Has anyone had success actually using a phone to call store front accounts. I am certain that most will say that face to face is the best. I don’t disagree but I am thinking about time.
The nice thing about the phone is, I can see if they are interested in an estimate and then sell them when I meet them in person to give the estimate.
Thoughts?
Yep. I’ve sold jobs over the phone this way.
It’s a nice trick to get the name of the decision maker too.
When I was in my marketing prime and very hungry, I cold called over the phone. On rainey or cold days that I didn’t feel like leaving the house. I Started in the white pages on “A”. My hit race wasn’t near the same, but any kind of marketing is better than no marketing…
What’s your initial pitch sound like? Over the phone IMO you don’t have much time to deliver, so it’s gotta be quick.
I like face to face myself, they get to meet you and hopefully like you and you get to leave the estimate there right then.
I have been told by people who have been successful in the cold calling technique that you need to pinpoint which hours are the best and not just call at any time. I was told that the best times are 7:30 am - 8:30 am and 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Basically right before a business opens and right before they close. That way you bypass the “gatekeepers” and talk directly to managers and owners who tend to arrive early and work late. I don’t know if that’s true, I haven’t had any success with cold calling, but I wouldn’t rule it out if I found a better way to do it… or better yet paid someone else a commission to do it.
Do you call to talk to manager/owner and ask to set up a time to come by and give estimate?
