Day 13 - Wednesday 28 January 2009
For the past few days I've been trying something new for me.
It's something I've always been very much against and I hate it when it happens to me; cold calling.
It sends a shiver down any sales persons spine. It's not the most delightful way of marketing, but it is pretty good when on a budget.
A couple of ways I've been cold calling this week are by purchasing leads and by going through a phone book.
Lead Purchasing
For those that don't know what a lead is; it's just a person that is interested in a product or service you are selling. A qualified lead is someone that has been contacted to confirm they are interested in the product first.
Although quite expensive (from about £20 per lead) this method of cold calling generally has higher conversion rates, since the people in contact are already interested in your service.
The only problem is; 3 leads will cost you £60! Although not much if you can get a good sale out of it, when you're just starting out it can be very tricky and require a lot of start-up.
Going through a phone book
Great for a tight budget or even on a shoestring budget. This method does require a lot of time and some highly trained patience and anger control! The most important part of a cold call is being prepared.
Have a script ready. Engage their interest early on in the conversation. Most people are very weary and on their guard when they get a cold call.
Sometimes the most difficult part can be getting past the 'gatekeeper'; the secretary or the person that answers the phone that will put you through to the right person.
But I've compiled a list that seems to have a fairly high success rate:
- Be friendly but natural when speaking on the phone
- Have a script ready, but don't read directly from it - be natural
- Don't stick completely to the script - the other person is likely to ask questions that you haven't prepared for
- If they're not interested be polite and ask if they want to take down your details for future reference
- If you get to this stage - well done! Now start to ask them about their business and their requirements
- Having listened to the above, just confirm that their problems are (...)
- List the benefits of your business, make sure these benefits are to them and not to you
- Above all, your aim is not to get a sale on the first contact. Like i said yesterday, 80% of sales are made after the fifth contact!
Right, I'll keep you posted on my cold calling success rates. Give it a try yourself. You'd be surprised
See you tomorrow at 09:00
Simon
