Snailmail, email, phone calls, cold calling - which is best?

by its
10 replies
I'm starting a webdesign company and I already have a list of potential clients. I wanted your opinion on the best way to contact these businesses and offer my services. My main options are:

1, Snail mail - sending letters to their home or business address (If I can find it)
2, Email - simple enough
3, Phone them - simple enough
4, Cold call - as in pop into their shop/store/office and try and speak to the right person.

I've heard option 1 and 2 may be preferable but I'd hate to not hear back from people and wait. 3 and 4 may come off a bit strong and needy for sales.

What are your thoughts?

Cheers for any advice!
#calling #calls #cold #email #phone #snailmail
  • Profile picture of the author tolaskool
    cold call is better because you get to speak to them and they can hear your voice and get a feel for who you are
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    • Profile picture of the author OutOfThisWord
      Learn to get your story down in writing and captivating enough so not only will you get qualified leads from prospects who raise their hand and say "I need help"...

      ...but so you can also tell a lead generating story for their website.

      Usually, you won't be able to get their email address unless you send an offer to them as part of an affinity list, such as Chamber of Commerce, etc.

      But you can always get their mailing address and smart managers are always on the lookout for anything that can help them make money.

      You can call until you are blue in the face, but face it - how many dentists are going to put down the drill to speak with you? Or how many contractors going to not go to the job site just because you might call that day?

      Learn to tell your story, make an offer and do it all compelling enough so you can confidently drop a mailing anytime you need to fill your book of projects.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    In the long run all "cold" methods depend on how good you are at them.

    But as you go from email to walking you get more personal and should sell a greater percentage.

    Email: Cheapest and Easiest. People are used to deleting emails so how would you stand out? Why would I open your email let alone read it?

    Direct Mail: Done right this should convert better than email because it seems more professional. Real companies like Google send direct mail to companies so they associate good direct mail with professional companies. But people are used to sorting mail over the trash. Email has removed much of the personal mail from the system and people have come to expect most to be "junk". So like email you still need to have a good reason for me to open & read your mail piece.

    Phone: Cold Calls are a classic and they work. Still considered by many to be a numbers game like email and direct mail. But with skill the conversion percentage should be much higher since the interaction will make it seem more real. The problem is like the mails so many do it people just hang up.

    Walking: By far the most personal but also the least numbers game selling. If you can't sell you will not survive here. In the others even a bad pitch if heard by enough people will make sales. Here only the true sales people will survive. But the positive is that so few do it that as long as you are good and they need what you are selling your sales should be high.

    Each one can get sales. And depending on your skills one may be better than the others.

    Copywriters: These guys can make magic with direct mail.

    Closers: If your skill is in the close and only the close the numbers game of the phone may work for you. You simply use the script to power though a list as fast as you can to qualify people. Once you get a good one you hammer home the close.

    Sellers: If you can sell walking will do you best as your skill is in closing a higher percentage of people by "selling" them on your product or service. Also in person allows you to use all your skills.

    You'll notice two things. First I left out email. Honestly cold emails are nearly worthless. Use email as part of a follow up system but personally I wouldn't tell anyone to use it for a first contact.

    Second you will notice I separated Closers from Sellers. While a true Sales Professional needs to do both a Closer is better at numbers game selling. And a good Seller honestly makes the sale long before he gets to the close. Someone who can do both well is rare and most true Sales Professionals gravitate more towards one or the other.

    I'm more of a Seller. I can close well but I avoid having to close by taking care of objections long before the close. By the time we get to the close I am 99% sure rather the sale will happen or not. A classic Seller would be Zig Zigler.

    Someone like Grant Cardone is more of a Closer. He clearly can do both but he loves the close and is in total control during it. I've known many Salesmen who were Closers. One didn't even take people out to the lot. But man could he close.
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  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi there,

    Used as a part of a planned, organised marketing campaign - they're ALL the best! None better!

    All the best,

    Sasha.,
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  • Remember that new business development is not just a matter of making a ton of calls or sending out a mountain of mail or whatever. When you are prospecting, you want immediate sales, yes, but you are also constantly refining the target list to find the best prospects for long-term business. You find and get rid of those that offer little or no chance to become a client, and nurture the rest.

    The truth is that most prospects do not have an immediate need. Some good prospects will be in the market for your services within 90 days, but the vast majority, around 85%, will buy anywhere from 90 days to 180 days from now. That's why a good lead nurturing program is so profitable. You've already spent the time and money to create the initial contact. Follow up is simple, and that is where all the profit is.

    In addition, a good follow up plan helps establish credibility and authority. Several prospects in your follow up funnel will call you out of the blue, ready to do discuss working with you. Your follow-up "touches" build credibility that you didn't have the first time you called them, when they had never heard of you before.

    There are different ways to start a new business campaign and the subsequent follow-up plan. I like to initiate contact with cold calling or cold walk in, and follow up with a blend of calls, messages and direct mail. I usually only use email when I have established a working relationship. Try making a follow up touch every 30-90 days, although some marketers start out with follow-ups every 2 weeks.

    You have to find what works for you. All these have worked for different sellers:

    --Make cold calls, make a one-call close or not, and never follow up.
    --Try for a one-call close, but follow up with later calls.
    --Make cold calls, move to a series of direct mail drops.
    --Email only from cold start to first sale and beyond.
    --Many other tactics like events, mobile marketing, sponsored referrals, and more.

    Try not to repeat the same sales pitch on the follow ups. Share new angles on the same info, or relay some new technique, tip, or other piece of information that can help their business. Show them how you've helped other businesses in the area with your ideas, skills and talents.

    Get the word out. Make some noise. Be you own best cheerleader. Show the market you are a force to be reckoned with. Don't be shy. Not everybody is a fan of Donald Trump, but you can learn from how he promotes his brand. This new golf course "is fantastic." People in Washington "love what we've done with this hotel." He rolls this stuff out relentlessly, casually and naturally.

    I was helping a guy here locally with his marketing--he does home renovation jobs like kitchens. He does great work, but was naturally modest and didn't "sell" new clients very hard. I went to a few job sites. The difference between the rooms before and after was stunning.

    I made them start taking pictures before they started and again at the end. He put the pictures in a binder and brought it with him on every new prospective job. It closed more prospects than any other thing he ever did. It fit with his personality as he didn't have to talk too much--the binder told the whole story.

    Simple, right. But many (most?) marketers/web designers/subcontractors/doughnut shops/bicycle repairmen/law firms/etc. are not promoting themselves enough. Loosen up, have more fun, shed the modesty, follow up consistently, tell people about your victories, and help them become the next winner on your team.
    Signature
    Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
    - Jack Trout
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Its, different members here will have bias,
      mostly based on their level of expertise on
      the contact method.

      If you have a highest probability list
      of buyers, and a compelling message
      ready to go to them, then and only then
      do you work out the best delivery method of your message.

      You have missed 4 other methods...
      1 Newspapers
      2 PPC
      3 Network meetings
      4 Banner advertising

      Best,
      Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author wrcato2
    My wife and I use to go into the place of business and ask for the owner or manager. Hand them a business card. Then give them a short pitch and ask if they would like to sit down to see samples and discuss solutions.
    Make an appointment if need be
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonwebb
    some will say cold calling, others will say email, and others sware by linkden...

    It comes down to this...

    What method resonates with you.. They all work if you do them with enough dedication and effort.

    - Jonathan Webb

    P.S. I am a direct mail guy.
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    • Profile picture of the author zimbizee
      Doesn't anyone use the search function anymore, this question has been asked a gazillion times before
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  • Profile picture of the author internetmarketer1
    It will all depend on what you find works best for you. Jason Kanigan I know is a cold calling type of guy while I know offline marketers who succeed most with Direct Mail. I am an email kind of guy since I can always just outsource it.

    It is always good to split test and try out different thongs that work for you. Maybe you will enjoy using social networks to prospect and then slowly begin to get into cold calling, or you may end up enjoying the walkins. Just be courageous to see what works best.
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