I Hate Cold Calling But Will It Really Help My Small Business

Writen by Brandt Stohr

I hate cold-calling. In fact, there are a lot of horrible pains I would suffer before cold-calling someone. And I think that many small business owners feel the way I do.

It's true that there are a number of means of small business marketing – direct mail, personal letters, advertising, networking, public relations, internet marketing – and alas, cold calling is one of them. When it comes to small business marketing – any business activity, really – at some point you just have to buckle down and do what you gotta' do if you want to succeed. But is cold-calling one of those small business marketing activities that small business owners simply have to suffer through in order to succeed in business?

Some experts say, loudly and with vigor: "Yes!" Others say, "Absolutely not."

The truth about the value of cold-calling as part of your small business marketing strategy is that it's somewhere in between, and it depends on your particular business. If, for example, you retail small-dollar items through a catalog and on the Internet, cold-calling your potential customers probably isn't cost-effective: if each customer might spend $10 with you, spending 20 minutes or more on the phone with that prospect doesn't make sense. If, on the other hand, you're a manufacturer of small-dollar items that you sell to retailers who may spend $1,000 or more buying your products in bulk, then picking up the phone and making a call may well be worth your while.

If you decide to make cold-calling a part of your small business marketing strategy, there are a few things you can do to maximize the chances that your cold call will turn into a new client:

Cold-calling small business marketing tip #1: Take initiative. When you ask the potential client at the other end of the line "When would be a good time to meet?" you open the door for them to say "Never!" Instead, ask "How would next Tuesday at 11:00 work for you to meet?"

Cold-calling small business marketing tip #2: Approach the call with the idea that your goal is to help your prospective customer. Resist the urge to make the call about you – what you do, what you want. Instead, make the call about the prospect at the other end of the line. Ask the prospect about his needs and wants. Then suggest that you can help – and if he meets you next Tuesday at 11:00 you'll tell him how.

Cold-calling small business marketing tip #3: Get to the point. The prospect at the other end of the line is going to feel, right off the bat, that you're wasting her time. So, by all means, be brief. Be clear and concise. Avoid saying "um."

Cold-calling small business marketing tip #4: Ask questions. This tip reflects back to small business marketing tip #2, making the call about the prospect, not about you. Asking questions also helps steer you to the right information and will help you tailor your sales pitch – for you to deliver at the appointment.

Cold-calling small business marketing tip #5: Save the sales pitch. Effective cold-calling isn't about selling your product or service. It's about getting an appointment so that you can sell your product or service in person.

As with any small business marketing strategy, the best way to figure out if it works is to try it. Make enough cold calls so that you can accurately measure their effectiveness. Then compare that measurement to your other small business marketing tools.

Brandt Stohr, The Small Business Marketing Genius has brought startup one man operations to billion dollar corporations by using creative marketing techniques rather then investors and capital. Brandt Stohr has been helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to get their small businesses exploding with sales without the use of expensive traditional marketing techniques. For more information and a free report on the ten deadly mistakes most small businesses are still making visit Brandt Stohr's site at http://www.smallbusinessmktng.com or http://www.brandtstohr.com

The New Telemarketing Part Iii Say Goodbye To Sprayingandpraying

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Third in a series of articles, we'll discuss various issues and practices associated with modern ways of selling over the phone.

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The New Telemarketing™ is a set of selling practices designed to accomplish several things:

(1) To sell more goods and services than its predecessor, the "traditional" style;

(2) To be less offensive than its predecessor to buyers;

(3) To be consistent with a customer service style of communicating;

(4) To help in recruiting and retaining qualified phone representatives and managers; and

(5) To repair and reform the image of telemarketers in business and consumer communities.
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One of the main problems with traditional telemarketing is that it is designed as a one-way communications medium.

Scripts, which are commonly used, and by the way, which are necessary, are monologues. They operate from an authoritarian premise that says:

"Me talk, you listen!"

Of course, if that sounds primitive, it is. Modern folks don't want to be talked down to, or even to be talked at.

They crave participation, and their generation, being the best educated ever, has been weaned on participative communication.

They were asked their opinions at home and in countless classrooms, by indulgent parents and teachers, and they expect to be conferred with, and their advice solicited, during calls.

Getting them to sit still to hear and then respond to a phone lecture that can last two minutes or more is fruitless. Hey, they can't turn off their cell phones without remorse, or shut up at the movies, an official one-way medium, so why are they going to kick back and allow us to have all of the fun?

They aren't, and the spray-and-pray format, where callers spray their features and benefits, praying some of them will resonate with listeners, is less and less attractive to fewer and fewer people.

So, a conversational model of telemarketing is required.

But how do you craft one that is efficient, where all control isn't ceded to the prospect?

That's where The New Telemarketing™ comes in. It is designed differently, from the ground up, to appeal to buyers and sellers.

And we'll explore this more intelligent and effective design in future articles.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Have A Good Day Today And A Better One Tomorrow

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

There used to be a recorded phone line we could call when I was selling for Time-Life Books that would give us a quick injection of motivation.

It was sponsored by Jack Schwartz, a former insurance agent who became one of telephone selling's first authors and consultants.

These messages would last about a minute, and they'd be changed once or twice a week.

I have to say they were a little corny, but heck, they were free, accessible, and actually uplifting.

Jack would sign-off from every one with this line:

"Have a good day today, and a BETTER one tomorrow!"

You couldn't help liking this guy, even if you had a beard and he was fond of saying: "Selling is like shaving; if you don't do it every day, you're a BUM!"

Call it tough-love, but we got the point.

It was just great to know someone thought enough of our craft to dedicate his life to inspiring us, one little phone message at a time.

Moreover, each one of us who called Jack's line felt he was making a special discovery, finding a source of hidden power.

Although I've gone on to write a number of best-sellers on telephone selling and other subjects, I always get a kick out of gazing at Jack's book, which never enjoyed nearly the kind of distribution mine got.

Though dated, you can still pick up pointers here and there, and it's humbling to see a copyright date that goes back fifty years.

Do yourself a favor. Go to one of the online used bookstores such as Powell's and see if you can pick up a copy of an out of print book in your field.

You'll be amazed at what you can discover.

One of my favorites is a little gem called "Selling By Telephone."

It dates back to the 1920's!

Oh, one more thing.

Have a good day today, and a better one tomorrow!

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 900 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered "The Gold Standard"--the foremost expert in sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Cold Calling

Writen by Frank Salisbury

If your business requires a lengthy face to face sales then perhaps your primary objective whether telephoning or turning up unannounced should not be to sell, but to make an appointment.

After you have introduced yourself and told them who you work for and what you do - 'The reason I've called round to see you today is to make an appointment to see you at a more convenient time - unless that is of course you have ten minutes to spare now?'

This works with personal or business customers. The choice for the customer is to see you now or to see you later. If they decide to see you now make sure that after ten minutes you stop and ask:

'I said I would only take up ten minutes of your time which I now have - do you want me to arrange a further appointment or would you like me to continue?'

The question is do they want to see you later or do they want to see you now. The question is never do they want to see you or not. People are conditioned to respond in a positive manner if you present a positive alternative.

Many salespeople selling to businesses assume that the main barrier to getting to see a decision maker is the secretary or the receptionist. It is further assumed that part of their remit is to keep people like you away from the boss. The reality is that it depends on who you are. If you are an annoying individual with nothing to say then you could be right.

The person to help you do this is the secretary, the receptionist, or a personal assistant. They are great source of information and contrary to popular belief can help you to see the decision maker. I even knew a salesman who would make his presentation to the secretary prior to seeing the boss so that he could get quality feedback.

You can either call into to see them face-to-face, or telephone them up. I personally favour speaking to people face to face. The first thing you need to know is the buyer's name, and then the buyer's secretary's name. The switchboard is always willing to help you with this. E.g.:

I wonder if you could help me please? I'm looking for some information so that I can write to the correct person in your company.

Ask for the names of the person responsible for buying your product, their job title, and the name and job title of the secretary. Make sure to ask how to spell their names.

Then ask to be put through: Hello. Can you put me through to Niall Smyth please? I believe that he is Peter Brown's assistant. Is that right?

Hello, is that Niall Smyth? Niall, my name is Frank Salisbury. I work for Business & Training Solutions Ltd. Niall, I wonder if you could help me please?

Niall, I'm putting together a letter to Peter about my company. I just wanted to make absolutely sure that I have his job title correct, as well as spelling his name properly.

My company provides training and consultancy services to organisations such as yours. Am I right in thinking that Peter is the person responsible for buying these sorts of services?

Niall, I know how busy Peter must be, and he probably only scans most of the mail that arrives on your desk, let alone take time to see the people who want to make appointments with him. My problem is, that I know I can help your company to improve it's profits, however the only way I can effectively explain how, is to take 15 to 20 minutes of Peter's time. That's why I wanted to write to him first. In your experience, what would I have to say in my letter that would convince him that I am worth seeing when I ring up a few days later to make an appointment?

If the prospect is not in and the assistant suggests that you leave your number and he or she will call you back say: when would be the best time to speak to x? You need to establish when next to call and when the chances are favourable for getting through to the decision-maker. Relying on the customer to ring you back rarely works unless they know you personally.

When you have established a good time to call say - 'would you put my name in Peter's dairy and say that I will telephone at that time?

Send a brief fax saying that you have called and when you will telephone back.

There is no secret to cold calling. Confidence in cold calling comes from practice, perseverance and a positive attitude.

High Phone Bills Can Affect More Than Your Expenses

Writen by Cherilyn Lester

I got a phone call today from a gentleman in Arizona. He wanted to talk to me about a report I downloaded from him about network marketing. I wasn't interested in network marketing, and I told him that.

But consider this.

I live in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. So that call was an international call for him. I'm guessing at least 10 cents per minute. Even though we only talked for about 30 seconds, that call still cost him 10 cents.

Imagine, for a moment, that this gentleman had 1000 people download his report, and give their telephone number. The telephone call costs 10 cents per minute. If he calls everyone who downloaded his report, can you guess how much that would cost?

Yes, $100. One hundred dollars to make maybe 3 or 4 sales of $20 each. Will he break even? No. But will he keep doing it? Of course!

What this fellow marketer did is highly effective. Calling up prospects and talking to them can get a much higher response than just sending an email – because you can determine on-the-fly what they really need!

The problem though – at $100 per thousand leads, this marketer is probably spending $500+ each month for his telephone bill. I sure hope the sales he makes covers that…

Now I want you to put this story into your own life. Imagine you had 5000 phone numbers of people interested in your products. You would be ecstatic! But… You don't have $500.

Now consider all of the invitations you get into your inbox every week for free teleconferences. Some of the world's best marketing minds hold free teleconferences and give away some of their best ideas. Problem? At 10 cents per minute, on an hour long call, each call actually costs you $6. Doesn't sound like much, but like everything else – it adds up. 10 free teleconferences each month and suddenly you owe your phone company $60 you don't have.

Do you see it? $560 in telephone bills just to call your prospects and learn from marketing mentors. Not to mention calls to friends, family, co-workers, JV partners and others.

Even making $20,000 each month, $600 is still a pretty big chunk of change to spend on regular business essentials. And it can actually prevent your business from growing!

I've done it. I've gotten an invitation to a conference call that I wanted to attend so badly I would have given my first born child. But I didn't have the money for the long distance call.

I've had prospects email me, telling me they were willing to pay me $3000 for an hour long consultation with me about their businesses. And I had to turn it down, because I couldn't afford the long distance call. Can you see how this hurts business?

Telephone companies have been running this monopoly for years. Up until recently, there has been no alternative. And even with the advent of VoIP (voice over internet protocol) companies like Vonage, you're still limited in minutes, and they don't serve your business needs at ALL.

I remember one month, back in my early internet days, where I was calling up prospects in the U.S. Remember, I'm in Canada. I was calling up 10, 20, even 30 people each day. Each call lasted about 10 minutes.

I wanted to save money, so I used a 10-10-1234 type number, at 99 cents per call under 20 minutes. I was paying $1 each call. For 30 calls. That's $30 a day to call prospects. My phone bill that month - $856.43.

I personally think that is crazy. I wanted a company who could provide me with what MY business needed – but none of them did. There wasn't a single company in all of Canada and the U.S. who cared about people like you and I, except when we grudgingly paid our $900 phone bill.

Just remember - those contacts are some of the most valuable you can ever have!

There is a company that does this though. And if you want to know more, go to http://cpsnetworks.com/survey.html, and fill out the survey there. This company is still in top-secret pre-pre-launch, so if you want more info you have to fill out the survey and wait. But if you fill out the survey, you get a free copy of affiliate defender! How can you lose?