The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Cold calling works again!

Whenever someone tells me a "I used to hate cold calling, until I tried it" story, I implore them to write it up for all to see, as part of my campaign to debunk the big myth that cold calling sucks, is painful and doesn't even work. Here's the latest one, from copywriter, Pat McCord.

I had been hired to write an eBook on copywriting for Fortune 500 clients, and one section in particular was giving me fits—cold calling. The reason was that my first experience with cold calling had also been my last. No way would I ever do it again—interrupt a busy manager to hawk my wares only to be dismissed with a damaged ego. Then I read the chapter on cold calling in Ilise Benun and Peleg Top’s latest book, The Designer's Guide to Marketing and Pricing—okay, not too intimidating—and decided to test it out for my eBook. Well. . . imagine my surprise when, using their advice, I not only connected with a communications manager at Campbell Soup Company, I also had a very pleasant half-hour conversation with him and got all the information I needed. If I had known it was this easy, I would have been cold calling from the beginning.

True or False: No one uses the phone anymore?

This week, I got a message from a colleague asking why I put my phone number in the "From" line of my email messages.

I explained that I do it because I want people to call me -- and it works. In fact, I get comments on it all the time, mostly people thanking me for making it so easy to find my number.

He replied that someone told him "everyone uses e-mail and no one ever calls."

Now, I'm not a big fan of sweeping generalizations, but I also disagree vehemently with this one. Email is not appropriate in all situations (I can think of a few recent incidents when email caused big-time miscommunication). But it seems to me that people are in robot mode when it comes to communication. We respond via email because it's easy, not because it's the best mode of communication for the situation. Email is frivolous, a throw-away. Anyone can send it. It only takes a second and we are overwhelmed by it.

Picking up the phone requires more (relative) effort. More and more, I am advising my clients to call -- and practicing what I preach as well because, not only does it provide the possibility of a dialogue; by calling you also send the "message" that what you have to say is serious, especially if you call twice!

What do you think? Are you in robot mode? Do you use the phone? Do people call you?

Cold calling refresher course

Although most of my days are spent advising people who are actively prospecting for clients (i.e. cold calling), I don't often get a chance to do it myself, and I think I should, if only because things are constantly changing and I need to make sure my advice is up to date.

So when it was time to find sponsors for our new Creative Freelancer Conference, I jumped at the chance. (BTW: there's still time to sign up for this event in Chicago, August 27-29. It's the only business conference designed -- and priced -- with creative solopreneurs in mind.)

I wasn't the only one recruiting sponsors and the timeframe was very short so I made my target market small: four qualified prospects with whom I already had some connection, so it wasn't exactly cold calling to start with. Two of them were very interested and two were mildly interested so I had to moderate my persistence according to each specific situation. (That means, there's no rule about how often to follow up -- a question I get constantly.)

Despite their interest, most prospects didn't call back, some didn't even respond to email. But when I called on the phone, more often than not, I reached them. They were happy to hear from me, sometimes even apologetic about how long it was taking to get approval but ready with an update. So it was a good thing I called, instead of assuming that their silence meant "no."

It's a lesson that bears repeating, even for an old horse like me.

A better way to think about cold calling

I'm seeing a pattern to the conquering of fear where cold calling is concerned.

Judith Reppucci described her "Just Do It" method of turning things around right here last week.

And the other day, I got an email from designer and Twitter bud of mine, Dani Nordin, of The Zen Kitchen. She's in the throes of ratcheting up her business; in fact, she recently became a Marketing Mentor client, to help things along.

In a recent blog post, Dani relates that she realized pretty fast (smart girl!) that part of the engine of growth at this new and rarified level is—you guessed it—cold calling.

She also talks about the small-but-huge shift in attitude that helped her get over the hump of a couple different aspects of connecting:

In my mind, part of the reason networking events (or cold calls, for that matter) can be difficult for some folks is because it's hard to tell what the point is. What are you looking for? What do you expect to happen? What would you LIKE to happen? And often, I've found that just articulating that one thing before you get to an event, or before you call a prospect, can make all the difference between leaving the situation feeling like you've gotten something done and leaving feeling like you've just wasted your time.

Both Dani and Judith are really doing the same thing: looking at something differently. It's a small but significant shift. In Dani's case, she came up with an actual prescription (which I love, and plan to use); Judith powered through, but still, the fundamental difference between before and after for her was to wonder "what if?"

What if I could make this a pleasant experience? What if I felt the fear and did it anyway?

I've been thinking about this a lot myself, wondering what I would do or how I would act if I wasn't afraid of x, y or z. For me, kind of ironically, the fear has been more about expressing fear. And guess what? In not one single instance has actually verbalizing something I thought might be stupid, lame or foolhardy made me blow up in a puff of flames and smoke; most times, the thing itself wasn't even stupid!

What one thing have you looked at differently lately? And has looking at it in a new way either changed how you dealt with it, or made it possible to deal with it at all?

Guest Post: Conquering fear in one easy (cold) call

As she herself admits, Judith Reppucci should be a killer cold caller. She's a successful marketing copywriter with 15 years' experience in old-school, pound-the-pavement sales--for the Yellow Pages! So, fearless, right? No problem, right?

Well, the following account just proves that no one may be immune to fears about cold calling. And also that there is a way out, and it just might be Ilise & Peleg's no-nonsense, low-key approach to cold calls. Listen to Judith's experience of putting the information and inspiration she found in the Designer's Guide to Marketing & Pricing Podcast into action—serious action!

Six months ago, I met an mailing house exec at a New England Direct Marketer’s networking event. When she heard that I specialized in direct mail fundraising copy, she told me to call her coworker in the nonprofit side of their business. “They might be looking for some help,” she said. She even gave me the extension number, and told me to say she asked me to call.

Really, could there possibly be a better warm lead?

I have a folder of cold calling advice. I’ve read a half dozen books on how to cold-call. I’ve even been videotaped for cold call critiques. No matter. I was still stuck, mired in the fear that my value proposition wasn’t good enough, and that I’d get nervous and fumble (it’s happened before). I’m beyond ashamed that I’m such a big old wuss.

Then, a few weeks ago, while I was recovering from surgery, I started listening to your wonderful and very generous podcasts (thanks, Peleg, you’re great,too.) And, just listening to your casual, low-key delivery has made all the difference. Gee, you mean, you really don’t have to dial with all your marketing guns blazing? You don’t have to reel off a phony sales spiel when you‘re transferred to voice mail? And you can actually act, hmmm, natural and even genuine?

Yesterday I listened to Marketing Mentor podcast number six, the one with cold call role plays. “I can do that,” I told myself.

And guess what?

I did!

In fact, I just hung up from a great phone call with that prospect I’ve been avoiding.

When I gave the name of my referral at NEDMA, the prospect said, “Oh, sure.”

When I told him what I did and who I’ve worked for he said, “Oh, if you work for them, I guess you do a lot of hospital work.”

When I asked if he uses outside copywriters, he responded, “Not right now, but we’re expanding to more cause based clients, so this call might be coming at a good time for the fall appeals.”

And the rest of the call continued like something out of a cold call success story. Yes, indeed, he agreed it would be a good idea for me to send him a package of my work and my business card. Yes, he’d like it if I stayed in touch – and he readily gave me his e-mail. Yes, in fact, he wanted me to give him a call later this summer.

I've got to wrap this up because I have to send off my e-mail follow-up (gotta do it within 30 minutes, right?), but thanks again for all the easy-to-follow advice on the podcasts.

Oh—and speaking of podcasts, as a result of listening to yours, I’ve already ordered The Designer’s Guide to Marketing and Pricing. It’s very clear that you have great advice for copywriters, too!

Judith Reppucci is an independent copywriter, and she lives on beautiful Cape Cod. She crafts fundraising appeals for direct marketing consultants and nonprofit organizations. She also writes marketing collateral and online material for business and healthcare organizations. You can reach her at judith AT reppucci DOT com or at her website.

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Have you learned anything from the Designer's Guide podcasts (not just for designers anymore!) you've already put to use? Got a great story, flash of insight or other fantastic tidbit to share with the class? Email me (colleen AT marketing-mentor DOT com) and maybe we can help make everyone a little bit smarter.

Cold calling in my hotel room?

I got a taste of my own medicine last week when I received a cold call in my hotel room!

It was the spa in the hotel calling to let me know that it was pretty cloudy outside, which made it a perfect day to go to the spa and, as a matter of fact, they were having a special 10% off that I could take advantage of.

I thanked the guy and hung up, but I must say, I felt slightly violated or at least captured.

What do you think of this? Has it ever happened to you?

Guest Post: Crazy stats

With Peleg & Ilise in Boston for the HOW conference this week, previous guest mixer Jennifer Neal of K9 Design is stepping up to kick butt and name names here on the blog. Today's entry is another great lesson in cold calling. Jen, can I get you to handle mine for me? :-)

Here's a short and sweet lesson I learned this week.

Thursday rolled around and I realized that I hadn't made any calls yet so I panicked - not so much because my life, as I know it, is over...but more so because Ilise was going to kill me if I hadn't made my calls.

So in a hurry I made 6 quick calls to my existing data base that I hadn't spoken to since 2005 - I know...don't ask.

But (get this) out of 6 calls - 2 called me back and out of those 2 I booked an appointment with 1. That appointment, which I had yesterday, turned into a proposal for a new publication which looks very promising.

So what lessons did I learn:

1. It's NEVER to late to call them back - even if it has been 3 years!!!! I'm sorry to say this but...Most of them don't remember when you called them last anyway.

And...

2. 6:1 call ratios are crazy stats.

So get out there and call. Don't be scared, don't be shy, just get out there. Calling can be a key to the next open door.

Guest Post: Cold calls you can be proud of

With Peleg & Ilise in Boston for the HOW conference this week, previous guest mixer Jennifer Neal of K9 Design is doing some much-needed heavy lifting here on the Marketing Mix blog. In this post, she tackles every small biz owner's favorite task (not): cold calling!

This week has been a ridiculous one for me. My partner threw his back out, so for almost 2 weeks now he's been out of commission for everything but sitting. Even though he continues to pump out the design, we are behind about a week and I'm doing everything else, including bringing him his lunch!! Back to Dinosaur Days. Needless to say, my desk has been piled high with my work and I'm behind about 3 weeks. I'm stressed out, overwhelmed and not quite sure how we're going to get through it all.

Then the phone rings, INCOMING....COLD CALL. Someone is trying to sell me a postage machine. When I answered I was rushed, panicked and as I stated, overwhelmed. So lesson number one - maybe I should dial my panic back a bit for the outside world. But this guy didn't even hear it - he went on and on about how I needed this postage machine because Canada Post is pushing more electronic postage - even though I only post about $200.00 a month. By the end of the call I was frustrated at him and he was YELLING at me.

I wonder what he thinks of that call? Is he proud?

Today, I called a few prospects that I had sent my package to - to follow up. One particular Director of Marketing was - as soon as she heard it was me - reserved and changed her tone. She went silent and a little aloof. What to do? I immediately said to her, "Oh dear, I can tell I've caught you at a bad time."  She responds all, ha ha chuckle chuckle, "It's never a good time." I respond understandingly, "I know, life is warp speed these days." And then we have lift off. Gone is the aloofness and the silence. She then proceeded to tell me that she received my package, and instead of going home on Friday night to drink wine - she stayed and flipped through my magazine.

We turned the call around.

Ilise is always reminding me to look for openness in people. Sometimes it's just not there, but I’ve found it most definitely will NOT be there if you push it. A little understanding and sincerity will get you a long way.

How do you turn the call around?

Guest Post: Do you get the shivers when you cold call?

One more perspective from Jennifer Neal of K9 Design, this time comparing swimming to sales and marketing.

Last week, I took my kids to their first spring swimming lesson. We picked a new rec centre this time because the water was said to be warmer and for the little ones that's very important.

So, first day there, first toe in and guess what? It's freezing! O.K maybe not freezing, but 80 degrees indoors, when it's minus 5 with a wind chill outdoors, is not tropical. This is Canada guys -  Pump up the heat!

But, with a lot of coaching and cooing, my 4 year old is in, albeit one toe at a time, and soon splashing around like an old pro.

I am often the same when it comes to making my cold calls. When I think about that first call of the day, I get the shivers. (Maybe that’s why we call them COLD CALLS.) So, of course, I have recently likened them to swimming. Once I get m6y toe in, I’m already deciding whether to put the rest of ME in. But, when the water's a little warmer, it's never quite so bad.

I am always trying to make this "marketing thing" easy for me. So one of my latest tricks is just that: start with a "warm call".

We all have these...these are the people who were nice the last time or for some reason you don't have that much invested in them. Last week, my "warm call" was a referral to another person (a purchaser of my services) in the company. Although I had not spoken to HER before, I feel, I sort-of have a mini-endorsement from another staff member at the company.

Sometimes my "warm calls" are contacts that are just guinea pigs for the real calls. (Ilise calls them “practice prospects.”) These are the contacts that I really don't care about messing up on for some reason. Once I get a few of these warm calls under my belt - I'm more than ready for the ones that really matter to me - the ones I don't want to screw up on or sound nervous on.

Sometimes you just need to get your MOJO going for the day and I use this little technique to help me do that - plus I’M TALKING TO PEOPLE. I bet you forgot that part - that's the whole point.

What are you doing to get on with the calls? And if you are one of those that are still making the excuses from last post - try this....find a way to dip your toe into warmer water.

Guest Post: Marketing really is like exercise

Today, Jennifer Neal of K9 Design challenges herself (and you) to not let yourself off the hook. Will you take the challenge?

On Mondays and Fridays I set my alarm for 6:30 a.m. to be at the gym by 7:00 so that I can work out for 30 minutes and get home before my kids get up. For some 30 minutes of lunges and squats is a breeze, but for me it's still a challenge and I pretty much hate it!! I can think of a million better reasons to set my alarm for 6:30 a.m....Why inflict the pain, especially at that hour of the day?

You know why? I am addicted to the RESULTS...mental and physical.

Once I start to feel the results I know the pain is worth it. I find myself working through the pain to get to the results. Sometimes I actually say out loud, "Come on Jennifer...just 10 more minutes and then you don't have to do this again until Friday."

Recently I realized I need to take that same approach to my cold calls and marketing in general. And so I have.

For the last week or so, I have adapted the "DON'T LET YOURSELF OFF THE HOOK" approach with my cold calls.

No matter what happens in my day, I do one hour of cold calls -- every day. Sometimes I do more if I have the time, but never any less. I might have 3 great conversations and leave a lot of voice mail, but I commit to one hour of outbound marketing daily starting at 10:30 a.m. And yes, I still say out loud to myself "Come on Jennifer only 15 minutes left and then you don't have to do them again until tomorrow." But unlike with squats, the pain in cold calls goes away after a while.

We can all come up with great excuses as to why we're not doing them...I think I have a particular skill in this area...some of my favorites are..."I'm busy enough working on a client's cool project"...or ..."How can I cold call when I have 3 proposals to write?"...or my all time favorite - "I've already had a bad day so instead of inflicting the pain of cold calling today I'll check out people.com first” and then, of course, I never get to it.

Whatever the reason, try not letting yourself off the hook.

I find that when I'm too tired to get up and work out, or my day is so busy I can't squeeze in my work out, it’s that much easier for me to rationalize the next time - then, the next thing I know - I'm not working out anymore. Sometimes when I look back on my day, I think "Wow, I made it to the gym today and it seems ages ago" - I remind myself of how little time it really took and how great it made me feel.

So I say...try not letting yourself off the hook for anything! Not unless hospitalization or resuscitation are required.

Try it!