Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Greetings yal,

I had a question I wanted to run by you. One of my friends said that she often does cold calling for her business (education support or something) to potential clients after hours and goes straight to voice mail, leaves her message and gets call backs.

Well, I thought this sounded like a decent idea, so I am in the process of trying it out, I hired an intern, trained her and we makign the calls. We just started on Friday, so I will let you know how it pans out. We will probably make calls between 615-745pm and hope to just drop the messages into voice mail.

The script goes something like:

* Greetings, our name, company name, we are the preferred vendor for web development for North Carolina A&T (we say that to lend credibility)

* Say how we are calling on purpose after 5, so not to distract you from your business

* Make our pitch on how we can help you get on the internet or expand your current website

* Say if not for you, just delete if it is for you contact us via phone or website

So, what do you think? effective use of time? waste of time? or tweak it somehow?

C.


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XMG Internet Marketing Group
Making the Web Work
www.xmgonline.com
inbox@xmgonline.com
336.510.9642

Sorry for the typo...in a rush..

C.


-------------------------

XMG Internet Marketing Group
Making the Web Work
www.xmgonline.com
inbox@xmgonline.com
336.510.9642

One more quesiton, how  effective do you think cold calling into voice mail may be on the weekend? or should we just keep the calls to business days?

Keep in mind when I say voicemail, we are calling company numbers not personal voicemails.

C.


-------------------------

XMG Internet Marketing Group
Making the Web Work
www.xmgonline.com
inbox@xmgonline.com
336.510.9642

Calvinjr,
I love it! I think it`s a great use of resourses. It is much like a bulk mail list. Even if you are calling targeted business numbers, I would guess your return to be similar to bulk mail. That`s about 1-3% from what I gather about bulk mail. Of course that is 1-3% success, not just returning your call. I suppose you are trying to sell or provide them with something... thus making money... so "success" is a sale.

I would be very interested in knowing your results. This could be applied to many different industries of sale.




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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Great, well I just wanted to make sure.  God blesses me with people and ideas and this was a great confirmation.

C.


-------------------------

XMG Internet Marketing Group
Making the Web Work
www.xmgonline.com
inbox@xmgonline.com
336.510.9642

Hello CalvinJr.

    I have a home business and bought leads to make cold calls.  I found that if calling a business number (as indicated from the lead) that calling after hours, as you indicated or on weekends, was a waste of time.  To call typically between 9am and 11am and/or 2pm to 4:30pm weekdays was best.

Good luck

Ron

-------------------------

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Get Your No-Up Front Cost Solar and help reverse greenhouse gases and global warming. Lock in Today`s electrical rate for up to 25 years.
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Ron,

Thanks, you are confirming what one of my mentors told me after I posted this thread.

C.


-------------------------

XMG Internet Marketing Group
Making the Web Work
www.xmgonline.com
inbox@xmgonline.com
336.510.9642

Cold calling is an art. The key to cold calling is to get to the decision maker, to set an appt ... to outline the programs that will make sense to the prospect ... and to eventually close the sale.

With what you have shared with us here ... you might as well simply throw business cards into the wind ... you might even have greater success.

My suggestion ... use 1 day a week for telephone prospecting ... the other 4 ... get out on the street and get face to face with your suspects and prospects. If your sales people can`t get to the decision maker ... they have atleast gotten his/her business card, gathered a great deal of info regarding the business`s current services being utilized ... and the possiblity of providing cost savings or expanded services for what the company is spending now.

If you need a "structured" cold call approach ... let me know. I`ll provide an example of a "structured approach" to cold calling that will work time after time. (Note I said "structured" ... not canned.)

Hello C-

I would say that you can be VERY effective with leaving messages to get appointments if your call is effective.  I would recommend a book called "The New Conceptual Selling".  In the book they talk about effect VBRs (Valid Business Reasons) for returning your call.  You must separate yourself and your company from the barage of calls that they are receiving everyday.  What am I going to get if I return your call?  Give me something very specific and valid that makes me feel that if I don`t return your call I will be missing out on an opportunity to grow my business. 

Best of luck,

And let me know how it goes!

Steve

 

Hi CalvinJr,

    How are things going with your leaving mesages in voicemail?  Any call backs yet?  I thought I`d just follow-up with you.

    I also wanted to let you know that I`m no longer buying leads and no longer making cold calls.  I came accross this no risk, no cost program (see sig file) that I`ve been with now for only 6 days and people have been calling me.  People who want what I have to offer.  So if you want to make effective use of time you can let this program do all the work for you, no matter what business you have, and get people calling you.  Will that help you with time?  People calling you?  It sure is working for me now and I have had a Home Business for over 3 years, doing only OK but now, and I can`t believe it, people are calling me.  LOL  I hope this will help.

Good luck and let me know how things have been going with your calls.

Thanks, Ron

-------------------------

ReThink Solar Energy!
Get Your No-Up Front Cost Solar and help reverse greenhouse gases and global warming. Lock in Today`s electrical rate for up to 25 years.
Get Paid To Drive Your Car...
wear T-shirts, and more! Earn money effortlessly while you go about your day!