Cold Calling is it really extinct?

Daily in our jobs and industries we are looking for the best way to sell our services or products. You hear it from several media or marketing firms that cold calling is dying, dead, extinct...
Yes, in the traditional since of the word it is.  When you think of picking up the phone book or a generated list of virtual strangers and calling them one after another then dying would be a good word to use.  So what's left?  Spend thousands of dollars casting a net across your demographics? Sure, if you have thousands to spend.  What if you don't have a budget yet?  Referrals? Absolutely! But, realistically do referrals land on your desk enough to float your business into a profitability stage that makes doing anything else unnecessary? Not normally - so here we are back full circle with the original sales technique 'cold calling'. 

In the traditional since of the word 'cold calling' is definitely gone with the dinosaurs of old.  Let's breath some life back into it for those of us on a budget trying to get the ball rolling or to restart the momentum of our business.  Try calling it 'comfort calling'  - now when I use the word calling think of all ways to connect with a new prospect; social media, phone, email, personal meeting, lunch, at an event & so on. 

Next steps to breathing life back into cold calling changing it into comfort calling:

1) Know your target market - narrow the field so that you can see results instead of casting a wide net into an ocean of industries.
2) Do your homework - withing your target market pick your top 15 and for a lack of a better word Google them.  Ask your direct connections - people who you have passed referrals to or that have sent you clients.
Who are these top 15?
Where do they socialize?
Who do they mix with?
What do they NEED...? (Very important)
3) Craft a plan to get in front of them - focus on specific issues your top 15 are facing whether it is with a product or service that they have & you can offer taking care of their issue or if it is another need that someone in your direct connections sphere can help you provide for them.

4) Now comfort call!  You know who you want, what they need and where you can bump into them or connect with them to offer your issue solving support. 
Become a help to them and the product or service you offer sells itself. 
Comfort calling is very much a needed & useful tool for the intelligent, savvy sales person!
So do your homework and start comfort calling today!

Kristi Kirkland
Answer Marketing Inc

Adding Needed Solutions Working Every Relationship©

Answer Marketing is here to teach you what to say once you are in front of your prospective client, how to generate open ended conversations to create an easy flow to start up dialog, how to write a letter that generates clients calling you to set appointments and more! 

What's New Goo...?

So what's new in the world of Social Media? 
Loaded question...
There's something new every second in the cyber world of media, sales, connecting, technology... But today it's a helpful App from Google Analytics~

Google Analytics Launches a New Mobile App: Google Analytics has a new set of reports in beta called Mobile App Analytics that help marketers and developers better measure their mobile apps.

Google: "Understand how mobile impacts your site and how it drives business to you. Measure mobile websites, mobile apps and visits from web-enabled mobile devices, including both high-end and basic phones. Measure ads that lead people to use your app and find out whether they prefer ads on their desktop or mobile. You’ll then be setup to create targeted and efficient marketing campaigns that reach your visitors wherever they are"

You can use Google Analytics to track traffic to your regular website that comes from high-end mobile devices like iPhones, Android devices, and the Palm Pre. All traffic from high-end mobile devices can be viewed by device or carrier under the 'Visitors' section in the 'Mobile' tab of your Analytics account, or in the 'Mobile advanced' section. 

So log on to your Google account and check out this App and more from Google Analytics! 

Social Media Helps & Hinders

It's almost time for another wonderful holiday actually one of my favorites 'The 4th of July'.  Knowing it is right around the corner and remembering seeing the posts on social media from previous holidays on accounts I am connected with I was motivated to write this Blog. 
The chuckle we get from the bumper sticker that says "What Happens Today will be on Facebook Tonight"!

But, in actuality sometimes it does not create a chuckle from the powers that be... whether it is a current employer, potential customer or future job opportunity we need to be aware of the 'Helps & Hinders' in today's age of technology and immediate media coverage that more often than not has a tendency to go viral.

This can be both a Help & Hinder depending on how we are using social media and what our privacy settings are saved as.  Majority of consumers prior to making a purchase even after receiving a recommendation from a trusted friend will go on-line to check out the company they are needing services from or to get more information on the product they want to purchase.  Do you know how you look on-line? How does your company look? What information is out there for public consumption?

Both Funny pictures of people falling asleep - if you owned a company that the quality of the employees you had depended on your success in a professional atmosphere & you were interviewing both in the morning... Who would get the job that your livelihood was dependent on? 



Again, not saying don't have fun & enjoy life - just know the possible effects of posting your evening of fun.

Both are ready for the weekend but one would get the job and one wouldn't.. Does it mean that we all wouldn't want to say the 1st comment on occasion? We have all had rough days but posting your issues instead of calling 1-800-BFF could mean the difference in a promotion or a pink slip.

Employers, Consumers, Clients all use the internet now as a resource for the decisions they make in their lives both personal and professional. How you appear as well as how your company appears is even more now than before a vital part of your personal and professional success.  Am I saying don't post - close the doors - turn the computer off - hide? No!  Even if you don't assume control of the information it will get out there.  You need to be proactive and claim listings so that you make sure the information spreading is helpful and positive as well as correct.  It's a personal choice on the flip side if you want to use it to stay connected with friends & family - just know there are plenty of ways to protect your information and plenty of services available to help you. 

It is a fact:

• Employers have hired and fired based off of what has been viewed on-line
• Consumers have purchased items seen on-line they would not have purchase normally because of a well marketed platform
• Connections for business have been made because of on-line media that would never of been connected if it hadn't been for their on-line visibility
• Non-profit services have been saved due to a fundraiser going viral on-line drawing in support in locations that would never have heard of the services if not for on-line visibility
• Businesses have increased their client base due to positive on-line reinforcement opportunities they might not have been able to afford from standard marketing options
• Relationships have been made... and broken due to on-line information

 So what does all this mean?  In a nut shell it's out there - claim it - interact with it - enjoy it - just be aware of it and make sure you are benefiting from the visibility not hurting from it. 

As always - we are here for you and available for assistance in the ever changing ever evolving world of Social Media!

Sincerely,
K.Kirkland