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2,000 Cold Calls and Email Leads..No Sales

by WebDiva7
26 replies
Hi,

I have 1 (sometimes 2) outsourcer and him and I have been working on cold calling leads and emailing leads (with built in tracking) to no avail.

Seriously, I could'nt sell lemonade in the middle of a desert at this point.

We do mobile websites (supposed to be hot and the easiest thing to sale right?) we got one bite, did a mock up and no sale.

We have tried reputation management, (most of the people we talked to don't even know "what a Yelp" is)

and just directory listings. NOT Google places.

I've used a Cragislist software to look for jobs for webdesigners and the like. No response. I've use a few traffic exchanges and auctions to sell, one off services, like a list of leads or SEO reports and got a few of those, but not enough to make a dent because those were all priced as loss leaders.

I am beyond frustrated! We've tried restaurants, petsitters, bailbondsmen, and landscapers as niches. I paid money I could ill afford for training on phone scripts and still nothing.

I keep reading about everyone who is making well beyond making ends meet, but I have yet to personally experience this. What am I missing?!:confused:
#calls #cold #cold calls #email #leads #leadsno #marketing #outsource #sales
  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    Originally Posted by WebDiva7 View Post

    Hi,

    I have 1 (sometimes 2) outsourcer and him and I have been working on cold calling leads and emailing leads (with built in tracking) to no avail.

    Seriously, I could'nt sell lemonade in the middle of a desert at this point.

    We do mobile websites (supposed to be hot and the easiest thing to sale right?) we got one bite, did a mock up and no sale.

    We have tried reputation management, (most of the people we talked to don't even know "what a Yelp" is)

    and just directory listings. NOT Google places.

    I've used a Cragislist software to look for jobs for webdesigners and the like. No response. I've use a few traffic exchanges and auctions to sell, one off services, like a list of leads or SEO reports and got a few of those, but not enough to make a dent because those were all priced as loss leaders.

    I am beyond frustrated! We've tried restaurants, petsitters, bailbondsmen, and landscapers as niches. I paid money I could ill afford for training on phone scripts and still nothing.

    I keep reading about everyone who is making well beyond making ends meet, but I have yet to personally experience this. What am I missing?!:confused:
    Are you saying you made 2000 phone calls, and no sales????
    even a blind squirrel finds a nut !!!

    Is it possible your jumping all over the place, instead of perfecting ONE pitch, ONE product?

    Over the years, i have heard some people who new NOTHING
    about the product they were pitching, and sounded like complete crap, still make sales.

    Have you recorded yourself or your VA? Did your VA make the majority of the calls?

    You said you called " restaurants, petsitters, bailbondsmen, and landscapers"

    Do you know their lingo? do you know anything about those niches?
    its hard for some one new to sales to try to sell to niches they know nothing about
    that's why you have to stick with a niche until you can speak the lingo, and understand
    what their needs are.

    Maybe you need to go with a niche that you know from real world experience,
    one you know like the back of your hand.

    As far as being frustrated, well, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

    If you tough it out, your first sale will have you walking on cloud nine,
    and this will just be an entertaining story one day.

    or you can do what the other 90% of sales newbies do, and that's just quit
    and then start bad mouthing how telephone sales is a waste of time,
    and move one to the next shiny object.

    its your call .... ( pun intended )
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    If I had to name just one thing
    FOCUS

    Pick a product, pick a niche, pick a method and pick up a check.
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    Deliver Bigger.
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  • Profile picture of the author grey38
    You might be talking to them outside of their comfort zone. I don't find it too hard to set up appointments, my biggest issue was confidence, but turns out once you've read so much, and studied scripts so much it kind of molds into your head.

    But they may not know or care what Yelp is, they're very busy running their business. You have to entice them about the potential for more money/business. Making it quick, try to set up an appointment. Ask for 15 minutes of their time, and it could very well pay off. Talking to them like a business owner would be your best bet.
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    • Profile picture of the author WebDiva7
      Originally Posted by grey38 View Post

      You might be talking to them outside of their comfort zone. I don't find it too hard to set up appointments, my biggest issue was confidence, but turns out once you've read so much, and studied scripts so much it kind of molds into your head.

      But they may not know or care what Yelp is, they're very busy running their business. You have to entice them about the potential for more money/business. Making it quick, try to set up an appointment. Ask for 15 minutes of their time, and it could very well pay off. Talking to them like a business owner would be your best bet.
      We can get an appointment every now and then. My VA is a great guy, college educated and a hard worker. I don't know how I got so lucky. He doesn't like to close and I do t like to call so our arrangement works perfectly. He gets the appointment and I tell the prospect all about the additional features and benefits and answer all the technical questions

      Problem is the "appointments" are too busy to talk right then, changed their minds etc. I have phone files on all the appointments that he closes and the prospects are agreeing but. Of following through. He follows the script and sounds conversational.

      We've even tried West coast vs East coast and no difference.
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      • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
        Originally Posted by WebDiva7 View Post

        We can get an appointment every now and then. My VA is a great guy, college educated and a hard worker. I don't know how I got so lucky...

        Problem is the "appointments" are too busy to talk right then, changed their minds etc. I have phone files on all the appointments that he closes and the prospects are agreeing but. Of following through. He follows the script and sounds conversational.
        Strange that you consider yourself lucky to have a guy that cant close an appointment.

        He may sound good and friendly and people like him BUT he does not command respect. If I tell you I have something thats going to make a big difference in your biz and you are too busy (possible, thats why we set a CB) or cant keep a appt then you werent too impressed by what I said and was just trying to get me off the phone or didnt want to hurt my feeling because Im a nice guy.

        ARe you asking for the sale or are you just hoping they will be so impressed with what you have to say that they will just buy?
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        • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
          Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

          Strange that you consider yourself lucky to have a guy that cant close an appointment.

          He may sound good and friendly and people like him BUT he does not command respect. If I tell you I have something thats going to make a big difference in your biz and you are too busy (possible, thats why we set a CB) or cant keep a appt then you werent too impressed by what I said and was just trying to get me off the phone or didnt want to hurt my feeling because Im a nice guy.

          ARe you asking for the sale or are you just hoping they will be so impressed with what you have to say that they will just buy?
          I am glad you said something, i could not figure out a nice way to say it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Galvanized Design
    Hard to determine without understanding your particular market (assuming you're calling a centralized region). What types of businesses are you calling on? Is your assumption that you'll close a sale that first go-around? You're not going to have the time to educate your lead on the phone because either they're not willing to listen or they're too busy/distracted.

    Perhaps your end-call goals should change a bit, moving your leads down the path to the sale, rather than trying to slam the sale on the spot.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    There's a problem here...

    Out of the 2,000 calls and emails, how many were calls? I don't believe that could be all calls because anyone can get a sale with 2,000 calls... seriously.

    There is something seriously wrong here... either your VA isn't really setting up appointments, or you're very bad at closing. Either way, something needs to change or you will never be successful.

    I think another underlying problem could be that you don't believe in what you're offering. Sure you can come up with arguments why they need a certain thing, but do you really believe you can deliver the results they want? Are you the person?

    You really need to evaluate what it is and why you aren't doing well. Is it you? Is it what you're offering? Pitch? Is it because you're offering things people don't know? Take a hard look at yourself and try to figure out what is wrong.

    Those kinds of numbers you should have at least 10 new clients.
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    • Profile picture of the author WebDiva7
      ARe you asking for the sale or are you just hoping they will be so impressed with what you have to say that they will just buy?
      He asks for the appointment, I ask for the sale. Or I did until I stopped cold calling altogether. Now he just does it.

      or you're very bad at closing
      this may be true.

      IamNameless
      I think another underlying problem could be that you don't believe in what you're offering. Sure you can come up with arguments why they need a certain thing, but do you really believe you can deliver the results they want?
      NO. I'm scared bitless. I lay awake at night sweating worrying if I do get a client, will I be able to deliver, because who the hell am I to tell these business people what technology is going to help them. When I sold a SEO report at auction, I thought I had read the email wrong. I kept thinking what if he doesn't like it. What if they don't understand? I sent the report via email and regular mail and I guess everything was OK because I never got any bad news.
      Are you the person?
      I am good at reputation management. That is the niche I am having the most trouble with as far as finding prospects. I am a dispute resolution coordinator and regional auto arbitration director by day and I know how to educate businesses in providing value to their consumers and maintaining a good public face. I could talk about that all day long. I'm not officially certified as a mediator but I can mitigate a situation between a consumer and business and help them come to a compromise. I'm not just about pushing your bad ratings further down on Google. I'm about analyzing your business process, giving you options on where your customer service weaknesses are and then turning a bad situation into one where the business can shine.

      I have a degree in website design but I'm rusty and I depend on Wordpress too much. I don't believe I am qualified even if I do know more than the person I am talking to about websites and mobile websites.
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by WebDiva7 View Post

        ARe you asking for the sale or are you just hoping they will be so impressed with what you have to say that they will just buy?
        He asks for the appointment, I ask for the sale. Or I did until I stopped cold calling altogether. Now he just does it.

        or you're very bad at closing
        this may be true.

        IamNameless
        I think another underlying problem could be that you don't believe in what you're offering. Sure you can come up with arguments why they need a certain thing, but do you really believe you can deliver the results they want?
        NO. I'm scared bitless. I lay awake at night sweating worrying if I do get a client, will I be able to deliver, because who the hell am I to tell these business people what technology is going to help them. When I sold a SEO report at auction, I thought I had read the email wrong. I kept thinking what if he doesn't like it. What if they don't understand? I sent the report via email and regular mail and I guess everything was OK because I never got any bad news.
        Are you the person?
        I am good at reputation management. That is the niche I am having the most trouble with as far as finding prospects. I am a dispute resolution coordinator and regional auto arbitration director by day and I know how to educate businesses in providing value to their consumers and maintaining a good public face. I could talk about that all day long. I'm not officially certified as a mediator but I can mitigate a situation between a consumer and business and help them come to a compromise. I'm not just about pushing your bad ratings further down on Google. I'm about analyzing your business process, giving you options on where your customer service weaknesses are and then turning a bad situation into one where the business can shine.

        I have a degree in website design but I'm rusty and I depend on Wordpress too much. I don't believe I am qualified even if I do know more than the person I am talking to about websites and mobile websites.
        So is it safe to say that you really don't want a sale all that bad? We're making some progress now.
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  • Profile picture of the author sb
    So many things COULD be the problem and this is too hard to diagnose without knowing more.

    I've used a variety of methods to generate leads and business and got my biggest kick-start by joining the Chamber of Commerce over a decade ago. Maybe that'll be a great start for you too.

    We don't know what your knowledge level is about marketing so it'd be good to know more of the details about your script and appointment setting system. Much advice we could give could be stuff you already have lots of knowledge about.

    I ALWAYS FOCUS on WIFM, What's In It For Them - as you probably already know. Don't sell mobile sites, sell the profits they can achieve by having one and back that up with first hand or third party proof. Like Dan Kennedy says, you have to get their greed glands flowing. Probably elementary to you but sometimes we forget the most basic things.

    When I set appointments, I make it perfectly clear that I'll need X amount of time of their undivided attention. No phones, no interruptions of any sort. If they can't agree to that, I don't waste my time with them. I also call and verify the appointment the day before but I reaffirm the WIFM part so that they'll be less likely to blow me off.

    There's so much and it sounds like you know quite a bit about what you're doing but zero for 2000 is ridiculous. Don't forget to follow up with those leads too. At least seven times.

    Sorry I can't be more helpful and I won't give you a pep talk because I don't think that that's what you need. Please try to share more details and specifics of your process.
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    • Profile picture of the author Blase
      I have to congratulate you! You are not a quiter!

      Here are a few thoughts...

      I agree with the other comments, focus on a niche.
      I also agree that it is hard to trouble shoot this
      based on linited info

      You may think about what are you really selling to the prospect?

      I can guarantee you that you are not selling...
      • mobile websites
      • reputation management
      • directory listings
      • Google places
      • or any othere service
      Why do I say that?
      Because that is not what business owners buy.

      Think of it this way, why do people buy a drill bit?
      Because they want a drill bit? NO!
      They want a hole!

      Keep going you'll do great once you figure it out.
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    • Profile picture of the author WebDiva7
      Originally Posted by sb View Post

      So many things COULD be the problem and this is too hard to diagnose without knowing more.

      I've used a variety of methods to generate leads and business and got my biggest kick-start by joining the Chamber of Commerce over a decade ago. Maybe that'll be a great start for you too.

      We don't know what your knowledge level is about marketing so it'd be good to know more of the details about your script and appointment setting system. Much advice we could give could be stuff you already have lots of knowledge about.

      I ALWAYS FOCUS on WIFM, What's In It For Them - as you probably already know. Don't sell mobile sites, sell the profits they can achieve by having one and back that up with first hand or third party proof. Like Dan Kennedy says, you have to get their greed glands flowing. Probably elementary to you but sometimes we forget the most basic things.

      When I set appointments, I make it perfectly clear that I'll need X amount of time of their undivided attention. No phones, no interruptions of any sort. If they can't agree to that, I don't waste my time with them. I also call and verify the appointment the day before but I reaffirm the WIFM part so that they'll be less likely to blow me off.

      There's so much and it sounds like you know quite a bit about what you're doing but zero for 2000 is ridiculous. Don't forget to follow up with those leads too. At least seven times.

      Sorry I can't be more helpful and I won't give you a pep talk because I don't think that that's what you need. Please try to share more details and specifics of your process.
      On the mobile websites, I tell them how many people were looking for thier type of business i.e. petsitters in their city for that month. This is usually met with disbelief as they feel the numbers are either inflated or somehow misrepresented. I try to find out how much an average customer is worth to them and then get them to do the math to see for themselves how a mobile website could help them.

      When I'm emailing a prospect I pretty much use the same script. Shocking headlines get them to open the emails like: Your Competitor Has a Mobile Website or Why is Your Rating Only 2.5

      It's like I need to do more education than selling and the course I took said not to provide too much education for free because they will go somewhere else to buy using your free lecture.

      Don't get me wrong I answer questions, but I don't feel I need to give away my whole strategy when they could research it and do it themselves.
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by WebDiva7 View Post

        On the mobile websites, I tell them how many people were looking for thier type of business i.e. petsitters in their city for that month. This is usually met with disbelief as they feel the numbers are either inflated or somehow misrepresented. I try to find out how much an average customer is worth to them and then get them to do the math to see for themselves how a mobile website could help them.
        Well, is there a chance you are inflating or misrepresenting the numbers without realizing it? If you're using the Google Adwords keyword tool, chances are you are definitely overvaluing keywords. That is mistake number one because you're presenting prospects with misinformation, that feeds their natural skepticism.

        Now... number two... why would a mobile website help them? How would the average customer value, have anything to do with a mobile website that doesn't rank? A mobile website that gets no traffic is going to make the same as a website that gets no traffic, LOL. A mobile website is not going to solve problems, it isn't going to increase customers by itself... these people want results, they want a direct result of the marketing effort taking place. It's kind of like QR codes... people wanting to sell QR codes to businesses and mobile sites but nobody scans the QR code and nobody goes to the mobile site so all it is, is an empty extra that they can brag about then feel guilty over later. LOL.

        Never sell a service or a product... sell a solution to a problem, that is your key.
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  • Profile picture of the author swd123
    Something has seriously got to be up if you have actually made 2000 calls.

    How many people actually picked up?, how many were calls backs?, how many were unavailable? - after answering these it was probably more like 500 calls.

    So 500 calls and you've switched niche & product, you've mentioned 4 niches - thats just 125 calls per niche, then divide this by the different approaches & divide that number by the amount of different services we're getting to low figures and this would say to me you need to focus on one thing. The scattergun approach is seriously not working for you.

    When I first started this biz (3 plus years ago) I hated cold calling (still do) but I always knew for a fact that if I spoke to say 100 biz owners I would make a sale. If times got tough I would phone & phone & phone - it does work & you must be approaching this all wrong.

    I would suggest one niche, one product and refine it.
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    • Profile picture of the author WebDiva7
      Originally Posted by swd123 View Post

      Something has seriously got to be up if you have actually made 2000 calls.

      How many people actually picked up?, how many were calls backs?, how many were unavailable? - after answering these it was probably more like 500 calls.

      So 500 calls and you've switched niche & product, you've mentioned 4 niches - thats just 125 calls per niche, then divide this by the different approaches & divide that number by the amount of different services we're getting to low figures and this would say to me you need to focus on one thing. The scattergun approach is seriously not working for you.

      When I first started this biz (3 plus years ago) I hated cold calling (still do) but I always knew for a fact that if I spoke to say 100 biz owners I would make a sale. If times got tough I would phone & phone & phone - it does work & you must be approaching this all wrong.

      I would suggest one niche, one product and refine it.
      We went over our spreadsheet and we actually spoke to 700 people.
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by WebDiva7 View Post

        We went over our spreadsheet and we actually spoke to 700 people.
        That's quite different than 2,000.

        One of your services being reputation management... they don't know what that is, the ones that KNOW about reputation management are thinking about it in a different light, that costs anywhere from 10K-6 figures for real life RM and PR. ORM is different, it's new, and the terminology is something talked about in our industry, not usually regular business owners.

        Your service you thought would be big business is really not all that big. Mobile websites are useful, but the reality is that most business owners don't even understand the importance of a website, why would they care about a mobile website? Mobile websites are a nice upgrade or bargaining chip to add value and add to the sale, for me at least. Not something that I have found to be a big money maker.. then again, my profit margins are pretty good with web design and upselling the addition of a mobile site + some marketing.

        You could still sell mobile websites pretty easily I would think. Just need to hit the phones harder.
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  • Profile picture of the author sb
    BTW, have you read this thread?

    http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...st-3years.html
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    Just curious what your REAL goal of all this is

    -To quit your job in future and do marketing for small biz clients
    -To earn a little money on the side

    It may be that there are other areas of marketing that are more suited to your comfort level. It doesnt seem like you LOVE any of this stuff so far , so did you select it based on "it seemed like a good way to make some money?"

    How much money are you aspiring to make?
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    • Profile picture of the author WebDiva7
      Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

      Just curious what your REAL goal of all this is

      -To quit your job in future and do marketing for small biz clients
      -To earn a little money on the side

      It may be that there are other areas of marketing that are more suited to your comfort level. It doesnt seem like you LOVE any of this stuff so far , so did you select it based on "it seemed like a good way to make some money?"

      How much money are you aspiring to make?
      IamNameless
      So is it safe to say that you really don't want a sale all that bad? No, that couldn't be further from the truth. I have two clients, but they both came through offline networking. However, their projects are nearing an end and I thought I would have had something else to work on by now. I think it would be more suitable to say I want sales, but I would like to keep my focus on the client work. Unfortunately, I know that is a luxury I do not have at this time which is why I am trying to refine my methods.

      Eddie Spangler
      Just curious what your REAL goal of all this is

      -To quit your job in future and do marketing for small biz clients. You hit it on the head. I want to leave corporate life by the end of the year, or by the latest Spring of 2013.


      It may be that there are other areas of marketing that are more suited to your comfort level.
      Like what?

      It doesnt seem like you LOVE any of this stuff so far , so did you select it based on "it seemed like a good way to make some money?"
      I enjoy the creative side of business. What I do not find pleasant is convincing people I could help them, when they are fine just the way things are.
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by WebDiva7 View Post

        IamNameless
        What I do not find pleasant is convincing people I could help them, when they are fine just the way things are.
        Then don't... you don't need to convince anyone to use your service. Make enough calls and you'll find people who will pay you immediately.

        You know... you're different than a lot of people on here, you have stepped up and made a good attempt. I think you have a few things to work on though before you will even allow yourself to be successful. Yes, I said allow... I think that you are sabotaging yourself because like you said, you don't know if you're the person that can get them results or not. You're stressed out about the possibility of getting new clients and that is a problem.

        This is what I suggest... You've got a degree in web design.. you use wordpress.. that's good enough to get your foot in the door. I hate wordpress and think its the worst CMS to use from a flexibility, design, and extendability standpoint but its better than not having a website, right? Learn to sell websites, and once you get a few clients, start learning how to upsell other services. Web design is the gateway drug.. get them hooked on you for that, and they'll experiment with others.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bshellz
    The first problem is that you are cold calling. You have to turn prospects into warm leads first. You need to do research on each client before you call. Check their website, check facebook, check twitter, see if they have a mobile site. That way when you call you already know what they do and dont have. Are you offering anything for free or any free trials so they can see the benefits before they purchase? Do you have case studies of other clients you have worked with?
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  • Profile picture of the author beeswarn
    WebDiva7 here is your #1 problem: You're a beginner and you are spending too much time on these forums, reading too much, taking too many exaggerated, unsubstantiated claims seriously and chasing the latest, hottest, easiest thing you read about here. You haven't been around long enough to recognize that 90% of the people posting here have no idea what they're talking about, don't make much money and almost never sell anything.

    Here is your second biggest problem: You are not asking enough prospects to accept your offer. You need to ask every single person you make a presentation to, to buy your product or service. If you wait for them to interrupt you and ask you how to sign up, you will be doing something else for a living for the rest of your life.

    Here is the best solution to both of your problems: Learn one thing, learn to talk about it, learn to prospect for people to sell it to. Every time you make a presentation, ask the prospect to buy. Do not attempt to expand your business into a new area until you know for sure that you are the very best in your market at your core business.

    As soon as you resolve to get it together and concentrate, make sure that you do not fall into the #1 beginner's mistake on this forum: Do not start a new post or thread asking our advice on what one single business you should focus on. When you make that decision on your own, you will complete the first step toward eventual success.

    If you can't resist the temptation to waste your prospecting time here, then do this: KenMichaels and IAmNameless are serious pros who actually earn money doing what they say they do. I've been doing this long enough to recognize who is actually selling and who is completely full of crap. In all their posts I've read, neither one of them has ever moved the needle on my bullsh*t detector. Follow their advice, and try not to make simple things complicated.

    Pick up the phone. Call someone who needs your help. Tell them you want to help them and tell them how you will do it. Tell them how much it will cost and ask them to buy it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew Iannotti
    One issue I see is what exactly are you tracking? The fact that 2k calls were made and that is it? In any sales process there needs to be a formula and you need to know every statistic.

    Example:

    2000 Calls Made > 1800 Contacted > 1000 Prospects > 500 Appointments > 400 Presentations > 100 sales.

    Obviously, the numbers are replaced with your numbers, but that is just something basic I used as an example of what you should be tracking. This way, you can PINPOINT exactly what part of your sales process is failing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Hoffman
    Lots of good points here. Bottom line. If you are offering something of value that people want, AND you are good at selling, you'll get some business. 2000 calls is NOT a lot. Especially doing that and then stopping and wondering, "why isn't it working?" Followup is critical. Cold calling is not fun. It's dirty work. Sometimes it's just a matter of building momentum. Perhaps you havn't reached enough critcal mass. Or your self-image or beliefs about the possibility could be holding you back. Do you picture closing the deal before you start making the calls? There's inner game there's outer practical tactical execution, there's business model and marketing strategy. So many things to consider. But ultimately, if you keep it simple and strip it down to bare essentials...you can figure it out. And get results. I will say that cold calling works well for some things, not so well for other things. And cold leads may take a lot longer followup to get to a closed deal, than warm leads would. A professional insurance agent comes across different than an offline marketing consultant. Much less credibility. So you need to make sure that you are positioned correctly, with authority and expert status in the eyes of your target market.
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  • Profile picture of the author P1
    Yes something is definitely wrong because when I cold called (under 100 calls) I could get a few "bites" when doing mock up websites. Keep in mind I suck at sales.

    Perhaps the people you outsource to have heavy accents?

    Are the people that you outsource too experienced in what your trying to sell, do they find 2,000 contacts and 0 sales odd from their experience?
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