Question: “What percentage of your marketing is cold-calling? What percentage of my marketing time & effort should be cold-calling? I am asking because, although I have had some success at cold-calling, it doesn’t seem like the “answer” to the situation I am in right now. In other words, it doesn’t seem like it is going that well for me, so I am trying different scripts, and different markets, and asking myself about other forms of marketing that I could be utilizing. I appreciate your thoughts on this.”
Response by “The Sales Hunter”: The percentage of cold-calling will always vary by business, but a universal number I use is 15% of the time for an established business. Since yours is new, it’s going to be closer to 80%. Your business is a lot like some others I work with. You have a customer base that buys your service, currently from other suppliers. This means your goal is to get into the “que” (so to speak) with potential buyers. The difficult thing is the buying timeline your customers use is quite long, probably more than a year due to the infrequency with which they purchase and use the service. This means the need to cold call is even greater as you have to get onto more radar screens than a person who is selling something with a shorter timeline. There’s not an easy answer for you as it is just a game of numbers. Have you been able to develop any leads you believe have potential? I wouldn’t hesitate in the least bit to call the same people every six weeks. One of the things you have to convey to your prospects is what I call C+C=C=O=P: Continuity (the number of touches they get from you) + Competence (the knowledge you convey and the perception they gain from it) = Confidence (the customer will only give you business when they’re confident with you) = Opportunity (finally, at this point, you have the opportunity to do business with them) = Profit (for both you and your customer).
