I have been reading this book called Cold Calling for Cowards by Jerry Hocutt and it has been very useful in helping me put things into perspective, and writing ideas on paper makes what he is saying more clear.
Let's look at the numbers;
Let's say that you cold call for only 4 hour per day, and you work 5 days per week, and work 50 weeks per year. And let's also say that you are talking to only 8 people per hour, which is a low number.
8 people per hour X 4 hours = 32 prospects per day
32 prospects X 5 days = 160 prospects per week
160 prospects X 50 weeks = 8,000 prospects per year( How many are we talking to now?)
THAT MEANS WE WOULD BE ASKING 8000 PEOPLE TO BUY OUR PRODUCT
If you only close 2% of the people you talk to, that is 160 sales per year. If you are new in this business like me, that should still leave you 5 more hours per day, and possibly Saturday, to do other prospecting or closing the sales that you just made due to cold calling. And a little time to fool around on the forum.
Let's say 1% is the number, then that is 80 sales, but let's say we continue to get better and we can close 5% of those we talk to, that's 400 sales. I would say that right now I'm at 2%, but I need to track it more.
And guess what, IT'S FREE!!!
I hope this info will get some of my fellow newbies pumped up.
I have been reading this book called Cold Calling for Cowards by Jerry Hocutt and it has been very useful in helping me put things into perspective, and writing ideas on paper makes what he is saying more clear.
Let's look at the numbers;
Let's say that you cold call for only 4 hour per day, and you work 5 days per week, and work 50 weeks per year. And let's also say that you are talking to only 8 people per hour, which is a low number.
8 people per hour X 4 hours = 32 prospects per day
32 prospects X 5 days = 160 prospects per week
160 prospects X 50 weeks = 8,000 prospects per year( How many are we talking to now?)
THAT MEANS WE WOULD BE ASKING 8000 PEOPLE TO BUY OUR PRODUCT
If you only close 2% of the people you talk to, that is 160 sales per year. If you are new in this business like me, that should still leave you 5 more hours per day, and possibly Saturday, to do other prospecting or closing the sales that you just made due to cold calling. And a little time to fool around on the forum.
Let's say 1% is the number, then that is 80 sales, but let's say we continue to get better and we can close 5% of those we talk to, that's 400 sales. I would say that right now I'm at 2%, but I need to track it more.
And guess what, IT'S FREE!!!
I hope this info will get some of my fellow newbies pumped up.
It is all about the numbers. When you start thinking that they aren't rejecting "YOU", but the idea of a sales call then it gets a little easier to keep calling. You have to refine what you are saying and listen to your tone. I usually do well on the phone because I don't sound like a telemarketer.
I love this, I must say that I like to cold call I started in telemarketing so I have a little lead in that, but I must say it is the best and free way to get leads for your business. I like the comments on this subject so keep up the work guys.
I love this, I must say that I like to cold call I started in telemarketing so I have a little lead in that, but I must say it is the best and free way to get leads for your business. I like the comments on this subject so keep up the work guys.
calling gets old...i will do it 2-3 hours am, then hit the field and meet SBO...then rotate the next day...its always diff each day, new person, new shop, new referral
I have been reading this book called Cold Calling for Cowards by Jerry Hocutt and it has been very useful in helping me put things into perspective, and writing ideas on paper makes what he is saying more clear.
Let's look at the numbers;
Let's say that you cold call for only 4 hour per day, and you work 5 days per week, and work 50 weeks per year. And let's also say that you are talking to only 8 people per hour, which is a low number.
8 people per hour X 4 hours = 32 prospects per day
32 prospects X 5 days = 160 prospects per week
160 prospects X 50 weeks = 8,000 prospects per year( How many are we talking to now?)
THAT MEANS WE WOULD BE ASKING 8000 PEOPLE TO BUY OUR PRODUCT
If you only close 2% of the people you talk to, that is 160 sales per year. If you are new in this business like me, that should still leave you 5 more hours per day, and possibly Saturday, to do other prospecting or closing the sales that you just made due to cold calling. And a little time to fool around on the forum.
Let's say 1% is the number, then that is 80 sales, but let's say we continue to get better and we can close 5% of those we talk to, that's 400 sales. I would say that right now I'm at 2%, but I need to track it more.
And guess what, IT'S FREE!!!
I hope this info will get some of my fellow newbies pumped up.
Great post DaWyane!
In the beginning Cold Calling is intimidating. For those who are new to it I would say it takes a good thirty or forty hour before that "fear" just melts away.
There is a book called "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" You don't have to read it if you do the above!
It is all about the numbers. When you start thinking that they aren't rejecting "YOU", but the idea of a sales call then it gets a little easier to keep calling. You have to refine what you are saying and listen to your tone. I usually do well on the phone because I don't sound like a telemarketer.
Exactly! Once you come to that realization, that they don't have a clue who you are, aren't rejecting YOU, and aren't even going to remember in 5 minutes that you ever called them anyway, you'll be set. It's just a game at that point.
A colleague and I used to take that 'game' one step further. When someone began to turn on us, and we could tell their inner jerk was coming out, we'd see who could say 'thank you, good-bye' the fastest. We got pretty good at it, and would laugh every time we had the chance to do it. It started sounding more like 'tankubye'
Cold calling is a contest to see who can get control of the conversation and maintain it. If the prospect does, the agent loses. If the agent does then he wins. I hate to lose.
Treat it as a contest and it makes it more fun. If the agent isn't controlling the conversation then he/she is doing something wrong.
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Last edited by Frank Stastny : 08-24-2009 at 05:09 AM.
Good point you have here. It only means that for whatever we do we have to exceed the normal or the expected output. It is the secret to gain edge over the others.
You can buy scrubbed list from many sites on the internet, but I have my own scrubbing software.
Excellent, thanks. Just for fun, I went onto InfoUSA and ran a quote. A scrubbed list of about 13,000 phone numbers came to about $1,000 or so. The next step is to run the numbers and decide where your breakeven point would be.
Cold Calling is a lot of trial and error. The more you do it the better you become at it. I use to have to call down the phone book. I was shock to find out that most of the people that I called were not rude and would just say no thank you, or they are busy if they didnt want to talk with you. If they started cussing, I would just hang up and go to the next one. WHen you are cold calling, but sure and take breaks and refresh yourself.
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Mark Rosenthal aka markingriffin
IMO/Ins Agent/Agent Trainer/Free Advice markcrosenthal@aol.comwww.realfastservice.com
Please visit mywebsite to learn more about me.
Email me for my Free Prospecting MP3 Tapes.
Cold calling is not a marketing plan - it's temporary.
I'm not sure what your definition of "temporary" is.
That "temporary" plan has been working very successfully for me for sixteen years. That may be the case with other insurance products. For selling Medicare Supplement policies it is the easiest, most efficient, cost effective way that I have found to market them.
We cold call as are primary marketing system, we have added a little twist however. I brings us great fortune and I'm never mad at spending hundreds of dollars per month with "leads." lol
You should close way more than 1% that you spoke with, qualified and set up an appointment with or presented to.
Rob,
I was using 1% to give a worst case scenario. I would like to get way over that and by practicing and actually doing it I certainly hope to get better at it. I've never really tracked it so I don't know what that number is for me right at this moment.
Please keep in mind that I am not talking about appointments just to talk or to drop off information;with Frank's script the the deal is basically done before you go to the home.
Cold Calling for Cowards
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