newbie
What would you do? Posted 6:56 PM on 01/22/08 - Reply to this postIf you bought a list of names and contact information of people who fit your ideal customer profile and who you suspected would be buying a service like yours in the next 5-10 days, what would you do? Would you cold call these people or is there a better option?
Shad M
You can't run away from the hard stuff Posted 4:12 PM on 01/23/08 - Reply to this postI don't even know how you could obtain a list of people buying a car(you said before you sell cars)in the next 5-10 days. Even if you do, the "do not call" registry is always an issue when calling individuals. If you still haven't developed some creative things to say, engaging questions, and done some of the other "hard stuff" I mentioned before, then what do you plan on saying even if you get them? "Uh, I bought a list that says you plan to buy a car, want one from me?" Can you say "not interested"? You need to figure out a way to reach this ideal customer profile in a more creative manner. Just so you know, the marketing stats show that any "bought" list usually provides 1% return or less. Thats 5 people out of every 500 called. You want to be the one making all those calls? Why not develop a relationship with a local insurance agent? When his clients call and have wrecked their cars, they need new ones right? Or maybe they call to add their new 16 year old to the policy, they need an older car for that, right? Figure out a way to be valuable to him, and he will be valuable to you. Do the hard work it takes to make YOUR phone ring, not work hard making other phones ring. Their is another guy who sells cars who posted a few weeks ago about marketing to a local school. Try that. But for the love man, do something besides what everyone else does. IT DOESN'T WORK! You'll figure it out sooner or poorer......
Salty
How come Gitomer isn't answering questions here? Posted 5:35 PM on 01/23/08 - Reply to this postYes, in that specific situation and assuming I couldn't secure an introduction or referral I would contact those prospects directly. The other two choices are; do nothing or wait for them to contact you. Be proactive and initiate contact. Regarding what Shad posted: ---If you've purchased the list from a reliable list broker who scrubs their lists against the DNC registry then you're good to go. ---Since you haven't said otherwise or asked what to say I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that once you've made contact you know what to say and wouldn't utter something as naive as what Shad posted which was; "Uh, I bought a list that says you plan to buy a car, want one from me?" so again you're good to go. ---I can tell you that in my experience when contacting a highly targeted list with a highly relevant offer the returns we achieved were quite high. Of course, depending on the timing, the offer, the list and the method of contact mileage may vary.
newbie
Prescription before diagnosis is malpractice. Posted 7:19 PM on 01/23/08 - Reply to this postI don't sell cars Shad. My question about a young man selling automobiles was a hypothetical example. My question about a list is also a hypothetical example. These are both situations that come up for some salespeople and I'm intersted in seeing what kind of answers I would get on a "sales training forum" like this. Thank you for responding to both of my questions.
Saleswhip
Newbie I got ur back Posted 9:10 PM on 01/23/08 - Reply to this postNewbie, What you can do is contact the credit bureaus and purchase a list from them. The credit companies have really been making a killing over the last five years or so by selling lists that are triggered by a consumer inquiring to make a purchase. You can work with the credit bureau to "filter" out what data you want and don't want. Five years ago when I was cold calling I would use these leads to call on. I actually made TONS of money. I can tell you from personal experience that you can make money on the phone and lots of it. (2004 I was well over 300K in the first SIX months of the year.) Cold calling is a great way to help build your client list. As this should only be one way of generating business it can be a HUGE way to build you client list. More than half of my 600 loyal customer were generated by cold calling. Your biggest asset if you are in the car business is to simply play the numbers that means you need to GET IN FRONT OF CUSTOMERS! Like our self loving friend Shad suggested web sites are a great tool to use to generate business. The big picture is that you need to build your LIST of happy qualified loyal and able clients that will talk about you remember you and refer you. Remember this newbie, you can be anyone you want.... when you're are on the phone. Saleswhip
Shad M
Get off mine please Posted 10:55 AM on 01/24/08 - Reply to this postAre personal attacks ("Self loving friend shad") really necessary? Simply because you don't agree with my assessment? I am offering advice that has worked for ME, to be helpful because I believe that if I help someone, then I might get helped down the line. You do not have to agree with me, I'm ok with that. Newbie led me to believe that he/she sells cars in a previous post, I went with that analogy because I didn't know it was a hypothetical. I realize nobody would actually say "uh, I bought a list of names and sell cars". I used that as a dramatic example for effect, not to accuse others of being stupid, which is obviously how you took it. I meant no disrespect to Newbie or anyone else. Disagreement is healthy, but why do you attack me because you don't agree with me? Isn't that petty? Newbie, the quote "you can be who you want to be on the phone" is a quote from a movie called "Boiler Room". It was a movie about guys who lied to their clients in order to scam them out of money. It was an illegal firm. It is a horrible movie, anyone who promotes lying to get business is not ethical. You can be "YOU" on the phone, no one else. Integrity should be at the heart of what we do. Sales people have enough to overcome without adding to the stereotypes. I encourage you to be Hypothetically YOU on your hypothetical phone. Interity breeds trust, trust breeds sales, sales breed referrals, and referrals breed more sales. It's a great cycle if you can ride it! Again, I personally apologize if you found my original response rude, degrading, or anything other than what it was intended...helpful. Thanks!
Shad M
Gitomer does answer Posted 10:59 AM on 01/24/08 - Reply to this postGitomer does answer some of them, but he does it in his weekly ezine. I've seen several posted there. Kind of cool because I also answered the same one. Interesting to see how I stack up...
Don
This is what I'd do Posted 9:37 AM on 02/19/08 - Reply to this postYou don't mention the product you're selling, which may impact your approach, but to answer your question directly, if I had a list of prospects likely to buy what I sell in the next 5 to 10 days, I'd be on the phone yesterday with an offer. For example, "This is xxxx with ABC Company. We sell new Chevrolets. We are the only 5 star service award winner in the area, and we guarantee to match or beat any competitors price quote. Is that the kind of dealer you're looking for."
