Top Cold Calling Personas

Lately I have been greatly entertained by the daily voice-mail messages I receive from the cold-callers of the world currently out there dialing for dollars:  

Eminem:  Ridiculously fast talker like some of the most popular rappers.  Or remember those old FedEx commercials?  That guy.

Mumbles: Remember Dustin Hoffman in Dick Tracy? Best when phone is smooshed against your face for further distortion.

Colonel Nathan Jessup:   Read your forceful monologue into my voice-mail with all the reasons why I need you on my wall. Or at least whatever you are selling.

Jeff Spicoli:  Laid back tone like he’s talking to his bro about his favorite pizza. I have to think twice to figure out if we really do know each other.

Patty Simcox:  Over –the-top, up-beat and excited. I imagine you are wearing red, white and blue and singing the “Up with People” theme song.   Funny…I may actually call you back.

My heart goes out to all of these people whose livelihoods rely on the successful outcome of these failed cold-call attempts. PEOPLE! Call yourself and leave yourself a sample call. Would you call yourself back?

Here are a few tips:

I typically open my voice-mail once a day at the most because they are 90% cold-calls.  I grab a pen and my notebook with full intention of taking notes to return calls. 

I get so many cold-call messages that I will only give you a few seconds at the beginning before I just hit 3-3-7 to delete.  If you are speaking clearly, I can understand your name, number and company and if your story peaks my interest, I write it down. That’s your first step to getting a call back. 

   

You improve your odds if you mailed me something cool, interesting and memorable prior to calling. Then when your voice-mail references your memorable mailer, continuing the story of why you are better and different, I may return your call simply because I admire good marketing. 

I am busy. I have a full-time job with many active projects that don’t require you or the thing you are selling. We outsource very little and operate with an in-house agency model. On the other hand, I love marketing. I want to stay up-to-date on new technology, strategies and approaches. Depending on your sales cycle, a meeting at the right time can allow me to pitch management and budget for something new. I enjoy networking. I am a good target but you have to get my attention, peak my curiosity and not annoy me. 

5 Tips for Cold Calling

5 Tips for Cold Calling

I receive at least one daily cold call voice mail message. As the Director of Marketing I receive cold calls from people selling everything: printing, creative and design, trade show displays, logo’d premium items, meeting and event services, sales incentive and employee recognition, web/SEO/social media, marketing technology, and services unique to the direct selling industry.

Wow! Are people wasting their time! These voice mail messages can be so annoying. I hate voice mail. It slows me down, is cumbersome and a pain. So here are my 5 tips for cold calling...thoughts on how to improve your efforts, get me to call you back and even schedule a meeting.

1. Get my name and title correct. You can call my company’s main number and our receptionist will not only give you the correct spelling of my name and title, but she will transfer the call to me. But don’t move too fast, don’t waste this first shot to dazzle me.

2. Warm me up. My preference is to receive a compelling mail piece that I can quickly scan, get an idea of how you can help me be more successful and tee up the idea that you will be calling me in the coming days. It can be a simple postcard, an envelope with brochure, letter, white paper etc. Or a clever dimensional item that links your creativity to my presumed strategic need. If you are local and drop off candy or a tin of popcorn…you’ve got my attention. I know that’s dorky and maybe shallow, but I will at least give you a few minutes on the phone to thank you for the snacks.

If you address the piece to Marketing Director, it goes directly into the recycle bin. I’m the Director of Marketing. If you can’t get that detail correct, what makes you think I can trust you to execute a campaign without mistakes? The picture above is a piece I just received...Two qualities marketing communications must have? ...accuracy in personalization is a start.

If you address the piece to Mr. Chris Scherting, it goes directly into the recycle bin. Come on!

3. Have a story. Think this through. Your story begins with your warm up and continues with your voice mail message. Script it out. Link the mailing and the vm message. Practice and leave yourself the message you plan to leave me and see how annoying it is.

Remember, I get at least one cold call vm a day. How am I supposed to remember you and your company and why you are different or better? It might be a creative theme; it might be a specific value prop statement or tag line; something to link the warm up to your message. If you follow up with an e-mail, continue the ‘story’ in the subject line. Otherwise it will be quickly and easily deleted.

If your plan is to leave me a sequence of two or three voicemail messages over a period of time, weave the story through all three messages. Script all of them. Give me some value-added tip, intrigue me, be patient, polite and friendly.

4. Give me your name and number up front. I am ready to take transcription at this point. I pick up voice mail once a day and have a pen and paper handy. My preference is to get the name and number up front, listen to the blabbity blah blah, and then repeat the name and number at the end so I can double check my hearing.

5. Speak slowly. Again, I may be taking notes on your message so I know why I am calling you back. I hate-hate-hate it when people speed-talk and I have no idea what there name or company is and they ramble for several long, torturous minutes and then zip through their number so fast I can’t write quickly enough. At that point I hit delete. You just wasted my time. And yours.

In the past several months, I’ve met with several potential vendors who cold called me. One company outsourced the appointment setting. She was great, I thoroughly enjoyed her approach.

One time I actually picked up the phone even though I did not recognize the number and knew it was going to be a cold call. This guy did his homework. He knew my name. He immediately built a rapport based on details in my Linked-In profile. So simple.

I’m always reading business books, white papers, marketing newsletters etc. to stay up on new technology and strategies. You may offer valuable services that can help my company grow. Somehow you’ve got to stand out from all the other blabbity blah blah in my voicemail box and get my attention.