Selling ads B2C but hate cold calling!!
Discussion
Hi all
I run a small B2C advertising business based in North Herts. We've got a really good, high quality product that goes out to local residential homes every other month.
Essentially a vehicle for carrying discount vouchers for good quality local businesses (mostly retail/ food)
We've sold out the first edition (hooray)
BUT.............
I HATE with a passion being cold called personally, and always feel somewhat rude when I make cold calls to others... even though it really is a good product.
Does anybody have any advice/tips on how to reach more potential customers without cold calling??? Or any tips if you just have no choice?
Would be forever grateful!!!
Cheers
Ed
I run a small B2C advertising business based in North Herts. We've got a really good, high quality product that goes out to local residential homes every other month.
Essentially a vehicle for carrying discount vouchers for good quality local businesses (mostly retail/ food)
We've sold out the first edition (hooray)
BUT.............
I HATE with a passion being cold called personally, and always feel somewhat rude when I make cold calls to others... even though it really is a good product.
Does anybody have any advice/tips on how to reach more potential customers without cold calling??? Or any tips if you just have no choice?
Would be forever grateful!!!
Cheers
Ed
shadowninja said:
Write to them, then phone them a week later to check they've received your letter. or in fact, pretend you wrote to them and check that they've received your letter. 
>> Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 27th September 16:07
I`ve started to do exactly this with a new business idea and it seems to be a softer/more polite way in - a quick explanation of the product/service and a sentence letting them know a phone call is imminent. I do make sure it is targeted at the correct person in the first place though.
Bit long winded but...........
Cold calling, for many years, was the preferred method of generating new business for practically all companies and salespeople worldwide. However, it has literally been decades since it has led in terms of good results. In spite of this, sales managers in nearly all companies, large and small, continue to demand that salespeople spend their productive time cold calling instead of doing things that will bring them face-to-face with qualified prospects who want and need their products or services and are ready, even eager to buy. Any time sales are down, those familiar words "cold call more" and "you need to increase your activity" are heard from sales managers, regional directors, and even VPs and CEOs.
But you continue to bang your heads against the wall, wasting hour after hour and day after day cold calling with dismal results. However, the belief that "cold calling works" has been so frequently drilled into the minds of most salespeople that they continue to do it, believing it will magically lead to success
Remember:-
* Cold calling destroys your status as a business equal.
* Cold calling instantly puts you in a negative light because prospects find cold calls to be intrusive, annoying, disrespectful of their time and bothersome.
There is another way..................
If you want to generate business the way to go is by networking, using referrals, personal contacts. Build up a network and with good business they will bring business to you.
Eg. How many times have you been asked "who would you recommend to use for......?" and given them a company to use, because they have produced good results for you? Speak to people, meet people there are many networking business clubs both online and locally to you.
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Wednesday 5th October 13:49
Cold calling, for many years, was the preferred method of generating new business for practically all companies and salespeople worldwide. However, it has literally been decades since it has led in terms of good results. In spite of this, sales managers in nearly all companies, large and small, continue to demand that salespeople spend their productive time cold calling instead of doing things that will bring them face-to-face with qualified prospects who want and need their products or services and are ready, even eager to buy. Any time sales are down, those familiar words "cold call more" and "you need to increase your activity" are heard from sales managers, regional directors, and even VPs and CEOs.
But you continue to bang your heads against the wall, wasting hour after hour and day after day cold calling with dismal results. However, the belief that "cold calling works" has been so frequently drilled into the minds of most salespeople that they continue to do it, believing it will magically lead to success
Remember:-
* Cold calling destroys your status as a business equal.
* Cold calling instantly puts you in a negative light because prospects find cold calls to be intrusive, annoying, disrespectful of their time and bothersome.
There is another way..................
If you want to generate business the way to go is by networking, using referrals, personal contacts. Build up a network and with good business they will bring business to you.
Eg. How many times have you been asked "who would you recommend to use for......?" and given them a company to use, because they have produced good results for you? Speak to people, meet people there are many networking business clubs both online and locally to you.
>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Wednesday 5th October 13:49
FourWheelDrift said:
Remember:-
* Cold calling destroys your status as a business equal.
* Cold calling instantly puts you in a negative light because prospects find cold calls to be intrusive, annoying, disrespectful of their time and bothersome.
Very true, very, very true. In fact some of the truest stuff I've seen on this forum. I run a business and I detest cold calls. They could be selling tenners for a fiver each and I still wouldn't buy because they wouldn't get that far. As soon as I realise it's not a customer then they just get cut off.
Try networking through your local Chamber of Commerce or Business Link or attend these breakast meetings that Banks or accountants often invite you too.They might be a bit boring but you get to meet other people who all have similar needs / reasons for attending.
Unplanned / unresearched cold calling is pointless and soul destroying.
A well researched, targeted marketing campaign may work - but remember - quality not quantity is the key.
Unplanned / unresearched cold calling is pointless and soul destroying.
A well researched, targeted marketing campaign may work - but remember - quality not quantity is the key.
I would like to add my two pennth worth to this debate…
In my opinion you have to firstly define cold calling. If we are talking about the typical hard sell, i.e. double glazing / utilities type product or services often starting off with “How are you today”, I would not disagree with anyone putting the phone down.
But do not be under any illusion that as a process, cold calling is a highly effective method of developing business. If it was not, companies would not have this processes as a fundamental element of their business process and spend the millions that it costs to implement it.
Cold calling / telemarketing, if used correctly, can be a valuable tool for a sales environment. If performed correctly and with skill most people would not even know that they are being cold called. Good telemarketing is an art form which can take years to learn and master.
Sales people and cold calling – I think this is like asking a racing driver to drive a black cab, it just does not work. Sales people live and breath the sale and all that goes with it - put them on the telephone and you will demoralise them and waste any investment made.
I believe sales people often fail on the phone because they start selling the product or service when the objective should be to get in front of the person and sell face to face, leave the cold calling to someone that knows what they are doing.
Just a tip when using the telephone - only sell the benefit of what the potential client will gain from the meeting, and not products or services.
Furthermore, most of us do not like it, but done correctly it is a very successful method of generating high levels of new revenue.
I appreciate that this is speaking globally but in the news today……
Sales attributed to direct marketing activity total £107 billion each year, £67 billion of this from consumer sales and £40 billion resulting from business to business direct marketing. As an industry, direct marketing generates around 9% of consumer sales on a yearly basis as well as employing roughly 814,000 people (both directly and indirectly) and supporting 3% of all employment in the UK. In 2004 organisations spent a total of £37 billion on direct marketing, of which over £14 billion can be attributed to media spend.
Source - www.mydm.co.uk/news.html
>> Edited by markinsurrey on Tuesday 15th November 13:47
In my opinion you have to firstly define cold calling. If we are talking about the typical hard sell, i.e. double glazing / utilities type product or services often starting off with “How are you today”, I would not disagree with anyone putting the phone down.
But do not be under any illusion that as a process, cold calling is a highly effective method of developing business. If it was not, companies would not have this processes as a fundamental element of their business process and spend the millions that it costs to implement it.
Cold calling / telemarketing, if used correctly, can be a valuable tool for a sales environment. If performed correctly and with skill most people would not even know that they are being cold called. Good telemarketing is an art form which can take years to learn and master.
Sales people and cold calling – I think this is like asking a racing driver to drive a black cab, it just does not work. Sales people live and breath the sale and all that goes with it - put them on the telephone and you will demoralise them and waste any investment made.
I believe sales people often fail on the phone because they start selling the product or service when the objective should be to get in front of the person and sell face to face, leave the cold calling to someone that knows what they are doing.
Just a tip when using the telephone - only sell the benefit of what the potential client will gain from the meeting, and not products or services.
Furthermore, most of us do not like it, but done correctly it is a very successful method of generating high levels of new revenue.
I appreciate that this is speaking globally but in the news today……
Sales attributed to direct marketing activity total £107 billion each year, £67 billion of this from consumer sales and £40 billion resulting from business to business direct marketing. As an industry, direct marketing generates around 9% of consumer sales on a yearly basis as well as employing roughly 814,000 people (both directly and indirectly) and supporting 3% of all employment in the UK. In 2004 organisations spent a total of £37 billion on direct marketing, of which over £14 billion can be attributed to media spend.
Source - www.mydm.co.uk/news.html
>> Edited by markinsurrey on Tuesday 15th November 13:47
FourWheelDrift said:
If you want to generate business the way to go is by networking, using referrals, personal contacts. Build up a network and with good business they will bring business to you.
Definitely!
Thats actually the reason I asked him to originally email me. My Mum is the chairman of a charity in Bucks with 250+ residential homes as members... Don't believe I recieved an email but the offer is still there Ed
s a m said:
I can help get your website high in the major search engines for the sorts of things your potential clients will be looking for, and if you don’t already have a website to promote your services, I can provide that too.
Feel free to give me a call, 0845 658 0115.
Regards,
Sam
What sort of cost are we talking for optimisation and can you guarantee a top ten listing on Google?
Depends on your key phrases that you’re targeting. As a general rule, Google takes some time to rank sites but most I have done have achieved top 10 or even top 3 on Google, for terms with several million matches.
MSN is the quickest, that usually takes 1 – 3 weeks, quickest I have had is 2 days.
Similar story with Yahoo, Altavista etc, they take 2 – 5 weeks.
I usually only offer the service to my web design customers, because I have built their site properly in the first place. So far, every site I have engineered has performed very well. I will make exceptions to this, however I do not try and “sell” this service, there are too many scammers and cold callers who do that, I do not have the time or need to compete with them to prove “my service works” – I know it does, and my customers do, I just show them an example and they are sold.
Based on a one-off payment – the rankings usually last some time.
Typical price for local (targeting a county, like Essex) is £300 (paid upfront). I am happy to advise on what will succeed and what will not, I want customers who will get me more customers, I do not advertise this service except on my website.
Alternatively - £50 upfront, £450 on results. That means I do the work upfront for just £50, on the contract agreement that you will pay the remaining £450 when the results come through. This is usually 25% of the agreed keyword list, within the top 10 of major search engines. We can discuss what’s “fair and reasonable” to consider a success, again, so far its always been far better results than expected.
Compare this to some of my customers who were before spending £1,200 per month on AdWords (Google pay per click) and you can see the ROI benefit.
End of the day, search engines are third parties. I have rather hot tactics to technically trick them into listing your website above millions of others, they are merely computer programs, and by optimising pages and content, you can give them what they want, thus get what you want. High search engine rankings.
MSN is the quickest, that usually takes 1 – 3 weeks, quickest I have had is 2 days.
Similar story with Yahoo, Altavista etc, they take 2 – 5 weeks.
I usually only offer the service to my web design customers, because I have built their site properly in the first place. So far, every site I have engineered has performed very well. I will make exceptions to this, however I do not try and “sell” this service, there are too many scammers and cold callers who do that, I do not have the time or need to compete with them to prove “my service works” – I know it does, and my customers do, I just show them an example and they are sold.
Based on a one-off payment – the rankings usually last some time.
Typical price for local (targeting a county, like Essex) is £300 (paid upfront). I am happy to advise on what will succeed and what will not, I want customers who will get me more customers, I do not advertise this service except on my website.
Alternatively - £50 upfront, £450 on results. That means I do the work upfront for just £50, on the contract agreement that you will pay the remaining £450 when the results come through. This is usually 25% of the agreed keyword list, within the top 10 of major search engines. We can discuss what’s “fair and reasonable” to consider a success, again, so far its always been far better results than expected.
Compare this to some of my customers who were before spending £1,200 per month on AdWords (Google pay per click) and you can see the ROI benefit.
End of the day, search engines are third parties. I have rather hot tactics to technically trick them into listing your website above millions of others, they are merely computer programs, and by optimising pages and content, you can give them what they want, thus get what you want. High search engine rankings.
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