Cold Calling - What Would You advise?

by 19 replies
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Hi warriors

Tried a search, but could not see a thread for this already.

I have just started doing a little cold calling for the first time selling mobile websites. It is definitly not in my comfort zone at the moment, but that is a whole new thread!

Whilst making my calls I have obviously got objections, which I know I should expect. My intention is to call them back after about three months to see if they have changed their mind. I have been getting comments like;

"My sister is a graphic designer and knows all about it, our customers come from word of mouth though, so it does not matter."

"I will get my web guy on this, as I pay him already for changes etc"

"All you have to do is zoom in to use the site on a mobile, so there is no problem"

Would you clear these leads from your list altogether, or add them to the contact again in three months list?
#offline marketing #advise #calling #cold #cold calling #mobile website #objections
  • Why would they change their mind?

    Dump the names. These are just different ways of saying "No" to you. And you'l get these same responses every day, as long as you are selling. So you may as well find the perfect answers to use their objection as a stepping stone to a sale.

    What you should be doing, is finding ways to make what they say..part of your sales talk.

    Or you can just call as quickly as you can, to find the business person who, at the moment is looking for someone to do, what you do.

    Or, you could read a great book on Sales Prospecting that tells you how to do all of that.
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • Thank you for replying Claude.

      My technique needs developing I think, mainly on how to respond to objections/obstacles like these. I have tried but it does not flow for me, I am not sure what to say to turn it around, and so resort to quoting statistics.

      I will keep going and hopefully I will get more comfortable and confident.
    • Suzanne, is it possible for you to monitor your leads to see what changes they may be going through that could indicate a need for your services? Such as, for example, they announce longer operating hours which may mean they have to stay open longer to get more business... because their web site isn't doing it for them. Or you hear that their sister decided to change careers. Things along those lines.

      Or maybe you can find people who are in the throes of changes which predicate needing your services and call them?
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  • Go absorb this

    http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...t-selling.html
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hi Jason

      I am using your 'little unsure technique', and have to say it works, they are giving me the name without any problem, and putting me through if they can.

      My calls are a follow up to an email I send first, whether they open it or not. So when I get to the DM, they either know what the email was about or ask me what it was about. Then I ask them if they would like any help

      At the moment, I am unsure of whether an objection is a 'no' because they just have no need at the moment, or because I just aren't very good at selling yet.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • The only time you will hear those is when the pitch / script doesn't work.

    Like Claude said, they are just fancy ways of saying no. The only reason your
    going to hear no's like that is because you never addressed the real questions
    ahead of time.
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  • Depends if you are trying to sell off the phone which is a lot harder. The trick should be to qualify them in or out and try and book an appointment with them.

    I read in other threads that by sending them a mach up increases your chances.

    Any tips or training in this area i would ask Jason Kanigan.
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  • Thank you all for your help.

    I guess you have confirmed what I thought - I have a lot to learn.
    • [2] replies
    • Is this a surprise? Is it a personal defect on your part? Nope. Selling is a skill, just like cooking, painting or riding a bike. Just like those other skills, stick with it and it will reward you for the rest of your life. Don't be discouraged. Keep at it...by looking for tips you are ahead of everyone who figures they know it all already or are too scared to ask.
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    • Suzanne.... Boy if I could count the threads that have been posted on the forum in regards to cold calling Some have even got a bit testy when you get a number of different approaches and opinions. All I can say is Cold Calling works and you have to find your comfort zone in your approach. You have to try and fail till you zero in on what works for you and your niche. There is a lot of knowledge here on the forum but know this... What works for one may not work for another. I personally have found that in today's market you need to educate your client before you can sell them anything and if your making cold calls to get an appointment or make a quick sale on the cold call, your in store for a lot of "No's" Your whole approach should be about selling yourself and your authority way before you attempt to sell your product or service.

      Just a comment from an old marketer
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  • Suzanne, you have received a lot of good feedback here. If I can add anything it will be the following:

    Your phone script will be different if you are trying to close on the phone, or if your goal is to set an appointment. In either case you may meet objections, but you are obviously aware of some of the already, so you also know what you can prepare for. In my experience the best scripts I have created came from listening to the objections, figuring out where my 'opening' was that led them to state the objection, and then change my script to remove that 'opening'.

    I'll also add that if you are just seeking to get an appointment, make the call as short as possible. You don't want to waste your or theirs time on the phone, especially since the longer you time you spend with them on the line, the more chances they have to tell you 'no'. I know, because I have talked my way out of getting appointments.

    Sometimes you can find a 'magic phrase' that does the job for you in just a few seconds. I'll give you my 'secret' that has been the best working line for me in all my different sales positions (I'm no longer in that industry, so I'm not worried about sharing). I used to work for a company that sold printers, and my job was to set appointments with medium to large enterprises. After a lot of testing, I came up with the following: I would ask to speak with their IT manager (I had found that he or she would usually be the one managing their print park). Once I got him on the line I would ask "Would you like to save money on your printing?" Nobody in their right mind would say no to that, so I quickly followed up with "Great! When can we meet?". Anything more than that and I risked loosing their interest. This tiny script allowed me to book twice as many appointments as anybody had done previous to me, and I got in the doors of companies they had tried to get a meeting with for years. Moreover, in the three years I worked there I only recall 1 'no', and the reason I recall it is because I had not heard a 'no' in such a long time that it baffled me.

    You could try to see creating something similar will work for you. As an example, although I haven't put much time into creating it or testing it, you may say something like: 'Would you like to give your customers a great experience when they search your company through their mobile devices? Great! When would be the best time for me to come and show how you can accomplish that?" (I might even try this one myself, but again, there's a huge market so I'm not afraid of sharing).

    Hope this is helpful!
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • More great advice!

      I like your 'mini script', it's short and gets the job done.

      Businesses I spoke to seem to think that as they think the website looks fine, that so will their customers. Need to figure out how to get across that is not really the case.

      Thank you for your input
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  • Hello SuzanneRe,

    Good on you for taking action. This is your first step to success. If you stick with it long enough success will come knocking on your door.

    Ok let me tell you what works for me. I have tried selling mobile websites in the past and people usually say that they will speak to their web designer about it. So I currently sell websites to people.

    You will want to target people that already have a website, but may be an old out dated one that looks like crap. Remember at your first contact with them you are not trying to sell them anything. Your job is to filter out the interested people from that list of 100 or so numbers. Another thing is, you will only speak to about 35-40 people from every 100 dials that you make.

    I suggest that you use an auto dialer with skype. Escow dialler has worked very well for me and I still use it. You can finish 100 dials within 2 hours.

    So you just call up these people & say " Hey I just found you on the yellow pages and I tried looking at your website www.example .com . The reason I called you is, your website was'nt working, (or) looks like you had your website built some time ago, so I thought I can give you a call to see if you ever thought about redesigning or upgrading it as I am a web designer ."

    That is all you got to say. I guarantee you that if you make a list as i said and if you repeat these same words to people. You will atleast get 2-5 interested people.

    Now First do this and let me know how it goes!
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Ron20

      I must admit I find the 'I will get my web guy to look at it' quite frustrating, as if the web guy was really looking out for them, why have they not let them know they have the problem in the first place. Misplaced loyalty IMHO!

      I think your idea of changing to selling websites makes sense. Do you design them yourself or do you outsource?

      My problem is I have limited knowledge of designing websites, coding and graphic design. I can do mobile websites as they are easier because you use the information, images, already on their website. Outsourcing would be an answer, but if you choose the wrong one, and they make a mess of it, then your reputation goes with it. So I have not gone down that road so far.

      I think it would be a little easier as businesses know what a website is and does, so not as much educating needed.
  • While I recommend anything Jason Kanigan, I have also had some success with a similar approach to Ron20's suggestion. It is much more streamlined and probably best if you are interested in getting thru a lot of dials in a calling session, rather than a more consultative and long or drawn-out method where you'd be asking lots of questions. It goes something like:

    "Hi <prospect name>, my name is Suszanne and the reason for my call is because my business <your businesses name> has had a lot of success helping <plumbers, bakeries, whatever niche you are calling> bring their web-presence current and relevant in today's marketplace of informed customers.

    I wanted to stop by and show you some ideas and how my current customers are positioned.

    Or for a web meeting...

    I wanted to schedule a GoToMeeting session to run thru some ideas and show how my current customers are positioned."

    This would get you through lots of dials, but I am not so sure it's a better approach than Jason's consultative type conversations go. Maybe try both if you are up to it? Anyway, just another idea.
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    • I don't see any issue with using a script like this after you've asked the decision maker if it's a bad time to talk.

      The only thing you're bypassing is the step to find out whether they will acknowledge that they have a problem you can fix.

      The "reason for my call" line is just fine.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • jamesfreddyc

      Thank you. I like your opening line as well. It sums up what you do and how it can help the prospect.

      Which I think may be part of the problem with my calls at the moment. I know looking at the latest stats from Google and Neilsen, that businesses really do need to offer a good mobile experience to get customers. But I just do not seem to be able to put it in to words, how it will help them.

      Jason has a good script for selling mobile websites, he uses the number of mobile searches and then gets the prospect to work out how much more money they would make. Genius! But Google have stopped showing the searches from mobiles now, so not sure how to find out that number now.
  • You are getting lots of good feedback....

    My 2 cents:

    Continue with your calls

    Don't wait 3 months to call back...here's why:

    It has been my experience that local business owners know so little about mobile websites, social media marketing and video marketing,etc., that you need to be in front of them frequently to educate them.

    The best way to do that is have something of value to leave behind (not a brochure)so you can follow up and continue to provide solid information on how they can thrive in 2014 and beyond.

    So while you are developing your technique, experiencing the polite "no's" and learning how to prevent them, you can end the call on a pleasant note by sending them via email a case study/free report/video link, etc. or all of them to establish yourself as someone that wants to educate them so they can make an informed decision.

    When you do that....they will want to trust you because even at "no", you still offered some very valuable information that can help them.

    This type of information is so easy to find on the internet. Simply put in keywords and search until you find something that you know the owner will benefit from.

    Don't worry about the competition as the majority of them won't do this!

    By doing the search and reading to choose the best material, you will increase your business acumen and knowledge about their industry which will once again, put you head and shoulders above the competition.

    When you make your follow up calls......they will take your call and want to talk with you to see what valuable insights you have. The web guy, the graphic artist and whomever will not take the time to do this and here is what's really cool about that.....it exposes their lack of knowledge and puts you" top of mind".
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    • I agree, you guys are very kind, offering all this feedback.

      Three months is probably a little long to wait, so I will cut that period down.

      Sending info even though they said no, is a great idea. Will definitley be implementing that idea, so thank you for that.

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