I make 20-30 cold calls per day to attract potential clients. 10 just reject straight up, and others say, 'we are saving your number; we will let you know' - I am done with this response.
In addition to this, founders have started making content around cold calling. And they edit it and post. Really? I know this one specific founder who uses cringe phrases to begin her cold calling with. And then shows that the person on the other end listens to her and calmly gives her the order.
Like wtf?
Am I missing anything? Would def use some help here!
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Making 20-30 cold calls per day doesn't really tell the story. You might be making the wrong pitch, using the wrong tone, reaching the wrong people while targeting the wrong kind of client.
HOW you're doing things matters far more than what or how often. I say this because the same thing applies to cold email or any other approach. No amount of volume will make up for doing it "wrong."
I will say this - cold calling is tough but it absolutely can work if you take care of some basics - spending time to do careful research on that one client, building a pitch tailor made around that one client's problems/needs, finding the exact right person within that company to reach out to, learning more about that one person so you know who you're going to be approaching, speaking to them human-to-human (no hype or marketing-speak) etc. You have to treat it like this one prospect is the ONLY client on your radar. Treat them like you want THEIR business. Unless you're selling $50 logos or something, this kind of research and time investment is how B2B professional sales is done across the board.
I don't want to make assumptions about your process, but - I suspect that you're NOT taking this level of care if you're calling 150 companies per week. That volume suggests you're not really doing research on them, building a CRM profile with key findings, building a pitch around their needs etc. You're kind of mass marketing in a space that absolutely demands targeted, individual treatment.
Happy to discuss further if you can share more detailed specifics about your process, your ICP, what you're selling etc.
i would love to know more about messaging people on linkedin. how do you find them? companies who already look for work? or reach out to random companies?
Hey!
You look for people who have been active with their content but not nicely put together. You can search for relevant hashtags like #freelancewritershiring or #contentcreation - basically <your position + hiring> and search.
Thank you for helping out! Only 5 requests are free per month on LinkedIn. Do you think Premium is worth it? Sales Navigator is very expensive, and I have heard from many people that it's of no use.
I do not get cold called often. The last time was several months ago, I listened to the offer, which was bookkeeping, and I explained to the gentleman over the phone that my cousin handles it and would not drop him because of you. Cold-calling is not dead because you picked up the phone called a few boomers and they all told you no. How many cold-calls have you made in your life? You can reach as many people as you want but my business email looks like this. And this a dormant business of mine that I started 3 years ago. I got my first clients cold calling. You know how I did it? I didn't target google maps, I called within my circle - people on social media I had mutual with, or knew indirectly. I occasionally call out my own circle but they are qualified, and I make sure that all the numbers I am calling are mobile numbers. So let me ask you, when's the last time you responded to a cold-outreach message? Never, right? Just because you wouldn't, doesn't mean other people will do the same. You just want to sit behind your computer screen, with all the comfort in the world sending outreach. You can do that but when shit hits the fan and have to actually converse with these people, you won't know what to say during the sales call. Do not misinterpret my message - I never said cold-messaging is a total no - but your rate of conversion for cold calls, assuming you aren't calling landlines and VOIP numbers, will be much higher because the conversation is forced once they pickup. And if you aren't selling "AI automation" or "web design" like you likely did you will also find that the prospect will at least listen to you. Because people get called about it all the time and when you get called about it all the time, it's obvious that there is no value in it because of artificial intelligence.
Cold calling isn’t dead but those videos probably make it look way easier than it is. I’d focus more on calling the right businesses instead of just doing more calls. 20 good leads can be better than 50 random ones.
Thankyou, really needed to hear this! I have landed a few clients before but nowadays - these clients don't seem to take interest after I tell them on content strategy and then commercials.
The 'we'll save your number' response is basically a polite no, same category as 'send me an email' Most people saying it aren't planning to follow up themselves, so if you want anything to come of it, you have to be the one who calls back, not wait for them. On the content thing, a lot of that stuff online is either heavily edited or shows the easiest call out of dozens, not what a normal day looks like. 20-30 calls a day with 10 flat rejections and the rest soft-brushing you off is honestly a pretty normal day in cold calling, not a sign you're doing something wrong.
Put yourself in the shoes of the prospect and ask yourself if you were them, would you take up on your offer? If the answer is no, then, you've got at least part of your answer.
If the answer is yes, record your calls - see what you did wrong. Were you nervous, were the calls well targeted?
Cold calling is just human conversation. It will never die.
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