Posted by: Bob Bly
May 8, 2008
Issue #413

The Trouble With Cold-Calling

I won’t deny that cold-calling can work. Yet in 99 out of 100 cases, my advice is never to do it. The reason is that, even if the prospect on the other end of the phone expresses interest in your services, the very fact that you cold-called him puts you in a weak position - for three reasons.

First, people want to deal with vendors who are successful, not those who are desperate and need the work, right? Well, when you cold-call, your prospects assume that you are not busy. After all, if you were, you would not have time to sit there calling strangers and asking them for their business.

Second, cold-calling puts you at a disadvantage when estimating prices and quoting fees.

A large part of what determines how much you can charge is the law of supply and demand. When the demand for what you sell outweighs your supply, it’s a seller’s market and you can name your own price. By cold-calling, you are signaling to the prospect that the demand for your services is less than the amount of time you have available. Therefore, prospects generated by cold-calling are more price-resistant - and more likely to haggle.

Third, cold-calling puts you in a weak position when negotiating terms.

Again, cold-called prospects know that you want and need their business. You are perceived as being easy to hire, and, therefore, they feel they can dictate things like deadlines, payment schedules, and work arrangements.

Why is cold-calling so ineffective? Because it violates the "Silver Rule of Marketing."

The Silver Rule is a universal principle, first stated to me many years ago by my friend, marketing consultant Pete Silver. The Silver Rule of Marketing states: "It is better for them to come to you, rather than for you to go to them" (with "them" being your potential clients).

You can see why the Silver Rule makes sense.

If you go to a potential client, seek them out, ask for an audience, and plead with them to use your services, you are seen as needy and desperate. Your prospects think you can’t be any good at what you do. After all, if you were good, your schedule would be filled to overflowing - and you wouldn’t be spending your valuable time on the phone, dialing for dollars.

The only prospects who buy from needy and desperate vendors are those looking for the cheapest bid. So cold-calling risks dooming you to being the low-priced provider.

When they call you, the dynamic reverses. They call because they have a need or a problem … and they are hoping you can help them.

But how do you get prospects to call you? There are two methods. The first is good, and the second is better.

The first method is to generate inquiries through traditional marketing. This includes Yellow Pages advertising … magazine ads … TV commercials … direct mail … radio spots … billboards.

When someone calls in response to your ad in their industry trade magazine, you know they have either an immediate need - or at least some interest in what you are offering. Otherwise, they would not have called you. However, all they know about you is what they read in your ad. Therefore, they may not be convinced that you are the right one to hire.

The second method of getting people to call you eliminates this problem. I’m talking about establishing yourself as a recognized authority in your field. You can do this by writing articles for an industry trade publication … being interviewed on radio talk shows … writing a book … giving speeches at industry meetings … and/or publishing an informative print or online newsletter on your specialty.

When people call you because they read your book, they - like prospects who respond to your ad - are telling you that they have a need. However, unlike those who merely saw your ad, they are already predisposed to buy from you.

After all, prospects are skeptical of advertising claims. But authors are perceived as experts. So by writing the book (or the article or column or content-rich website) on the topic your prospects are interested in, you will be the one they call first when they need help solving problems in that area.

Think about how you can establish your reputation as a leading expert in your field or industry. Can you volunteer to be a speaker at the next big industry conference? Publish a white paper? Write letters to the editor? Publish a blog?

The best place to start: Write an article about the solution to a big problem your prospects are likely to have and publish it in a magazine, periodical, or on a website where they are likely to see it.

Robert W. Bly
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™

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19 Comments »

1. Comment by B Smith @ Wealth and Wisdom — May 8, 2008 @ 9:32 am

   Bob-Love the post! As usual, you hit the nail on the head.

   I work in sales for my day job. The same rules apply in sales as to marketing. By establishing myself as an expert people come to me for help. I get to help them define their project. As a result, I win more bids than I lose. Then again, if I haven’t been involved often and early I don’t bid.

   It’s also why the internet can be so powerful. A good blogger can quickly establish himself as an expert. They may not have the clout of a Bob Bly or a Clayton Makepeace (I can only dream of reaching such lofty standards). That doesn’t matter as it puts them ahead of 80% of their competition.

2. Comment by John Scola — May 8, 2008 @ 10:22 am

   Are sale folks STILL cold calling? I would have thought the Do Not Call registry killed it…

3. Comment by Dave — May 8, 2008 @ 10:31 am

   Bob, you’re full of crap about Cold Calling! I have personally built several successful businesses by cold calling. Using the Telephone or just walking into the business. Here’s why I think it works. Most people are like you, they fear picking up the telephone to make that cold call, so they are never able to report success! Please keep be nagative going about cold calling, it makes it easier for me. Dave

4. Comment by Peter Bowerman — May 8, 2008 @ 11:09 am

   Interesting, Mr. Bly… Now, you KNOW I can’t stay quiet on this topic….

   Needless to say, I hugely respect and admire you and everything you’ve accomplished for so many of us. AND, I think you’re wrong on this one… Not totally and utterly wrong on all points, but largely so…

   As someone who’s done a lot of cold calling over the years, I can say that MY experience of client reaction (i.e., thinking less of you, putting you in an inferior bargaining position, etc.) is not what you share here. Sure, might some of the prospects who said they weren’t interested been thinking some of these less-than-charitable thoughts? Possibly. But hey, that’s the nature of this beast. Not interested? Fine. Next. But most of them? And by definition. No.

   Those who were interested were often quite glad I’d called, and even more so after they saw what I could do for them.

   Sure, it’s a huge numbers game, and of the ones you call, a small % are interested, and a small percentage of those eventually turn into work, but you don’t need hundreds of clients to make a good living in this business.

   I categorically challenge the assertion that clients view the cold calling copywriter as desperate. As businesspeople for whom copywriting is an important part of their business equation (assuming you’re calling the right people), they expect to hear from copywriters.

   You write: “If you go to a potential client, seek them out, ask for an audience, and plead with them to use your services, you are seen as needy and desperate.” If INDEED you “plead with them to use your services,” you WILL be seen as needy and desperate. Since when does cold calling imply “pleading”? Who’s suggesting that?

   As for the next line, “Your prospects think you can’t be any good at what you do.” Say WHAT? How in the world do you make THAT mental leap? I say you’ll only come across as desperate if, well, you come across as desperate. HOW you approach them is far more important than the fact THAT you’re approaching them. 

   There’s not a thing in the world desperate about a low-key confident call along the lines of, “Good morning, my name is Peter Bowerman and I’m a business copywriter, checking in with you to determine whether you have any on-going or occasional needs for a good writer to help create marketing collateral material:  brochures, newsletters, direct mail, web sites, etc. Who might be the best person to talk with?”

   Desperation only comes in if you keep hounding them, try to come in from a bunch of different angles after they’ve said they’re not interested (i.e., repeated “Well, um, what about…?”), and generally make a nuisance of yourself.

   You write: “By cold-calling, you are signaling to the prospect that the demand for your services is less than the amount of time you have available. Therefore, prospects generated by cold-calling are more price-resistant - and more likely to haggle.”

   Bob, it’s just not so. You’re ascribing motivations and mindsets to clients that I say just aren’t there. The overwhelming bulk of prospects these days are so slammed and overextended that they don’t have time to get into head games. Meaning, if a client agrees to meet with you, unless they’re lonely and starved for human contact (unlikely), it’s because they have a pressing need that they think you can help them with. They don’t have time for anything else. They’re not doing you a favor by hiring you. They’re trying to solve a problem and think you can do that.

   Will some try to beat you up on price? Sure. But, again, so much of how the client will react is a function of how you’re BEING. Confidence and self-assuredness will head off most client power plays. But when I finally met folks I’d cold-called, I never, not once, had to deal with a bargaining situation. I always got the price I wanted or one I was perfectly happy with, or I didn’t take the job. Plus, they always knew the rough financial ballpark they were operating in before we met (to avoid those “no-fun-for-anyone” situations where you find out that they think, say, their marketing brochure will cost them $150…).

   Advertising? Overwhelmingly a total waste of time, unless you can get an exceptionally niche publication that your specific target audience reads (i.e., FORGET Yellow Page advertising…). Then it can be potentially effective.

   Obviously, cold calling isn’t the only way to build a business. If you have tons of “warm” contacts from a past career that you can tap, or you’re not afraid of doing some major in-person networking, and you can build a prospect list from those contacts that you stay in touch with via simple direct mail, you might never have to make a cold phone call. And if you DO have those options open to you, by all means go for it.

   Of course Silver’s Law is ideal – have them come to you. And if you stay in the business long enough, they will. But, a lot of what you’re suggesting, seems to me, is coming from the perspective of someone who hasn’t had to reach out to prospects (when you had little to recommend you) for a long time. I think you might not recall that it’s not so easy in the beginning.

   When you have few contacts, a meager portfolio, no books to sell, few articles (sure, write some pieces but that’s one brick in the wall), no ezine, and little reputation, cold calling can truly be The Great Equalizer. For those and many others (especially those who don’t mind picking up the phone), cold calling CAN and DOES work.

   I remain, most respectfully yours,

   Peter Bowerman
   "The Well-Fed Writer"
   http://www.wellfedwriter.com

5. Comment by Doug D'Anna — May 8, 2008 @ 11:28 am

   Hello Bob!

   Has it been three or four years since we did the AWAI teleconference on Selling Yourself as a Copywriter with Illese Benem and Nick Usborne ?

   As you may remember, I was the only copywriter on the call that was a big cold caller when I started building my business many years ago. 

   In fact, I loved calling new clients so much that I spent most of my time calling potential prospects and sending samples than actually writing copy.

   But no matter how many times I heard no, I actually loved getting through to the decision maker, breaking the ice, and beginning a new relationship. 

   Fact is, without cold calling I would have never picked up any of my A-list clients.  Nor would I have had the opportunity to work on such great projects with such sharp people.

   Despite my success, I will agree with you that cold calling isn’t for everyone.  It is for those people who want to take fast action and seek quick results.

   Writing articles simply moved to slow for me.  If I wanted to work on a project, then the fastest way that I could land the business was to call the decision maker TODAY.

   To be sure, once I had some successes under my belt I too offered articles to trade publications.  (And who can deny that being one of Clayton’s guest editors doesn’t add to my reputation.)

   In fact, last year I gave a speech to the local DMA on How to Write Breakthrough Copy.  The next day one major financial publisher contacted me about writing a series of  emails.

   That said…

   The majority of my success came the old-fashioned way:  by picking up the phone and making a new friend.

   To me, this is why most copywriters fail at cold calling. They think they they will land a job on the first call.   They fear the call and it shows in their tone on the phone.

   As a result, they don’t get the warm reception they are hoping for, get discouraged, and stop all efforts in that direction.

   While I hear what you’re saying about putting yourself in a weaker negotiating position, I respectfully disagree.

   When I see an opportunity that has my name on it, I have no problem picking up the phone and discussing the possibilities.

   And it’s not because I have a lack of work–it’s because I see an opportunity that the publisher, product manager, or business owner may be missing.

   Nine out of 10 times, there’s always a warm reception for me.

   Fact is, not everybody feels that way.  And I do believe that you’re right.  There is trouble a lot of trouble with  cold calling.  But it’s something that you can easily over come with a little persistence and courage.

   In the end, I always say that you need to market it yourself in the way that you feel most comfortable. 

   If you can follow Bob’s approach and mine, you’ll find yourself with an unstoppable "one-two" promotional punch that will get you to the next level in your copywriting career.

   All good wishes,

   Doug

6. Comment by Carolyn Permentier — May 8, 2008 @ 11:50 am

   Well …

   I, too, greatly respect Bob Bly! 

   And I agree that the very, very best is to have
   a potential client come to me … that’s why I have
   a web site and a blog.

   However, I must also say that I know from personal
   experience that Peter’s right.

   I’ve had good results with cold-calling for the most
   part.  And, like Peter says, it’s more in the way you
   approach people than the fact you’re approaching them.

   With confidence and finesse, it can be a very viable tool.

   When your phone’s not ringing, use it to ring up a
   prospective client. 

   If there’s no need right now …
   OK. 

   You’ve at least made a voice connection, making
   you more real.  Maybe you were able to give
   them your URL to see samples! 

   With your site, if it’s memorable, they’ll also have ALL
   your contact info, testimonials, et al.

   So, I think it’s always best and easiest when clients
   are banging down my door.  But, if/when they don’t …
   pick up that phone in confidence.

   Carolyn
   http://blog.kickasscopywriter.com

7. Comment by Sean — May 8, 2008 @ 12:29 pm

   Well, just think about it yourself. How many times have you bought something or just stayed on the phone long enough with someone who was cold calling? It is a completely uncomfortable situation and should be banned. It’s like those people in the mall’s now that stop you every time you walk buy their little stand and grab your hand, trying to sell you some bull crap lotion. Hey if you like cold calling, keep doing it, but I’m going to tell you how I feel when you call me.

8. Comment by Brian Wilson — May 8, 2008 @ 12:47 pm

   Having the Kahonnas to get on the phone and make a cold call commands respect. There the prospect is… in personal one-on-one contact with the copywriter him or her self, and out of the blue no less. This is the ideal situation for the prospect when looking for a copywriter. It certainly shows you have the ambition to get things done. They might even think you have psychic powers that you would use to get them more sales, or the person you call might be a believer in “The Secret” and think they attracted you to them. Maybe they ascribe to the philosophy that there is no such thing as coincidence. Anyway, you are there where the action is. Sure, cold calling is trouble, but that is why it works out favorable for the person who takes the trouble to do it.

9. Comment by Brian Duvall — May 8, 2008 @ 12:51 pm

   Check out Ari Galper’s materials on successful sales calls. It’s called Unlock the Game. http://www.unlockthegame.com

   I don’t sell for him and I’m not an affiliate. I just like his work. He gives away some great material on getting the right mind-set before you pick up the phone to call prospects.

   The free test drive is worth a look.

10. Comment by Kammy Thurman — May 8, 2008 @ 2:33 pm

    Article marketing too slow?

    I just had a marketing article published in the April issue of Professional Photographers Magazine. Within 10 days of it hitting photographers’ mail boxes 2 dozen photographers opted-in to my e-zine list, a studio asked for marketing consulting, and a professional photography association hired me to speak at their annual conference. All from that one article. And I’m a total unknown in this industry. My next article comes out in July.

    One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to marketing your services. It depends on your goals. My goal is to be viewed as a a photography marketing guru, not just a copywriter (and I detest cold calling), so I’ll be following Bob’s advice. It’s doing very well by me.

    Kammy

11. Comment by Phil Spinelli — May 8, 2008 @ 2:42 pm

    Just my 2cents.

    Bob did not say cold calling does not work "I won’t deny that cold-calling can work."

    Yes, cold calling works, if your good at it and don’t mind rejections.

    We were sold some stuff from cold callers, but they need to have a good opening, AND something I may need.

    Most telemarketer need to take a headline course, after all, the first thing you should say is a good headline.

    AND to be a good sales person, you DO need to look at yourself as a consultant. I think they call it Consultative Selling.

    I’ve been selling for years and the customers who come to me… well it’s an easy sell.

    thanks

12. Comment by Dale — May 8, 2008 @ 4:01 pm

    Your personality type has a lot to do with whether you are comfortable with cold calling. Bob and I are introverts, which makes us uncomfortable calling clients for business. If you are comfortable making cold calls, like Peter Bowerman, you are likely an extrovert, and can handle any pressure the prospect dumps on you.

    Then there is timing. How many times have you gotten a telemarketing call at an inappropriate time, when you are eating or watching your favorite program? Irritating isn’t it? With a letter, web-site article, the client can deal with it when it isn’t interrupting another activity.

    Great article, Bob.

    Thanks,
    Dale

13. Comment by Annette — May 8, 2008 @ 5:06 pm

    Cold calling for extroverts? That is a total myth. I am a pure extrovert and easy going but I have never been frustrated in my life like during those days of cold calling.

    For sure Bob’s message should be read by all network marketers out there. I agree with everybit of it from personal experience.

    Those days, I would call like 50 people to get someone join my mlm..  But all this changed after I put up my website and established myself as an expert. True, it takes time BUT it is worth it.

     I almost have a closing ratio of 100%!! So what changed… I am the same person with the same company with the same products… It is simply because the "hunter became the hunted"

    I am afraid cold calling is becoming less and less effective especially with the advancement in technology. I guess people who strongly support cold calling have never had a chance to be contacted by a prospect pleading for their help…

    Annette
    http://www.breathtaking-network-marketing-secrets.com

14. Comment by Kammy Thurman — May 8, 2008 @ 5:06 pm

    Here are some cold facts about my experience with cold calling…

    Last year our photographystudio attended a wedding fair to land wedding photography assignments. We had a drawing to get their contact info. Then we made cold calls to them. We got consultations with 10% of those brides and booked about 50% of the responders. Not too bad, but…

    This year we did the drawing, got the names, sent a direct mail package that drove them to our website for a bridal photography guide. The lead gen letter, photography guide & site did most of the selling for us. The photography guide then invited them to call for a  consultation.

    This process doubled response to the initial offer and we’ve booked 90% of the consultations. In fact, we’ve booked more weddings than we’d planned and have closed bookings for the rest of the year.

    I’m convinced we blew the doors off last year’s program because by the time they called us for a consultation they were pre-sold on our services. We weren’t calling out of the blue asking for a consultation before they were ready.

    Kammy

15. Comment by Adam — May 8, 2008 @ 5:10 pm

    Bob, this post is similar to something else you wrote a few weeks back. You said that writing copy on spec without the clients knowledge – i.e. picking one of their products and writing a promo for it – doesn’t work…and won’t impress the client or get you work from them.

    But in Clayton’s 6-figure copywriting course recordings, Clayton recommended that writers do this to show clients what you can do. So i’m wondering who is right here. Is Clayton wrong to say this because it flat out doesn’t work…or are you wrong?

    Didn’t you host those calls with Clayton?

16. Comment by Norm Ford — May 8, 2008 @ 6:25 pm

    Personally I have found cold-calling effective. But I’m thick skined and I just roll onto the next. Park my car one side of the street. Walk up one side & then down the other. I would never cold call by phone for the following reasons:
    The things I learnt was by observation - intelligence gathering
    were the staff busy
    tidy office or untidy
    did there appear to be systems in place
    general appearance - carpet clean, flowers, shades clean or dusty
    staff smiling or growling
    eating lunch at their table
    outside appearance of office/building
    expensive rental area
    company cars clean
    no oil patches in the parking area (poor maintenance)

    Sometimes when I’ve walked through the door & depending what I’m seeling, I can see that they need me, or that all I can see is trouble & I don’t want to do business with them so I just ask a question of weather they know where company XYZ is?

    Most times if I can get to the boss which isn’t all that hard, they will gladly speak with me and then the qualifiction process begins.
    Sometimes I’ve even been offered a job.

    If I don’t get to see the boss I’ve got his card and I’ve left mine there and I’ve found out a good time to make phone contact to make an appointment. 

    But its all in the mind. I’m outside enjoying myself, meeting different peole and learning.

    But  Bob’s ideas are worthy as well to be part of your arsenal.

17. Comment by Robert Lehrer — May 9, 2008 @ 12:02 am

    Bob, I’ve learned a lot from your lessons, but I respectfully disagree with your article, here.  While the optimal position to create for yourself is a place where people call on you as the expert, fortunes have been made by cold-calling sales people. 

    Why choose between cold calling and article writing or speaking?  I was taught to do everything that works.  Why not do both?  I know some very wealthy people who still cold-call and they can’t express themselves at all with a pen or keyboard and aren’t comfortable in public speaking. 

    I’ve known others who couldn’t sell peanuts at bar, but they write persuasively and passionately to move prospects in whatever direction they wan with that skill.

18. Comment by Timur Mourtazov — May 9, 2008 @ 8:21 am

    Yes, as much as I respect all your writings Bob about direct marketing and all the great ideas in general about how one can avoid cold calling, I must say that cold calling is the way how many and many now successful businesspeople have built their businesses. Clayton Makepeace described how he did in one of his articles. Doug D’Anna did  it. And many many others.

    Cold calling really is not cold calling when you know why you are calling and what you can do for the customer.  And cold calling becomes really telemarketing when you have the skills and the know how to do it or to hire other people to do it for you. It just becomes another marketing tool and very powerful because of its  precision, selectivity,  interactivity and speed.

    I mean how long would one have to wait to get noticed with all the other media and publicity when simple a telephone can be picked up and the key decisions makers can be called. Especially so in b2b. The key to remember that the goal of cold calling is not to make a sale on the first call. The goal of cold calling is to facilitate building a close relationship with customer.

    It’s a great research tool as well, I have written  sales leltters based solely on the knowledge I was able to derive from telephone calls to prospectives customers for example.

    There you go, off my chest too.

    Thanks for reading!

    Timur Mourtazov
    http://www.oneplusone.info

19. Comment by Jon Weston — May 9, 2008 @ 10:27 am

    Don’t be so quick to jump on the "he’s right", or the "he’s wrong bandwagon".

    Consider that just because you personally don’t like to be cold called (I know I hate it), it doesn’t necessarily mean that another business owner wouldn’t love to hear from someone who could solve problems that keep them up at night.

    It seems to me the important thing is that we find what works well for our own businesses. Test, test, test… anyone?