ilyapushkar Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I decided to try cold calling to find new clients.. I know cold calling is difficult and not very effective..still i want to try different methods. Please take a look at my short script below and critique it if needed. Script: "Hello Mr./Ms Smith my name is Illya from Render Experts, the reason I am calling is to offer you 3D visualization services. Would you be interested in reviewing our portfolio (if yes) thank you very much, I will follow up with an email. (if no)- hang up. I know this topic has been covered before, however, feel free to mention what has worked for you in terms of generating new leads. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notamondayfan Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 The main problem is your script doesn't take into account the fact that 90% of the time you'll be speaking to a receptionist, not the decision makers, so your first script / approach should be finding the decision makers, and going from there. Cold calling is tough, and I hate it, but sometimes it's gotta be done! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Cold calling sucks. I remember when I started out independent (2008, not easy) I cold called till my mouth fell off. My best piece of advice, dont do it. You'll end up with a massive database of "maybe's" that you try and keep track of in Excel and no-one will remember you ever even called. You'd be better off just talking to strangers in bars, at least they'll know your face. If you do insist on calling make sure you dont do it on Fridays. Anyone that makes decisions is on the golf course, anyone that actually does work is trying to hit a deadline before the weekend. There is no good advice on this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 (edited) Yeah - after you say you'd like to send some low res work samples just say "who would I talk to about that" or "who's in charge of that". You need to sound confident like if they didn't transfer you over they might get in trouble. And you have to do a LOT of it and maybe 2% expect call backs. Of course, the quality and uniqueness of what you offer will have a lot to do with it. Edited August 29, 2014 by heni30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Marketing now is all about social media. Phone calls are SO yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heni30 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 > Tom Right. Knowing what you know, if you were starting out now, what would be your approach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 (edited) Exploit who you know professionally. If you dont know anyone professionally, you are not in the right position to start a business. edit: I dont think thats actually true for everyone. Im not a salesman, I just dont have the charm. I am quite a social person tho. All my current clients I can trace back to one on one relationships, either via referral or a direct relationship or a collaboration. Edited August 29, 2014 by Tommy L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic H Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 i would hang up on you instantly. i really dislike people calling me trying to sell me anything uninvited over the phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryhirsch Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 @ILya Pushkar send mails with attached pdfs and contact people directly via linkedin @-- how does that comment help anybody? The guy needs constructive criticism and no cynical comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris MacDonald Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Nobody likes cold callers. In this day in age I honestly can't see how it is a viable business/sales strategy; I realise lots of companies do it, so it must work, but these are companies with entire call centres dedicated to exactly that task. I have never received a phone call from somebody trying to sell me something and thought "you know what, I really need this product that you just explained over the phone, I am so glad you called". To me, it is the equivalent of spam email, just verbal. No real way of stopping it, you just ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilyapushkar Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Thanks everyone for your feedback! It seems that most people agree cold calling is ineffective. I guess my philosophy behind it - is why should we decide on behalf of other people regarding what service they need or dont need? Most people here assume that clients are certain kind of people who always have best services available. So why even bother? Based on my experience this is not true. The nature of humans is to seek and search..clients are often driven by idea that they can find better services.. I do agree that cold calling might not be the best way asking new clients if they d like to try working with you. Thanks again for everyone's advice and feedback, you guys are great! Render-experts.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fooch Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I would say, instead of cold calling, setup a time for a coffee / drink etc to give a killer 15-30 min presentation that can be extended to 1HR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Schroeder Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Be very very very very careful when emailing business in Canada. Their new anti-spam law is going into effect and it can be extremely expensive for you if you get caught in it. Essentially, you need the business's permission to email them about opportunities. http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/00288.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I would say, instead of cold calling, setup a time for a coffee / drink etc to give a killer 15-30 min presentation that can be extended to 1HR. yep. Show up with donuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M V Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 The office secretary sits right behind me. I hear her reject calls all day from vendors trying to cold call about windows, doors, carpets, and yep, renderings. I just think it is a total waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyJ Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I reckon that if you factor in the time and cost of making hundreds of cold calls, you'd be better off paying a search-engine optimization firm to get your google search ranking up a bit higher, even if just locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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