Telesales for the non-salesperson! How to make loads of $$$ working from home!

I like the directory advice for sure, but your post seems to have the assumption that we are all selling our services for less than a $2,000 flat fee. What if we aren't necessarily offering our services at a lower price than our competitors, but rather we are just offering better service. Some of us are working with teams and can't afford to charge just $800-$1000 for a website. It isn't worth it. Not to mention SEO involves monthly fees if you are talking about serious SEO.

PanteraIM, I sell websites for $2500 and sell 2-3 websites per week, my appt setter schedules the appt and I sell them in person.

I have already given this advice 10 different times... But I like your take on it. Great post. 2-3 phone closes your first day is a little high, but possible.

For those afraid to cold call, "practice" with a friend, and start calling those least likely to buy from you first. By the time you've talked to 4 or 5 uninterested, non-buying prospects, you will be ready and pumped to start calling and making sales / appointments / demos or whatever the goal of your call is.
The OP is 100% correct with this advice - sit down and start calling!

Hi Pantera,

Would you mind sharing your cold calling script for this type of call with directory listing?

-Eric

I've never quite understood what people mean when they say "directory site"...are you talking about yellowpages.com???

It can still be useful. Let's get it back on track.

I agree wholeheartedly with Pantera.

I use to manage telemarketers who did 2-3 sales per day. It is entirely possible. In fact the reason I said ithe numbers were slightly high is ONLY because we are talking to IM people...

Most homeworkers dont have the level of intensity that a full time experienced telemarketer like Pantera has, but by putting forth even a third of the effort that a guy like him is capable of putting out, at least a sale per day is reasonable.

Using directory sites for a calling list, as the OP suggests is even MORE effective. You are calling an offline services "buyers" list in effect. Lists really do not get more targeted than that. In fact many of them bought the directory listings because they DONT have a website. You may even be more likely to find people who need one in a list like that , than you would by calling a phone book.

Thats why I mentioned having given this advice before. It's GOOD advice. It doesnt surprise me that a guy who is a an experienced full time phone pro like Pantera would come up with the same conclusion.

There is a young lady by the name of Deidre Renae on this forum who has moved onto a different business model, but for the longest time, she took telemarketing, and made her goal to make "one sale per day" and hit it consistently, working just a couple or 3 hours per day.

Iamnameless did the same thing, now he has his own office with other telemarketers working for him and he is rockin.

It's difficult to believe for some people because they tend to think they are putting out more focus than they are. Most people do more busy work and paper shuffling in a cold call session than actual dialing.

There is a theory floating around that a cold call session is about dialing 20 numbers per hour.

That is WAAAY off, that is not the road to accomplishing what Pantera is talking about here.

That means you are taking 3 minute pauses between dials. If one really understood that a cold calling session means not putting the phone down at all and dialing one number after the next for 2-3 hours straight, within a few days it would become easy to understand how these things can happen. Take a 10 minute break at the hour and a half point, then get back on, but dont stop dialing while you are "on".

Even at 60 dials per hour, gives you a full minute between dials (which is a long time), you have time to greet people and get rejected and get through your no's and even pitch a few people in between.

You just have to move like a fulltime pro moves, one number to the next in a focused way.

You can EASILY knock out 150 dials in 2 hours that way.

THATS a cold calling session.

People simply have the wrong kind of momentum, and that is why they dont see the results that pantera sees in their sessions.

It's entirely possible, but for most people who refuse to try and conceive of what a good hard calling session is about, it's just not "probable".

It is there, if one wants to do it the way the pro's do.

-John

ps. Im going to delete my parts of the above argument from this thread personally, because it shouldnt have happened. You are right.

This post though, is the Gods honest truth. I have met no less than a hundred different telemarketers who do what Pantera does. The only reason it seems rare is because internet marketers refuse to accept the way its done.

I appreciate your efforts, John in getting this thread back on track.

I cannot stress the importance and value of your advice either, because it WORKS - just like anything does with a focused sustained effort. People spend an hour a day trying 8 different things and wonder why their results are poor, when they could have spent the same 8 hours learning how to do some really well and get massive results.

People simply give up too easily - I'm not the BEST at what I do and I have the same amount of anxiety as a newbie when I make my first call, I just don't stop, I set myself a quota of how many proposals/emails to send and I don't stop dialling until I hit it.

John mentions one minute between dials? To me that's way too long altho I respect people approach this differently. As soon as I put the phone down I am dialling another number. I guess this is conditioning from my previous telemarketing experience? I'd respectfully ask the people that bag on telemarketing as ineffective to go join a phone room and see how many dials you really need to do before passing judgement.

Just to give you an update on how my calling went TODAY, and when I say this I spent no longer than 4 hours prospecting and sending out some emails, not my usual grind of 8 am to 6pm by any means!

I have a slightly different strategy for these types of customers and follows a call/email/call model where the email builds a metric ton of value and social proof, you just line them up and knock them down on the third call.

Even following a not so aggressive sales strategy I ran into the following leads

#1 is an abrasive sandblaster, all I had to do was to match a competitors price and lower the monthly by $50. Ended up getting $600 upfront and $199 monthly for two keywords.

#2 is a thriving autoparts store that NEEDS a website done 'by the end of next week', to qualify for a membership in an ecommerce site. Got $500 as 50% payment with $199 set up on their cc for next month.

#3 is an electrical appliance store that fixes things like washing machines, dryers.. they don't have a website but are looking to get it sorted. WhenI sent them a quote for $1999 (high ball offer), and $299 monthly for SEO she accepted it under the condition it could be completed in 7 days, boom.

Here's all the evidence you need, I made $3,000 today by calling and my sales funnel is ALWAYS full when I use this method. I'm not even past Automotive Conditioners in the phone book either.

$2,000 to $3,000 per day is what I average, but I'm trying to hunt after the bigger clients for a bigger pay day to try and scale.

I'm in the process of writing a verbatim script and maybe put some recordings up so you guys can hear what it's really like from my point of view.

Pantera

LOL... I feel dumb now. I've just always bought lists... And here you go with the phone book!

Thanks for the detailed answer John and Ken.

I have never even thought about it that way. I have always pulled a list based on SIC codes, annual revenue, and number of employees.

I can see how targeting directories for certain types of services would be very effective!

Help a cold calling noob out here guys & gals,

If I go to yellowpages.com and search for a business type, I'm much more likely to find businesses that don't have a website if they do NOT have a premium listing. Granted the premium listings are paying advertisers and more targeted but checking for a website takes just as much time so aren't the odds much better with non-premium listings if were talking about gathering a huge call list asap? What am I missing?

Not really, it's just a couple of sales per day per telemarketer.

Every successful room has to have simple mantras, or simple little things they lock into their tm's heads, mine was: "One sale in the morning, and one in the afternoon. That's all you have to do".

My formula for success with telemarketers is breaking things down really simple, so they arent carrying alot of unnecessary garbage, and can have singular focus as they do their job.

Of course there are several of those kinds of mantras, but I try to keep it real simple and repetitive.

"One in the morning, and one in the afternoon".

Some people get more.. You have superstars that do 5-6 a couple days a week. It all adds up.

Eventually it adds up to 19,000 sales.

19,000 sales is a big thing to try and comprehend for anyone, understandably, but it happens one telemarketer at a time doing two sales per day. All pistons dont fire at once, some days they will do one, and another guy will do three....but it all balances out.

Doesnt matter what year it is...now that you see how I've broken it down, it would work the same ten years ago as it would work ten years from NOW.

With a simple system like that, a guy could get rich on just 5 or 10 telemarketers, if he simply manages his crew and keeps the mantra going ....

Thats all. Just "walk the floor", pat people on the back...encourage... joke around with them...and make sure everyone has everything they need to do "one simple sale in the morning, and one simple sale in the afternoon."

Someone has a hard morning you just tell them (plant the seed in their head) "hey it's okay, I've been noticing you, you seem to be an afternoon person lately, you will probably pop a couple after lunch", and that simple thing refills their energy, they latch onto that, and tend to fulfill that image..

I have always enjoyed telemarketers and their little quirks, and mental hangups... lol

On another note, it's sometimes hard for people to do from home without that kind of guidance. So I usually expect a homeworker to do maybe one, when attempting phone closing. Pantera is a pro telemarketer so it's different; he has the mentality down..., and knows how to regulate himself.

-John

Do you charge extra for the actual content e.g., about us page ? Or does the client provide you with it?

I think you should consider putting out a WSO mate, I would buy it in a nanosecond. Added you to skype by the way so I can have access to the script when it's done

Glad to see the thread came back around!

Goes to show that sometimes all seems lost but that doesn't mean it is...!

Yeah, I'd but it too.

-John

Here's another to live by when you go to hire others...

I always say "all pistons dont fire at once". You have to just "know" that and make it a part of your formula for success, that way you understand that it isnt failure.

If you have one telemarketer, you might not get a sale EVERY day...but if you have three and one misses on a day, two more will make up for it.

One has a low day, while another is having a high day "All pistons dont fire at once". Thats why its good to have six pistons.

They may not all fire at once, but one is always firing.

In exports, its different product offers...each one is a piston... Or trade site memberships...every site or ad is a piston... They dont all fire at once, so you have more than one piston so one is always firing.

In affiliate sales it means "Links" or ads... Not all ads fire at once, but if you have a bunch, then one of them is always firing...may not be the same ones the sale days, but they allo fire once in awhile, you have to have a bunch... eventually every day one is firing.

You have to figure that into your FORMULA, or else you will place an ad and it only fires once a week or whatever, and you think you have failed... No, you are just trying to run your machine on one piston, and they dont run that way.

Having only one piston is not the formula for success at making a car go....

-JD

Great thread and cannot wait to see script.

What if I want to hire telemarketers to follow this formula? I too will be selling but would like to add maybe 2-3 more people selling my services.

Is there a place where one can find, train, motivate good to great telemarketers or sales people?

I've just downloaded Ari Galper's unlock the game course two days ago. The things he teaches are great and best of all, allow me to think about selling in a way that make's me excited and happy to be a saleman.

I come from an investment brokering background and as you can imagine it's all ego and "smash the phones". Good to keep you hungry and fearless but not so great on one's self esteem if you're not hugely successful...not to mention that most prospects don't appreciate being manipulated and pressured into a sale. Check him out if you're thinking about cold calling. I'm about to quit this industry and jump into the deep end...wish me luck!

Are you interested in another line of Business you can add to your portfolio.. If so drop me a line.

Regards,

Terrific thread guys! So many people sleep on the power of telesales but like many of you have said - it works! I have just gotten back into offline after a major time out but using a combination of phone calls and emails things are looking up.

Especially appreciate what Pantera said about it being a process. That's so true. My own observation has been that looking at it this way makes calling prospects a lot less stressful.

Thanks for a great, educational thread!

I've checked out Yellowbook.com and I've noticed that most of the businesses listed have a basic website provided by Yellowbook. Are these the businesses you are talking about targeting, or are there some businesses I'm overlooking that don't have websites at all?

Hey Pantera,

As it pertains to my question from earlier in the day re: high-balling the price, I actually opted into your list & you sent out a really neat email about closing the sale after a price objection. Coincidentally, that tied in perfectly with some of the questions I've been asking myself this afternoon. Sweet!

Looking forward to future emails.

If you're an offline marketer and you don't mind a couple extra e-mails in your inbox, Matthew's (pantera) list seems like a solid one. Great content and a great way to establish a relationship with the list. Keep it up!

good thread. thanks ! I have a few work=at-home folks that call ..sometimes...lol. How much should I pay a full time telephone guy/gal working from my office ? I appreciate any advice on this particular area. The work at home gals get 100. per sell...I am thinking that is too much for them since they are happy with 2-3 sales per week. thanks !

Pantera, do you do all the website & SEO work yourself?

I decided last week to give this cold calling thing a try. The more I do business, the more I find that cold calling will be a factor of some type for at least the next 20 years, so I better get use to it.

I have started with YP and did about 25-30 calls on Friday (Yes, I know that isnt many calls) and got 1 meeting from a HVAC company for Tuesday. I opened up this year's book, marked some of the ads that didn't have a web address listed and got to calling.

The main objection I got from the other calls was that they already had websites. I double checked and even if it wasn't listed on the ad, they had a YP built website, most of the time it was on the 3rd page or so for a locally owned company.

I'm sure all you regulars know this already but YP built websites suck, really bad.

I called YP to see their ad prices, for a price comparison, under the ruse of wanting to advertise with them. I found out that ad prices are regionalized so I suggest you call for yourself so that you know what someone is already paying for advertising.

This is a HUGE benefit because you know what a company is already paying for an ad before the meeting, so you can walk in with a card in your sleeve. Also, they are now bundling a website with the ad so there is an increased chance that they have a website if they have an ad.

For my area it broke down like this:
Full page is 700+......a month......
CD case size is 333 a month
Business Card size was 175+ a month...

Just as a side note for my fellow Warriors that are still having a hard time getting to that first call, I didnt have a single person get mad, cuss or even make me feel badly about calling. Just try to sound happy when you call, people don't like to yell at a happy person.

Lastly, when you do get someone interested, make sure to ask a few questions. I got super nervous when the owner of the HVAC company told me he was interested I sort of blanked. I did get a meeting and asked him what a new client meant for his business. He was nice enough to tell me that each new client brings his business about $5,000.

Go, go price anchor. I also came up with this great counter if he thinks my price is too high, comparing a window unit AC to central heat and air.

Wish me luck, but more important, get out there and make some money.

calling needs some patience, you need perseverance and keep calling. I use to call people for outsourcing which is tough, but usually got some leads through this way. Calling business without a website is more easy to calling business already having website.

Thanks for posting this, Pantera. Great post, very inspiring, and just what I needed to read right now.

Proof positive that cold calling selling good ol' websites works.

Everyone who joins my forum (see signature) can get a custom script written for them!

Click below and I'll send it thru in the next 48 hours.

I had this printed out and put it in front of me, I think this separate the winners from quitters. Thanks for this.

Great post!

Just curious, how many pages do you offer to write for their website? Do you use a free WP theme or a paid one? (sorry if someone already asked that)

Also, about how much should someone expect to pay to outsource the site building and content? Example, you sell a website for $500.00. What would that include? What would a $1,000,00 or $2,000.00 site include? How much does it cost you to have them built?

What kind of services do you offer on the backend and how much do you charge for them?

Do you have them sign a long term contract or is everything just month to month for your services?

I've been doing telesales for 15 of the past 20 years and work from my bedroom as well, but I sell physical products B2B and build up lists of repeat customers. It has its pro's and con's, though, and I'm looking at something to possibly supplement it during the slow season or gradually build up on the side.

Anyway, I'd appreciate the input.

Joe

Sick post, what are your margins on the websites if you don't mind me asking?

Is there a company i can hire with experienced telemarketers who can do this for me? No set up cost, just commission only. I will not call and so can't train.