Why cold calling has an awful reputation - LMB Direct Marketing

There are lots of cold calling guru's out there. Many will tell you that its the only proven way to gain new customers. Many will tell you that its the cheapest way of gaining new customers. And many will teach you systems which will have excellent "response" rates.

Having designed call centres since 1990, and having directly learnt various cold calling systems since 2002, I am here to tell you that - the internet is killing cold calling, through consumer power.

In example, my business phone line for the past month. I have been getting a series of cold calls from various 0800 numbers, which when I answer remain silent......

Rule1: under OfCom rules, there is only a certain amount of time that you can be left waiting

My business line is not CTPS registered.....

Rule2: if you don't want cold calls, use either TPS to suppress personal cold calls or CTPS to suppress business cold calls. Simply register

So, I did a search on the numbers calling me, and all came back to LMB Direct Marketing. This user forum site run by Dynamoo is just one of many found by a quick Google search that correlate various telephone numbers with companies and, where the customers/targets have had awful service, scam hunts. Most of these mainly bulletin board format forums will tell you:

who is calling

what they are selling

their systems - including if they are who they say they are!

whether the customers have had good service (complainers normally out voice happy customers by 10 to 1)

how to avoid being conned where appropriate

Having read about the people calling me, I simply followed the system explained on the bulletin board - and then legally suppressed my data last week with LMB....

Rule3: if you are legally cold called, you can choose to suppress your data on their database. Just say: "I'd like my data suppressed on your database, I do not wish to receive any more calls from your company or the company you represent." Not following your instructions can result in an immediate sanction from OfCom

So, does cold calling still work? I was always amazed when designing call centres that marketeers would leap around like spring chickens with response ratio's of greater than 5% - to me, that just means 95% said no. And when I learnt about 100% cold calling systems, although they would get close to 100% agreement to a meeting (remember - calling busy people means they are busy: so no system can be 100% successful), my conversion ratio to paying/contracted customer fell on the back - from 3in4 to 1in3. Many would say at some point while we were shaking hands "and why are you here?"

Personally as a busy business person myself, I think a letter as an introductory system works to a better professional level. A friend who runs the UK's second largest call centre (they log everything - data tells them a lot, both inbound and outbound), tells me that 7/10 callers who call to sell to them don't know the name of the key executives - even though they are fully listed on their website! If someone writes a letter to them, which is clearly aimed at them, they normally always take the meeting. Its what they term "warm calling" (its normally followed up by a phone call from the salesperson), and gains an 80% plus conversion ratio. If you want to know how to write a great letter, start with Mike Southon's book "Beermat Entrepreneur" - the system I use starts with a letter like Mike's.

Cold calling - yes, you can learn a great system, but the moment someone (equally intelligent, busy and professional as you are), recognises you as a cold caller, then watch-out for the reaction. It may have nothing to do with you or your product, and often much to do with the fact you are cold calling - probably after someone like LMB!