list a website on their ad, but maybe I'd be better off targeting the ones who already have sites and offering a different service?? The benefits of mobile sites w/ QR codes seem fairly simple to explain, and easy enough to set up, so I may take the recommendation of Warrior Ben and go for the mobile option instead. Only problem with that is I don't have a phone I could demonstrate with. Anybody know of a mobile web browser simulator I could use?

      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

      Keep up the good work, we are all watching and cheering for you... $800 is ultra doable. Just do yourself a favor and dont get up after you have one or two appointments, book five or six, insure the victory. Make it no fail. If you have 4-6 appointments you should SWOOSH this... and if your closing ration is good and you might end up with 2k instead of $800
      Originally Posted by Tracy411 View Post

      By the way, I agree with what John was implying in his comment: shoot for higher than $800 in sales. As a career teacher (not teaching right now), I can tell you that I told my students to always keep their target higher than what they would minimally want to achieve (i.e. they wanted a 65% passing rate on their next test, I'd say to shoot for 80%). This way, if they missed 80%, their chances of being at least at 65% is higher. Besides, who knows, you just might reach that higher mark. The beginning of any achieved goal is setting it in your mind and believing you can indeed do it.
      Yeah OK I'll set my sights higher, as I love a challenge, but I really would be satisfied with £800, having been unemployed since I left school 5 months ago.

      Originally Posted by kaniganj View Post

      I wouldn't worry about your age. Individual prospects are either going to care about it, or not care about it. You can't control what they think. The ones who care that you're 19 qualify OUT as people to do business with; the rest are people you can work with if they have the budget and the need.
      Thanks for your opinion, after talking to plenty of friendly people today, I'm inclined to agree. And, like NiagaraLocal says below, I just need to get through enough NOs and eventually I'll get a YES! So age probably doesn't matter in the whole scheme of things.

      Originally Posted by NiagaraLocal View Post

      Your goal should be a number of no's each day.. not yes. When you get a yes and a sale you quit.

      If your goal is to get 10 people to say no to you, you may end up with many, many sales because you are only stopping after 10 people have said no.
      Originally Posted by Michael Bucker View Post

      It is always good to see a man take action no matter how long it takes for him to do so in life. This accountability will be good for you. I am excited to see your progress.
      Thanks for saying so, this accountability journal certainly got me out of bed this morning...

      Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver View Post

      Ooh I love the thought behind this thread, so I am interested how did your first day go ?
      Alright, thanks for asking! I didn't make any sales, but I didn't have high hopes for that, as I'm just getting the hang of cold calling. I was pretty nervous to begin with, but as the day went on, the conversations got a bit more relaxed, and I learnt to at least get their emails, even if I couldn't arrange an appointment. Like I've been talking about above, I'll try a few different approaches with it tomorrow. The good thing is I've become relaxed enough to treat is as a sort of game, so I really am starting to have some fun with it, and hopefully that'll translate into closing more deals. The 'take it or leave it' attitude is probably a good one to convey in cold calling, otherwise you just come across desperate.

      A couple of obstacles I came up against today were:
      • getting through the gatekeeper to the decision maker - any tips for this? I ended up speaking to a lot of secretaries, who didn't really have any say in the web side of things, but I didn't really know how to get past them to the boss...I know part of their job is to filter out calls that aren't specifically for the boss, and I don't know who to ask for, as Yellow Pages doesn't give you much info about people. There must be a way of breaking through though!
      • I spoke to a lot of accountancy firms (as well as acupuncturists & aerial installers, going from A to Z) and some of them said 'we have a web designer who works specifically for accountants, so we have a tailored service' - do you think I should niche down? Or is it possible to be successful as a general offline marketer? As far as I can see, services don't need to be tailored that much for specific industries, but business owners might see differently.

      Anyway, I need to go to bed for an early rise & cold call tomorrow morning! Thanks for reading this far, all your support on here is really helping

      Benedict
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      • Profile picture of the author Sue Bruce
        "I listened to John Durham's Offline On Crack audios, and now I'm ready & pumped to start getting business!"
        1. Keep listening to John tapes to get "pumped". Do not get discouraged, keep yourself up.

        "I may take the recommendation of Warrior Ben and go for the mobile option instead."
        2. This is what I do. I ask them if they knew that their site is not cell phone optimized.They need a mobile app so those with cell phones don't have to scroll to find their address, a map etc.

        "I don't have a phone I could demonstrate with. Anybody know of a mobile web browser simulator I could use?
        3. If you're willing to email them (small percentage of sales), you can use dubamobile and take screen shots.

        "I spoke to a lot of accountancy firms (as well as acupuncturists & aerial installers, going from A to Z) "
        4. If you're offering mobile web, you could probably call all those businesses back and find interest. From experience I would start with restaurants and bars.

        "getting through the gatekeeper to the decision maker - any tips for this?'
        5. Find out when the advertising or marketing person or owner will be in next. When is the best time to reach him/her?.

        The first week is rough, it gets easier!
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      • Profile picture of the author Deidra Renee
        Originally Posted by dic View Post

        Today, I went for John's idea in his audio course, which is to call up and ask if they had a website, or were interested in doing some web projects in the future - and then moving on to ask about traffic & Google Places, etc. Kind of a natural flow of conversation.

        HOWEVER - after today's results I may go a bit more specific with the service... I got pretty much all refusals of work, didn't get anywhere near arranging an appointment. I have a few people to follow up with by email, which I haven't got round to yet; will do tomorrow. Does anyone have any ideas for that? Do emails ever work in closing a deal? I'm guessing I should probably call again as well/instead...

        I was surprised to find so many businesses without websites, who weren't interested in the slightest when I brought the subject up, but I guess I'm playing a numbers game & my sales experience is limited. I was only targeting the companies in the Yellow Pages who didn't list a website on their ad, but maybe I'd be better off targeting the ones who already have sites and offering a different service?? The benefits of mobile sites w/ QR codes seem fairly simple to explain, and easy enough to set up, so I may take the recommendation of Warrior Ben and go for the mobile option instead. Only problem with that is I don't have a phone I could demonstrate with. Anybody know of a mobile web browser simulator I could use?




        Yeah OK I'll set my sights higher, as I love a challenge, but I really would be satisfied with £800, having been unemployed since I left school 5 months ago.



        Thanks for your opinion, after talking to plenty of friendly people today, I'm inclined to agree. And, like NiagaraLocal says below, I just need to get through enough NOs and eventually I'll get a YES! So age probably doesn't matter in the whole scheme of things.




        Thanks for saying so, this accountability journal certainly got me out of bed this morning...



        Alright, thanks for asking! I didn't make any sales, but I didn't have high hopes for that, as I'm just getting the hang of cold calling. I was pretty nervous to begin with, but as the day went on, the conversations got a bit more relaxed, and I learnt to at least get their emails, even if I couldn't arrange an appointment. Like I've been talking about above, I'll try a few different approaches with it tomorrow. The good thing is I've become relaxed enough to treat is as a sort of game, so I really am starting to have some fun with it, and hopefully that'll translate into closing more deals. The 'take it or leave it' attitude is probably a good one to convey in cold calling, otherwise you just come across desperate.


        A couple of obstacles I came up against today were:
        • getting through the gatekeeper to the decision maker - any tips for this? I ended up speaking to a lot of secretaries, who didn't really have any say in the web side of things, but I didn't really know how to get past them to the boss...I know part of their job is to filter out calls that aren't specifically for the boss, and I don't know who to ask for, as Yellow Pages doesn't give you much info about people. There must be a way of breaking through though!
        • I spoke to a lot of accountancy firms (as well as acupuncturists & aerial installers, going from A to Z) and some of them said 'we have a web designer who works specifically for accountants, so we have a tailored service' - do you think I should niche down? Or is it possible to be successful as a general offline marketer? As far as I can see, services don't need to be tailored that much for specific industries, but business owners might see differently.
        Anyway, I need to go to bed for an early rise & cold call tomorrow morning! Thanks for reading this far, all your support on here is really helping

        Benedict
        .
        Try calling contractors, they rarely have gatekeepers, unless it's a big corporation or something. 9 times out of 10 you get the owner, or business partner on the phone.
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  • Profile picture of the author BarbaraP
    Congrats on taking initiative!
    manta.com may be a source for more info on each company to get owner's name. They have UK listings.

    If you can open with a line like "I'm an Internet Marketing specialist and I help local business owners get more leads and sales. I compared your website to one of your competitors. There's a weakness you can take advantage of to attract more clients. Could I send you an email to show you ... how I can help you get more prospects? what your website would look like? ... what your new website would look like on a mobile phone?" (Depends on your focus for services)

    Chambers of commerce often have their membership lists and contact info on their websites. Good place to get owners, top manager's names for free.

    There's another thread going about cold calling and offering mock-ups of websites and mobile sites. Check here

    http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...t-website.html

    Cheers to your success!

    PS Your age is just a number whether you are 19 or "39" like me. Don't ever let your age hold you back.
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    • Profile picture of the author dic
      Originally Posted by Sue Bruce View Post

      "I listened to John Durham's Offline On Crack audios, and now I'm ready & pumped to start getting business!"
      1. Keep listening to John tapes to get "pumped". Do not get discouraged, keep yourself up.

      "I may take the recommendation of Warrior Ben and go for the mobile option instead."
      2. This is what I do. I ask them if they knew that their site is not cell phone optimized.They need a mobile app so those with cell phones don't have to scroll to find their address, a map etc.

      "I don't have a phone I could demonstrate with. Anybody know of a mobile web browser simulator I could use?
      3. If you're willing to email them (small percentage of sales), you can use dubamobile and take screen shots.

      "I spoke to a lot of accountancy firms (as well as acupuncturists & aerial installers, going from A to Z) "
      4. If you're offering mobile web, you could probably call all those businesses back and find interest. From experience I would start with restaurants and bars.

      "getting through the gatekeeper to the decision maker - any tips for this?'
      5. Find out when the advertising or marketing person or owner will be in next. When is the best time to reach him/her?.

      The first week is rough, it gets easier!
      Thanks for your advice, Sue, it's really helped! I've made lots of notes that I keep referring back to, which motivate me each time. The problem with mobile sites, for me, is that they seem a lot more difficult to build than good ol' WP sites. I'm no coder so it seems like I'll have to wait for mobile themes/templates to be more easy to customize... unless anyone knows of a good product/service out there? There's definitely potential in selling mobile though, so maybe once I've got up and running initially, I can start to outsource. Who knows?

      Originally Posted by Deidra Renee View Post

      .
      Try calling contractors, they rarely have gatekeepers, unless it's a big corporation or something. 9 times out of 10 you get the owner, or business partner on the phone.
      Yeah I can imagine it's easier with contractors - I've got a load of plumbers lined up for tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to interest at least a couple.

      Originally Posted by BarbaraP View Post

      Congrats on taking initiative!
      manta.com may be a source for more info on each company to get owner's name. They have UK listings.

      If you can open with a line like "I'm an Internet Marketing specialist and I help local business owners get more leads and sales. I compared your website to one of your competitors. There's a weakness you can take advantage of to attract more clients. Could I send you an email to show you ... how I can help you get more prospects? what your website would look like? ... what your new website would look like on a mobile phone?" (Depends on your focus for services)

      Chambers of commerce often have their membership lists and contact info on their websites. Good place to get owners, top manager's names for free.

      There's another thread going about cold calling and offering mock-ups of websites and mobile sites. Check here

      warriorforum.com/offline-marketing-discussions/496965-powerful-way-close-clients-website-design-make-them-really-want-website.html

      Cheers to your success!

      PS Your age is just a number whether you are 19 or "39" like me. Don't ever let your age hold you back.
      I love this email approach! Looked at James' thread, and I think demo sites is really the way to go. I've got quite a bit of experience with WPtwin and quickly adjusting wordpress themes, and I enjoy it, so it's what I've decided to offer. Business owners without sites couldn't possibly turn down a free mock-up!

      And I'll have a look at manta / chamber of commerce sites, thanks for the tip, and the encouragement about my age. I'm starting to see it won't be a problem

      Cold-calling didn't happen today, unfortunately, as there were various family members / contractors around the house I wasn't expecting, and it interrupted my flow. However, I've spent a couple of hours getting 110 potential clients lined up in a spreadsheet, from looking thru the yellow pages for businesses without sites. I'm gonna power through them tomorrow morning, so I should be able to get some people interested in a demo site, and then hopefully I'll be able to close some deals on Thursday!

      Thanks for the continued support on this people! I'm excited

      Benedict
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