Cold Calling tips: Sometimes you have to give to receive
People seem to forget that business is a two way street.
Yes, you might have a wonderful product or service to offer, but you shouldn’t be throwing that at every person that walks past. You need to work out if that person needs your product or service. This should involve communication – and not of the spam variety.
So often lately I have been receiving what can only be described as spam messages hitting me from every direction – facebook, linkedin, emails – you name it.
Whilst I don’t mind a bit of cold calling (or cold messaging!) – it seems that the contact I am getting is not even about me, it is always about the business who is trying to win my business. That is simply the wrong way to do it.
Some of the recent messages are asking me to like their bookkeeping pages (um….I already run a financial coaching and bookkeeping business…I don’t need any more !), some don’t even spell my name right (even though it is listed on my website everywhere – instant delete), some don’t spell my business name right (um…how did you email me without knowing my business name), and others I have already spoken to in the past and they don’t remember (but I have a great memory so that annoys me that you have already contacted me and don’t record it and then bug me again).
So here are my tips for the dreaded cold call to make your hit and miss ratio more successful:
- Business is a two way street. Make your contact about your potential customer, and not purely about you nailing “just another sale”.
- Work out if the person you are contacting needs your services/product. Make sure that becomes part of your pitch to them. Sometimes potential customers don’t know why they need you – even if you think it is downright obvious.
- Research the person you are contacting. With social media and our dear friend Dr Google – you should be able to find a snippet of information about your subject to prove you have made an effort. Again, make it about them and not you.
- Review and check what you are sending makes sense and that no errors are made. I receive between 5-10 spam messages every day. Yours will certainly not stand out if you spell my name wrong, type my business name wrong, or instead of writing my name you put “Dear Sir”. For the record – I am female!
- I want to see personality. Remember, you are your brand. If you type me a stock standard email or message, with no life, no personality and without customising it, I can usually tell. If this is the first interaction with a business, inject your personality into it. Of course don’t go overboard, but I want to know if we would work together and that you are not a robot. I don’t work with robots.
- Have a system to track your contact. There is nothing worse than being contacted several times by the same person asking the same thing. This turns me off you and your business. Sometimes building trust can take time, so don’t break the trust by not tracking what you are doing. This shows lack of care and attention to detail.
- Lastly, show me your knowledge. Yes, it might only be a short private message, or a short email – but unless I can tell from that short snippet you have the knowledge I need, the message will get deleted. I know – cut throat, but knowledge is power. Show me why you are good at your job, tell me something I don’t already know, or better still tell me you are worth me parting with my hard earned cash.
Cold calling or reaching out to potential new clients/customers can be a feared and hated task, but get it right and you will be onto a gold mine.
You see, I love supporting other small business owners. But there are just so many, I need you to tell me why you are different and why I should choose you.
Most people forget the vital details. You have to give a little bit to potentially reap a much higher reward.
So don’t be shy, get out there and remember to tell people how you can help them.