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Ask HN: Do you cold call?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#21

Post by na85 »

mindcrime wrote: post #18

It's more "cold email" for us, but yes to some extent. I think some of the keys are to be: 1. brief 2. relevant 3. professional I think in terms of the cold email pitches I get, and think of which ones I'm willing to consider and which ones I don't. Given that, my thinking is something like this: Regarding 1 - If you send me a rambling 6,000 word manuscript, I'm not reading it, and I probably will hit "delete" in aft…

I assume from the way you worded your response that you are the one sending "cold email."

That's spam. That's the definition of spam.

You and your company are spammers. You need to stop.

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#22

Post by ThomPete »

mildtrepidation wrote: post #17
ThomPete wrote: post #15

In my young years I did telemarketing. It's tough but, one of the best learning experience of my life. I will repeat this in the end. But learn who you need to talk to. (Don't accept a no from someone who cant say yes) a lot of your time will be spend with finding the right person. Here is my advice. 1. Write down a sales pitch with some alternatives depending on what the answer is. It should be structured something…

Keep in mind cold calling is a numbers game. And the more people we have playing it, the more those of us trying to accomplish something outside of sales have to deal with inane pitches by people who refuse to accept "no" as an answer unless they hear it repeatedly while wasting our time. Please don't encourage this behavior. It's good that you feel you got something out of that experience, but if no one solicited yo…

I think you are reading too much into what I mean with numbers game.

There is plenty of legitimate cold calling one can do without pissing someone off if you do your homework and make sure you actually are offering them something they might need.

(for instance figuring out if they have recently complained about current service X they are using)

Just keep in mind that your conversion ratio is going to be low and you only have so much time to build a business.

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#23

Post by logvol »

Definitely. Outbound sales was how we validated our business model before we wrote a single line of code. There is so much you can learn.

Outbound sales, be it cold calls, cold email or warm intros, are very powerful. Keep in mind "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility". Don't waste people's time. Ask for permission to speak. Listen.

Recommended reading: Jason Lemkin http://www.quora.com/Jason-M.-Lemkin

How GuideSpark Tripled Revenues Two Years in a Row, Growing to Almost Eight Figures in ARR — All Using Outbound Sales http://saastr.quora.com/How-GuideSpark-Tripled-Revenues-Two-...

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#24

Post by smokeyj »

na85 wrote: post #21
mindcrime wrote: post #18

It's more "cold email" for us, but yes to some extent. I think some of the keys are to be: 1. brief 2. relevant 3. professional I think in terms of the cold email pitches I get, and think of which ones I'm willing to consider and which ones I don't. Given that, my thinking is something like this: Regarding 1 - If you send me a rambling 6,000 word manuscript, I'm not reading it, and I probably will hit "delete" in aft…

I assume from the way you worded your response that you are the one sending "cold email." That's spam. That's the definition of spam. You and your company are spammers. You need to stop.

> That's the definition of spam.

According to who?

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#25

Post by morganherlocker »

dsr_ wrote: post #13

I get cold-called all the time. Here are the mistakes people make: 1. They waste my time (which is also a waste of their time). That is, they are selling something that I don't need, generally because they don't know anything about me. If you're cold calling me, you should have read through our company's web site already. It's only fifteen pages or so; you can skip the press releases. You don't know what business I'm…

I have been dodging calls for the past 3 years from a company that makes Java profiling tools. I am not and have never been a Java dev.

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#26

Post by nimrod4 »

This is obviously highly dependent on industry, market, product, etc. I do cold e-mail (personal preference vs calling) but within some basic guidelines:

1) Target Potential Customers

Rather than blanket e-mail every person in my industry, I look for people and organizations that are significantly more likely to be receptive to my product. I've segmented my market based on highly-relevant characteristics to increase chances that my e-mail will be well received. The contact may even already be looking for a product like mine. I also keep an eye out for news articles and mentions for people in my space that show they are a relevant lead.

2) Do My Research

Nothing gets deleted faster than a stock e-mail. I research my prospective targets and try to understand what their situation is. What is their reputation in the market, what are they struggling with, and can my product help alleviate any of that? This shows that my e-mail is more than just SPAM and that I'm trying to develop a relationship.

3) Play It Slow and Develop a Relationship

As mentioned in other posts, cold calls can be as much for info as a sales lead. In some markets, its also about developing a relationship that may take a long time to convert. Even if someone's not interested in my product, if I can help them in another way (maybe an intro) I'll do it to keep the conversation going. Maybe down the road they'll return the favor by providing me a rec.

4) Let It Go

Followup is key, but beating someone up is a waste of time. If someone's not interested and doesn't want to be bothered I'll let it go. The last thing I want is to develop a bad reputation or be reported as SPAM.

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#27

Post by mindcrime »

na85 wrote: post #21
mindcrime wrote: post #18

It's more "cold email" for us, but yes to some extent. I think some of the keys are to be: 1. brief 2. relevant 3. professional I think in terms of the cold email pitches I get, and think of which ones I'm willing to consider and which ones I don't. Given that, my thinking is something like this: Regarding 1 - If you send me a rambling 6,000 word manuscript, I'm not reading it, and I probably will hit "delete" in aft…

I assume from the way you worded your response that you are the one sending "cold email." That's spam. That's the definition of spam. You and your company are spammers. You need to stop.

You and your company are spammers. You need to stop.

Yeah, I felt that way at one time as well. Idealism is a good thing. But it doesn't pay the bills. And, pedantry over definitions aside, most people these days seem to think of "spam" more as completely off-topic crap, phishing messages, advertisements for illegal products, etc., etc. I don't know many people, in a B2B context, who actually object to receiving cold email IF they fit the criteria above - short, professional and relevant.

So while I'd like to take your advice to heart, it just isn't likely to happen anytime soon. Not unless we start getting so many inbound leads coming in that we can't handle them all.

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#28

Post by akkishore »

conrey wrote: post #5
hdivider wrote: post #3

I've been wondering about this myself. In a typical, successful B2B cold call, how does the conversation actually go?

"Hi I'm from YOURCOMPANY and I saw you wrote/spoke on/commented about RELEVANTTOPICORTHEME and thought you may be interested in learning more about YOURCOMPANY. I'd love to set up a demo to show you how it can help you with PROBLEM. What day is better for you, Tuesday or Wednesday?"

I think this is way too direct. You atleast need to qualify if they really have the PROBLEM (even if you know they have the PROBLEM, it will atleast involve him in the conversation). Probably after that you can explain very briefly how you can solve the PROBLEM and give out few good names from the current clientele that have solved same/similar PROBLEM and then ask for a demo day. No?

Re: Ask HN: Do you cold call?

#30

Post by petercooper »

na85 wrote: post #21
mindcrime wrote: post #18

It's more "cold email" for us, but yes to some extent. I think some of the keys are to be: 1. brief 2. relevant 3. professional I think in terms of the cold email pitches I get, and think of which ones I'm willing to consider and which ones I don't. Given that, my thinking is something like this: Regarding 1 - If you send me a rambling 6,000 word manuscript, I'm not reading it, and I probably will hit "delete" in aft…

I assume from the way you worded your response that you are the one sending "cold email." That's spam. That's the definition of spam. You and your company are spammers. You need to stop.

They talked about the sender doing research and writing an e-mail specifically to them. Spam is bulk e-mail sent indiscriminately, not all unsolicited e-mail sent for business purposes.

That said, people's tolerances are all very different, so I think anyone who did send e-mail of this nature would have to work very hard to make it a truly personal, well researched e-mail without any trace of it being even semi-automated.. because I delete e-mails that miss the mark for sure.

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