Cold Call in Person vs. on the Phone
As some friends and I have recently started a five week bsuiness venture advertising campaign, we decided that cold calling would be the most effective means to find advertisers. After being hung up on and being told ‘no’ countless times over the phone, I decided to physically go into businesses and present my sales pitch – and this change has made a world of difference! Because going into businesses in person is much more time consuming, I’ve really had to narrow in on which businesses will be more likely to advertise with our company. I can’t exactly pin point why physically going into businesses has been more successful – maybe because it is harder for businesses to say ‘no’ in person, or we can have a more ‘human’ conversation in person where I can bargain and the advertiser can ask more questions, or maybe because it looks like I’ve put more ‘effort’ into making the trip. I found this interesting blog article about cold calling in person versus on the phone that helps to answer some questions. Which type of cold calling have you found to work in your business?
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[...] I wrote about last week, some friends and I started a 5 week business venture advertising campaign. One of the first [...]
Often we hang up a shingle (so to speak) and take a passive stance waiting for business to come to us. Cold calling is one very small step away from “passive” because most recipients of the cold call believe it is not coming from the proprietor of the business; most people believe you are metaphorically throughing mud at the wall and hoping some will stick.
The “in person” approach is very much more related to the “invitation” — sometimes we have to invite people to do business with us. Or, at least, we have to offer them an opportunity to “check us out.” I think the key you have found is to take a visibly active approach to promoting your business.
Chuck
I recently used a combination of in-person cold-calling followed up with a phone call. The in-person visits function to identify the decision maker in the office, and to build rapport with the “gate keeper” who almost always “promises” to forward my card to the decision maker.
When I follow up with a phone call to the gate keeper, my success has been markedly better at getting an appointment.
When I call, the gate keeper has usually a) tossed the card and did not expect the follow up call…or b) actually forwarded the card to the boss who may now actually be receptive to a presentation! Both scenarios seem to be an improvement over just phone calls.