Marketing: Cold Calling 101
First off before we get into the details of this article let me say that I didn't intend it to become a chapter unto itself. It was origionally a minor point in a much larger chapter. However after getting into writting it out I realized there was just too much information in cold calling alone to include it in the Marketing chapter. So I broke it off, and am publishing it first as it's own work. I hope you find it as good as the previous two articles.
Once you’ve established your act, understand the target venue that would play well to what you do, now is the time to go out there and get the gig! There are different marketing approaches that you can use and I’ll take my time covering as many of them in as much detail as I can. One of the most useful, and equally feared methods is Cold Calling.
Cold Calling gets it’s name because you are calling into a cold market, or a market that hasn’t been other wise previously introduced to you or your services. I’m not going to lie to you, this marketing approach is not for everyone, it is harder than hell to do right, and if done correctly yields some of the highest pay offs of the marketing options available to you. The first thing you have to get yourself over mentally is the concept of sounding or being a telemarketer. I once read that telemarketers are the second most hated people in the work force right next to meter maids. The trick to this method is numbers. You have to remind yourself that it is all just a numbers game. You need to dedicate a few hours each day to making calls and stick to it. Think of it like exercise. You have a product that is worth buying, Your skills! Everyone should employ you and they just don’t know why yet. It’s your job to enlighten them!
I’ve sold my fair share of things before in my life. I’ve had to do cold calling into both business and consumer demographics. This is a skill set that takes practice and dedication to learn. You aren’t going to just read this article, pick up the phone and master this art in five minutes. I recommend picking up a few sales books and reading them to help you build the foundation you’ll expand your cold calling skills on. Jeffery Gitomer’s: “Little Red Book of Sales” is a wonderful quick read that should help.
Since cold calling is a numbers game you’re going to want a lot of numbers to “burn” through. Just so you know, your average telemarketer who works between four and six hours a day will burn through close to two to three hundred phone numbers. Between two to three hundred phone numbers, they may only get ten possible clients, of which maybe one or two will close. I don’t want to sell you a pipe dream. Like I said this isn’t easy, but it is possible. The easiest way to build your book of numbers to call on is to Yahoo or Google the type of venue you want to perform in. If for say it is “Restaurants” you’d do an online yahoo or yellow pages search in a 50 mile radius around your city zip code. After you print out a few pages, you will want to read through the populated search results to cross out any results that are obvious not what you are looking for. In our restaurant example, a search result of a McDonalds may not be the right demographic for you. Once you’ve got your numbers populated get a pad of paper handy and be prepared to take notes! Keep a separate page of notes (a file) on each possible client that you get anywhere beyond “hello” with.
When you call a business you want to make sure to write down any bit of information that you get. The name of the receptionist, hostess, or what ever that answers the phone, what the general manager or key contacts name is, their direct line, extention, what ever. When talking to the decision maker write more than you talk, and listen more than you write. Anything they say could be possible nuggets of gold ammunition you can use later to close them. I should make note now: “Closing them” or closing the deal simply means to get hired. It’s just a marketing term.
Before you call your first number you want to write out a script. When you call and get the decision maker on the line, you want to recite the information in the script without reading it word for word. You want to sound natural and fluid, not like a robot. Also, take 20 minutes and write out a list of questions you would expect to get, and your answers to those questions. That way when you encounter them in a live call you don’t stumble or sound unorganized.
You have to make sure that you’re presentation is squeaky clean. These people don’t know you, they haven’t met you, and they probably have never seen your work. The only thing between them and their game of office golf they were playing is the phone receiver in their ear and you on the other end. If you don’t want to be hung up on make your pitch interesting!
Here’s a pitch I’ve actually used before:
“Hello! Are you the manager? “
Them: No
“Great! Who is the manager there now?”
Them: John Good
“Wonderful may I speak to *John please?”
If asked what this is about: “I want to talk to him about the service there.”
John: Hello?
“Hello John! My name is Draven. This is going to be the **warmest cold call you will ever receive! I’m a professional *illusionist and I specialize in increasing business traffic to restaurants like yours on a special pre-arranged night of your choosing. My prices are fair and I come highly recommended. ***Is there a good time I can come in and give you a private five minute audition to demonstrate what I can do for you?”
John: uh, sure. Wednesday.
“****Would morning, afternoon, or evening work better for you?”
John: Mornings.
“What would be better; 9 am, 10am or 11:30 am?”
John: 10am.
“Wonderful John. Thank you for your time. I’ll see you *****Wednesday June 20th at 10am. ******Now I just have a few quick questions for you and I’ll let you get back to what your doing.”
Answer questions
“Thanks so much for your time John, have a nice day!”
End Call.
(To Be continued)
First off before we get into the details of this article let me say that I didn't intend it to become a chapter unto itself. It was origionally a minor point in a much larger chapter. However after getting into writting it out I realized there was just too much information in cold calling alone to include it in the Marketing chapter. So I broke it off, and am publishing it first as it's own work. I hope you find it as good as the previous two articles.
Once you’ve established your act, understand the target venue that would play well to what you do, now is the time to go out there and get the gig! There are different marketing approaches that you can use and I’ll take my time covering as many of them in as much detail as I can. One of the most useful, and equally feared methods is Cold Calling.
Cold Calling gets it’s name because you are calling into a cold market, or a market that hasn’t been other wise previously introduced to you or your services. I’m not going to lie to you, this marketing approach is not for everyone, it is harder than hell to do right, and if done correctly yields some of the highest pay offs of the marketing options available to you. The first thing you have to get yourself over mentally is the concept of sounding or being a telemarketer. I once read that telemarketers are the second most hated people in the work force right next to meter maids. The trick to this method is numbers. You have to remind yourself that it is all just a numbers game. You need to dedicate a few hours each day to making calls and stick to it. Think of it like exercise. You have a product that is worth buying, Your skills! Everyone should employ you and they just don’t know why yet. It’s your job to enlighten them!
I’ve sold my fair share of things before in my life. I’ve had to do cold calling into both business and consumer demographics. This is a skill set that takes practice and dedication to learn. You aren’t going to just read this article, pick up the phone and master this art in five minutes. I recommend picking up a few sales books and reading them to help you build the foundation you’ll expand your cold calling skills on. Jeffery Gitomer’s: “Little Red Book of Sales” is a wonderful quick read that should help.
Since cold calling is a numbers game you’re going to want a lot of numbers to “burn” through. Just so you know, your average telemarketer who works between four and six hours a day will burn through close to two to three hundred phone numbers. Between two to three hundred phone numbers, they may only get ten possible clients, of which maybe one or two will close. I don’t want to sell you a pipe dream. Like I said this isn’t easy, but it is possible. The easiest way to build your book of numbers to call on is to Yahoo or Google the type of venue you want to perform in. If for say it is “Restaurants” you’d do an online yahoo or yellow pages search in a 50 mile radius around your city zip code. After you print out a few pages, you will want to read through the populated search results to cross out any results that are obvious not what you are looking for. In our restaurant example, a search result of a McDonalds may not be the right demographic for you. Once you’ve got your numbers populated get a pad of paper handy and be prepared to take notes! Keep a separate page of notes (a file) on each possible client that you get anywhere beyond “hello” with.
When you call a business you want to make sure to write down any bit of information that you get. The name of the receptionist, hostess, or what ever that answers the phone, what the general manager or key contacts name is, their direct line, extention, what ever. When talking to the decision maker write more than you talk, and listen more than you write. Anything they say could be possible nuggets of gold ammunition you can use later to close them. I should make note now: “Closing them” or closing the deal simply means to get hired. It’s just a marketing term.
Before you call your first number you want to write out a script. When you call and get the decision maker on the line, you want to recite the information in the script without reading it word for word. You want to sound natural and fluid, not like a robot. Also, take 20 minutes and write out a list of questions you would expect to get, and your answers to those questions. That way when you encounter them in a live call you don’t stumble or sound unorganized.
You have to make sure that you’re presentation is squeaky clean. These people don’t know you, they haven’t met you, and they probably have never seen your work. The only thing between them and their game of office golf they were playing is the phone receiver in their ear and you on the other end. If you don’t want to be hung up on make your pitch interesting!
Here’s a pitch I’ve actually used before:
“Hello! Are you the manager? “
Them: No
“Great! Who is the manager there now?”
Them: John Good
“Wonderful may I speak to *John please?”
If asked what this is about: “I want to talk to him about the service there.”
John: Hello?
“Hello John! My name is Draven. This is going to be the **warmest cold call you will ever receive! I’m a professional *illusionist and I specialize in increasing business traffic to restaurants like yours on a special pre-arranged night of your choosing. My prices are fair and I come highly recommended. ***Is there a good time I can come in and give you a private five minute audition to demonstrate what I can do for you?”
John: uh, sure. Wednesday.
“****Would morning, afternoon, or evening work better for you?”
John: Mornings.
“What would be better; 9 am, 10am or 11:30 am?”
John: 10am.
“Wonderful John. Thank you for your time. I’ll see you *****Wednesday June 20th at 10am. ******Now I just have a few quick questions for you and I’ll let you get back to what your doing.”
Answer questions
“Thanks so much for your time John, have a nice day!”
End Call.
(To Be continued)
