[Mike]

Well, I dunno if it is actually cold calling as its a free service, but anyway

Im calling people to try and get them on board with my site and its an area im not familiar with and not really that comfortable doing, Im more of a contract developer so most of my contact isnt with customers!

Any tips or advice on how to go about this,

maybe some "what not to dos" from those with experiance?

Thanks

[Indizine]

for info, cold calling has nothing to do with the cost, it's just the fact you are calling up people you have never been in contact before and they have made no contact with you nor received any information about you.

To make it a 'warm', you could consider sending a mailshot or email first (but make sure you TPS or MPS for mailing or telephone calls as you cannot just call anyone up these days).

You then follow up the mailer with your call, asking if they have received your info and have they had a chance to read it, etc. You also say in the mailer that you will be calling in say, around 5 days time - and make sure you stick to what you said - and they are then half expecting your call, so not quite a cold call as it would seem.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Indizine

for info, cold calling has nothing to do with the cost, it's just the fact you are calling up people you have never been in contact before and they have made no contact with you nor received any information about you.

Thanks that makes sense

These are businesses I am calling not members of the public, I dont suppose they have would sign up to the tps/mps?

[Indizine]

well if they are home based they could well be TPS/MPS if its their home humber and home address they have submitted. Check out the rules to be sure (Google TPS) and you will see that MPS is also covered in that site as well.

[forums]

Hello Mike

When you say developer, do you mean web developer?

The best marketing is anticipated, relevant and timely. (That is why Adwords is so successful: users expect the adverts on the side of their search results, the adverts are relevant to what they are searching for and they are certainly timely as they're shown while the user is looking for something.)

Not all marketing can be anticipated but that doesn't mean it can't be relevant and timely. Assuming you are a web developer, you could try contacting local start-ups. A UK start-up or a new business that's only been trading a few months is an ideal lead in terms of relevancy and timing: they are unlikely to have a site and will be looking to increase awareness of their business.

[Indizine]

No, it says he is a contract developer not a web developer. He has had a site created and now needs to populate it with users.

[forums]

Apologies if my previous post wasn't relevant.

[Mike]

Well,
in essence you are both right :S - sorry my bad prob - I am a developer, but i contract my services, and in this case it is a site of mine that i am trying to get users for, hense it being out of my area somewhat

[fosvageorgina]

Hi there, what youre doing by contacting those who arent already customers is cold calling yes and just means that you are basically telemarketing ! If youre telemarketing for youre own company then you should probably feel comftorable trying to sell things over the phone if not then you should get someone to do it for you ! I.E a freelancer or Telemarketing company like me.
Just be confident on the phone, even if you dont feel you are and always think that that person on the end of the phone will beinterested inwhat you have to say and that they want your service and if theyre not interested don´t feel like its a waste of time as the next person you speak to could have been searching for a company like yours for ages and then you can have a good chat with them and sell them your service/product !!

[Alex Upstream]

As it says on the wall of every call centre everywhere:

Smile as you dial!

A terrible cliché, but people react to subtleties in the tone of your voice.

Have regular breaks.

because cold calling is often a story of "no, no, no" - don't let it get you down.

Warm up with a call to a friend

this comes back to the tone of your voice - if, like me, you'd rather walk on hot coals than cold call, it can come across in your tone. Have a good phone chat with someone you know before starting the cold calls as it will relax you.

And don't waste too much time with people who are completely uninterested or rude - it's just not worth it.