Can cold-calling build a big offline business quickly?
I'm expecting lots of 'yes' answers, but I also want to confirm what I've suspected, based on my own results.
I've been struggling with offline for nearly a year, trying everything but solid cold phone calling.
I've been focusing on mobile, mainly.
I've tried cold walk-ins, to all businesses - advertising or not, and got lukewarm reception. I've tried emailing personalised, educating videos to those that are advertising and who aren't mobile (poor response obviously). I tried a few cold phone calls - 20-30 - in a bid to book a 10 minutes walk-in mobile mock-up face-to-face demo, but they gave me the brush-off when they heard the word 'website' ("I have a website person, etc.").
And just lately, I've been finding non-mobilised websites from the first page of Google, making a mock-up, and walking-in cold with the mock-up on my phone ready to pitch. I find I can visit about 10 premises a day (I've been doing hair salons), with about half of those the owner being in, and half again that will listen to the pitch after seeing the mock-up. It's the same old objections - already have web guy, etc. I can't even get folks to agree to a sit-down appointment.
Now, I know it's a numbers game, and I know it's possible to become good enough to overcome these objections and make progress. But what's in my mind is the lack of momentum I'm able to build-up with a day of walk-in demos.
Driving around all day, through town/traffic, walking down the road to the premises, finding the owner not in, etc. I know that a face-to-face demo trumps a cold call. But I'm now thinking that with cold phone calling, even though it's not as effective per person as a walk-in, you can get through so many more in a day, and build up so much more momentum that surely you end up selling more per hour. I remember John Durham saying about the same thing.
A friend keeps bugging me to join the local Chambers, BNI, Rotary, etc., as a way to build my business via referral. But I can't stop thinking that massive cold calling is the quickest way to build a big business, and I should just concentrate on that and the site-building, until I can afford to outsource, go to meetings, etc. Plus I want money in the bank ASAP.
The other thing is, I've read a handful of threads of people doing well with mobile, but even more doing well with desktop websites, people like Pantera, Luke/payoman, James/s62731. They have some great threads selling desktop websites by cold calling. I have lots of great desktop themes that I've bought over the last few months, in tonnes of niches, too. I'm going to focus on this as my front end for the time being to see how this goes. I'm not dropping mobile. I'm just going to re-focus on desktop for the front end, and upsell mobile/SMS/SEO, etc.
So I'm ready to focus on cold calling over the phone, but I'd like some tips please. I've been referred some great threads on the forum about cold calling and selling, which I'll be going through. But can anyone please answer the following questions?:
1) I do this full-time (at least at the moment; I'm pretty much out of money and will have to get a part-time job if things continue like this). So I have all day to do this. My thinking is cold call those with no/bad website who are paying for advertising in directories/sites, email a mock-up, set-up an appointment to close face-to-face/upsell. If I'm planning on spending a good few hours a day cold calling, does it makes sense to contact those that have free listings also (Google+ Local listings/free YP listings, etc.), as opposed to just premium advertisers? I'm thinking of 500 calls a week, and wonder if I'll run out of premium advertisers to phone.
2) I'm a maniac for record-keeping, and like to add leads to a spreadsheet before calling, but I know some call straight out the book. Don't you forget who you've phoned? Do you simply make a note of the interested people/call-backs, and move on to the next call immediately?
3) If I have time, is it worth researching before my phoning session, to check Google to see if they have a website, and get the owner's name. Like a 1-2 hour block of time at night, before I make the calls the following day?
If anyone has any other advice regarding cold calling, feel free to chip in. I'm ready to dive in tomorrow.
Thanks in advance, and for all the great cold calling threads/advice.
you cant hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket.
Yours in prosperity,
Skochy - The Musical Salesman
you cant hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket.
you cant hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket.
-Andy Warhol
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