Small Business / Sole Traders - how do you promote & sell?
Discussion
I sell my services through an advert in the Kit Car Magazine, but if I was, say a website designer I would call, in person, on all the local businesses in the area I wanted to cover. I would have a card and a brochure with me, and I would go to the office and say something along the lines of
"Hi, my name is **** ******* and I run ******* company, and we are located in *******, so we're very close. I know you already have a very nice website (I would have looked first) but I thought I would leave my card in case you had in mind to upgrade it in the future.
Oh, and I would NOT ask for the owner, manager or whatever (mainly because that's the opening line for nuisance salespeople). I would also have a web-connected laptop with me so that, in case I got some immediate interest, I could show them some of my work.
The above is based on the time I have spent in my previous business as the non-recipient of such visits (lazy t
ts used to ring up instead, I had no idea who, what or where they were and so never proceeded with them).
"Hi, my name is **** ******* and I run ******* company, and we are located in *******, so we're very close. I know you already have a very nice website (I would have looked first) but I thought I would leave my card in case you had in mind to upgrade it in the future.
Oh, and I would NOT ask for the owner, manager or whatever (mainly because that's the opening line for nuisance salespeople). I would also have a web-connected laptop with me so that, in case I got some immediate interest, I could show them some of my work.
The above is based on the time I have spent in my previous business as the non-recipient of such visits (lazy t
ts used to ring up instead, I had no idea who, what or where they were and so never proceeded with them).Website design. Cold-calling by telephone.
Admittedly, after nearly two years, I'm almost having to cold-call 50% less because of referred business.
I've had businesses tell me that their No.1 nuisance cold-call was related to website design (after Yellow Pages!) - but that my call 'felt different'.
I put this down to the difference between 'appointment-makers' - and actual business owners calling up other business owners, where they have something to offer, that they believe in. This all comes across.
Assumptive, open questioning technique, aimed at creating a structured conversation, that still feels conversational. Closed questions where needed.
Interestingly - on in-person calls - e.g. for me a High Street - appearing in-person works well if they truly think and feel that I've just dashed into their shop and theirs alone. If I look as though I'm visibly traipsing from shop-to-shop - it will again look and feel like a 'sales exercise' - which it of course always is - but it mustn't 'feel' so. Only very rarely do people enjoy consciously being 'sold' to. So, for in-person calls, I literally earmark a business a-street-a-day, and pop into it and it only. Conversion is normally 90% where they don't already have a website (but of course, after a fair period of following-up, chasing,reminding, etc). They do seem impressed by the confirmed fact of my jumping back into my car after seeing them and driving off.
My few pennies'-worth!
Arif
Admittedly, after nearly two years, I'm almost having to cold-call 50% less because of referred business.
I've had businesses tell me that their No.1 nuisance cold-call was related to website design (after Yellow Pages!) - but that my call 'felt different'.
I put this down to the difference between 'appointment-makers' - and actual business owners calling up other business owners, where they have something to offer, that they believe in. This all comes across.
Assumptive, open questioning technique, aimed at creating a structured conversation, that still feels conversational. Closed questions where needed.
Interestingly - on in-person calls - e.g. for me a High Street - appearing in-person works well if they truly think and feel that I've just dashed into their shop and theirs alone. If I look as though I'm visibly traipsing from shop-to-shop - it will again look and feel like a 'sales exercise' - which it of course always is - but it mustn't 'feel' so. Only very rarely do people enjoy consciously being 'sold' to. So, for in-person calls, I literally earmark a business a-street-a-day, and pop into it and it only. Conversion is normally 90% where they don't already have a website (but of course, after a fair period of following-up, chasing,reminding, etc). They do seem impressed by the confirmed fact of my jumping back into my car after seeing them and driving off.
My few pennies'-worth!
Arif
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