The Problem With The Phone

[Catherine]

Ok

Ive done this for 21 years. Ive cold called, had conversations, had rejections, had call backs, somebody is on holiday, somebody is in a meeting, somebody is off sick, call back, next week.

Part of marketing any business, is the ability to communicate, if you dont, the business - will not grow - I do this for a job. Pick up the phone and call, so simple. People are not ogres on the other end of the line, and if you make an ass of yourself first time calling - dosent matter - you just pick the phone up again and call the next.

Business does not come to you

Give it a go guys. Pick 50 buildings that you have your eyes on, put the in a database and ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Donny]

Personally i prefer calling at the building and asking too speak too the man/woman in charge, smile sweetly at the secretary and leave a flyer if not available , offer first clean at same price if they give me a contract etc etc , dont think phoning works as well IMHO

 

[mark m]

Ok
Ive done this for 21 years. Ive cold called, had conversations, had rejections, had call backs, somebody is on holiday, somebody is in a meeting, somebody is off sick, call back, next week.

Part of marketing any business, is the ability to communicate, if you dont, the business - will not grow - I do this for a job. Pick up the phone and call, so simple. People are not ogres on the other end of the line, and if you make an ass of yourself first time calling - dosent matter - you just pick the phone up again and call the next.

Business does not come to you

Give it a go guys. Pick 50 buildings that you have your eyes on, put the in a database and ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you have been doing cold calling for years I bet you are very good at it, Personally I am **** on the phone and much better face to face .

 

[Posh]

Does emailing have a good percentage of call backs or is that like putting leaflets through doors. Not very successful?

 

[mark m]

I tried that a while back never got anything from it then I e-mailed a b&b I do and it was in there spam box so i give up on that idea

 

[Catherine]

Hi Mark, its pretty much a numbers game, would look at doing 25 calls an hour.

 

[instrength]

All about the numbers, like when you were young trying to get a girlfriend if you ask them all one is bound to say YES... :lol:

 

[Catherine]

Ha ha

 

[Gmeister]

All about the numbers, like when you were young trying to get a girlfriend if you ask them all one is bound to say YES... :lol:

Haha I like that, so true lmao

 

[harunh]

All about the numbers, like when you were young trying to get a girlfriend if you ask them all one is bound to say YES... :lol:

lol

plenty of jobs out their like theirs plenty of fish /emoticons/tongue.png

 

[Kips]

Catherine do you offer cold calling as a service? Might be an interesting avenue to explore, cheaper than hiring a canvasser prolly too?

 

[Catherine]

Ok ok

Heres an article that I wrote for an American mag, hope it clears some things up

 

[Catherine]

Depending on a cleaning company’s preferences and setup, commercial contracts may be the Holy Grail for some folk. No more waiting for Mrs Bennett to remember to pay you the seven quid she still owes you and no more dealing with the hungry Rottie left parked in the back garden. Of course, if Mrs Bennett also owns a company as well, you're still in the do-do's!

So, how to attract commercial contracts? A well designed website is always a good start though pretty useless on its own to attract new business. Without successful SEO implementation, the site will remain off the radar. Links, articles, blogs and other social networking all help but need constant attention to keep yourselves bouncing up to the top of listing pages. Websites should be viewed as part of the bigger marketing objective.

Word of mouth will rarely work on the commercial side of the things as most will be perfectly happy to leave their competitors squandering in the dirt, smugly waving from their squeaky clean premises. Business is harsh – harsh but fair! Well-designed, sign-written vans may help, sandwich-boarding the chaps from across the road!

Flyers, either leaflet dropped or emailed may be successful if you're lucky, but how do you know that they've reached the decision makers? As we all know, most end up in the bin or are directed to trash via the delete button or spam filter. All in all, this method lacks the control of getting past the receptionists’ wicket keepers gloves!

Cold calling is another route but again needs a good pair of Nike's to swerve past the receptionists attention only to find that the decision maker is in another bloody meeting. Also, with the price of petrol nowadays, a Segway or an electric Noddy car is a necessity!

So now we get to telemarketing, many of the problems apparent in the above are still there, it is just a question of damage limitation. Due to cheaper telephone services and without the need for Nike's (slippers will do) or even navigating a Segway over a kerbstone, telemarketing provides a relatively efficient method of marketing.

The downside of telemarketing is the cost of TPS and TPCS laws, unfortunately it is illegal to pick the Yellow Pages up and call prospects, willy-nilly. Companies can be fined £5000 for calling companies that have opted out of unsolicited sales calls. The process of acquiring TPS checked phone numbers is relatively simple and there are several companies providing this service – at a price, though deals are available dependent on demand.

The advantages of contact via phone over the routes mentioned above is a question of control. The ability of the telemarketer to get past the first line of defence ie the receptionist is the first hurdle. Armed, only with a headset and slippers (flip flops will do) there is an improved chance that the defences can be breached in order to speak with the decision maker. If the decision maker is unavailable, telemarketers can then find an appropriate time to call back - the lead is not dead. This, in effect, is a direct improvement on the “straight to bin, trash or spam phenomenon”.

Another advantage is the ability to create an on-going database of clients’ requirements. Companies contracted to specific cleaners may reveal details of the current contract allowing you to “stick your nose in” at a time close to contract closure.

Cloud computing has also helped the telemarketers, especially if there are more than one person working for a client. Document sharing and the ability to update instantly simplifies the process by removing the need to work off multiple records. The client can also monitor the progress of the campaign as it happens and keep a check on how fast the flip flops are spinning.

A well designed PDF flyer raises the stakes even more for the telemarketer when dealing with bosses who are too busy or too far into their second sandwich. At least the info is reaching the target audience.

All in all, telemarketing offers an accurate record of a campaigns progress and can be referenced for future marketing strategies.

 

[mark m]

I would also be interested to know what you charge for getting jobs

 

[Catherine]

If it helps anybody would just repost

 

[Catherine]

Hi Mark

All I can do is get you in the door, its then down to you guys to close it off

so its teamwork

 

[Kips]

What do you charge for getting appointments / meetings?

 

[Catherine]

Kips Ill try and get you in the door and then its down to you guys to close the job off

 

[Posh]

Is that anywhere in the country you could do that.

 

[Catherine]

Yes Posh, unless that patch is already covered by somebody I currently work for

 

[Smurf]

Catherine could yo kindly private message me your terms/conditions & current telemarketing rates please if you do not want to post them here.

Many thanks /emoticons/wink.png