Short term v long term results

3 replies
Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I've been a member for a little while now and have been trawling the forums picking up tidbits of information along the way.

A little background first. I'm a full time LEO in Australia. Shift work gives me the opportunity to work extra hours on the side around my shifts. I have never done cold calling, however have the confidence on the phone (when I'm not making excuses to not pick it up!)

I've recently began treading the waters into cold calling to promote a small business that I'm trying to get running. This business provides targeted ad campaigns to local businesses and includes white label print services.. An all in one 'pick your suburb' and direct mail service.

As of this morning I had made a total of zero calls to businesses. I'm on night shift (another excuse) and have lacked motivation. With a new mortgage I've become motivated to generate some surplus funds so I continue to operate in the black.

I found a local website and found 10 leads. I knew nothing about the business other than the business name, their website, what they offer, a phone number and a locality. I called those 10 businesses and told them what I had to offer. I simply asked for another appointment and for them to consider what I had to offer.. No prices, just the value I would be providing them with.

Of those 10 calls, 3 didnt answer. 3 weren't interested. 3 were keen and wanted some time to consider it and I said I would call back after the weekend. 1 was definite and wanted to pay over the phone (i can't accept that yet!) and get started straight away.

Now a close rate of %10 surely isn't indicative of future performance is it? Or is it that I was targeting a small group with local knowledge and no pressure to close over the phone and ony qualify them over the phone?

How have people found their results when comparing a high pressure sell with a 'discussion' or offer-only no pressure type call?
#long #results #short #term
  • Profile picture of the author jimzimm
    Your numbers are not indicative of typical cold calling numbers. I am not sure what you are offering to the businesses you are talking to, but it is obviously something that has really struck a chord with your prospects. To get one business to offer to pay you over the phone and 3 that were very interested is very, very good.

    Now the question is, you have made significant progress, but you still haven't closed a sale. The proof will you be when you actually have a check in hand.

    My suggestion would be that while you are on a cold calling "high", keep it up. I have found that when I see some success, it tends to build on itself. My confidence soars and it comes out in my conversations with my prospects. Keep it up, you are on the verge of some very nice success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt121
    If you are offering a product or service that just seems really interesting and beneficial to others you'll find that cold calling yields amazing results.

    Also, you got one of your prospects to want to just fork his money over. That's really something!

    A no-pressure type of of call is good in that it doesn't put your prospect on the edge. However, a discussion is also needed so that both parties come to an understanding.

    If you're still going with cold calling and have the time to meet these people, why not give appointment setting a try? Call, set an appointment and let the discussion roll from there.
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    • Profile picture of the author Maxwell Stinson
      Originally Posted by Matt121 View Post

      If you are offering a product or service that just seems really interesting and beneficial to others you'll find that cold calling yields amazing results.

      Also, you got one of your prospects to want to just fork his money over. That's really something!

      A no-pressure type of of call is good in that it doesn't put your prospect on the edge. However, a discussion is also needed so that both parties come to an understanding.

      If you're still going with cold calling and have the time to meet these people, why not give appointment setting a try? Call, set an appointment and let the discussion roll from there.
      That's true. A phone call works wonderfully when you are offering a product or a service.

      From what I've read, you got people interested in your offer just by calling them. THAT matters a lot and you saw for yourself just how a simple phone call can result in a gain for you.

      Try out appointment setting. A nice face-to-face meeting usually gets the job done and closes the deal.
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