A time-honoured method of marketing, Cold Calling has been around for nearly 150 years, originating in 1873 by John Patterson, NCR founder. The Question is, does it still work?
Let’s face it, we’ve all had that call in the middle of dinner. You probably felt irritated because of the bad timing, or the caller was too pushy. You might have thought about Cold Calling for your business but worry whether you’ll get very far.
Good news is, Cold Calling can still be a useful promotional tool for your business, if done right. To do so you must disassociate the image of ‘spammer’ and plan ahead. The reason Cold Calling has gained an unfavourable reputation over the years stems from some common issues outlined below (and how you should avoid them!):
- Go through the entire phone book, any number is a potential lead.
Gone are the days where only select households has a phone, and when it’s special to hear it ring. The old method of going through the phone book will waste time and resources. It’s better to research, and select a target segment who are likely interested to hear from you. Make sure you can offer something they need from you.
- More calls = more sales
Casting your nets all over and making lots of calls are likely to get you more rejections. Time is better spent on the right people you’ve researched and focus on selling to them more personally. Set a time and budget, if you plan to do one hour of calling a day, make it count. Quality is better than quantity of calls.
- Read the script a million times
Again, the personalised approach will work much better. Find out if you have something in common, or if you know someone from their network, which boosts your confidence as a legitimate caller with real value to offer. Let them know how your business can help them in a non-mechanical way, tailor your speech to suit their situation and needs.
- Success is based on manipulation
Don’t try to up-sell or make unattainable promises. Pushy, manipulative selling disrespects your customers and over time will negatively impact your reputation. That’s a no brainer.
Thinking about using Cold Calling for your business? Concept Designs & Marketing can help you save time and resources, from target segmenting to planning an optimised calling process, so you can focus on selling – the pleasant way! Get in touch today.
