Cold calling With DJ

DJ, it took us a little more than three hours to whittle that list down. After the initial public records research that produced the big list (took two in the office more than a month) it took approximately 4 months of at least two full days per week to winnow the chaff and cut the list down to 40 and not one minute of it was spent on cold calls. It still isn't.

It takes a long time to generate the kind of trust between you and a client that results in a tight bond that is not easily broken. Out here cold calling is just like the lottery and rarely produces results that are long lasting. Any customer who will fire their current company because of a cold call and one meeting with you and your awesome sales pitch will fire you just as soon as he gets another cold caller with game.

Lastly, for everybody else reading this thread, DJ has some great advice. We would probably do well to take his advice on the timing of the followups and mailers.

There is one aspect I'd take issue with though. I, personally, don't ever BS a customer with any BS at all. If I have an appointment available I would never try to "take control" of the sale by pretending to be busy. One lie leads to another, then another, then another. One might call it salesmanship, I think it's lying and will eventually come back to bite you. All it takes is one lie to be caught and from that point on you are forever marked as a liar. The PM community is not as large as one might think. It doesn't take long to burn an entire market. Do whatever you feel is right, I just don't do that.

Just my opinion.
 
Tony, I like where you head is, maybe that's why "taking control" of the sale doesnt ever feel natural to me, or maybe I haven't adopted it as a big enough part of who I am. Either way, the natural conversation always feels more reputable and as though the client and myself have more to gain from it. Plus it tends to lean them on their honesty side which aids with me gathering pertinent information.

My curiosity though is after you have whittled the list, do you visit them in person are you still cold calling to setup the appointment?
 
Cold calling can be the most unnerving approach in the beginning. As far as saturation your area. It depends on your marker. I dont think you will ever completely saturate an area. There is always a new business coming in. Recycling your contact list until they are sick of you. Theoretically you should'nt have to ever leave your home market area. When I first started my business I began with cold calling. It was tough. I realized psychologically I could only take X amount of rejections. When I reached that point I quit for the day and resumed the next. I knew I had a tolerance for 20 rejected calls. I would go until I hit it and then I was done and focused on other things. That way I stayed fresh and upbeat and on my game.

What I see in DJ is focus, hunger, drive, constant self improvement and an ever learning attitude. Any way thats the perception I see.
 
I am with you, a long time ago I became highly interested in social dynamics. I ended up teaching insecure dudes how to approach women. A goal I set for myself to get out of fear was being rejected 300 times. The result was that by 30 I had realized rejection isn't an issue.

What I learned from being into social dynamics was that in every situation there are ideas that can give you an upper hand. So what I am in effect asking here is, what ideas/tactics/methods do you guys find aid in making the sale. Have you found any decently consistent ways of handling the undertaking of new clientele. This is of course very relative given that everyone is different, and that is understood, but I am absolutely sure there are atleast 3 key things to consider, push for, or word that help.
 
NickGann said:
Tony, I like where you head is, maybe that's why "taking control" of the sale doesnt ever feel natural to me, or maybe I haven't adopted it as a big enough part of who I am. Either way, the natural conversation always feels more reputable and as though the client and myself have more to gain from it. Plus it tends to lean them on their honesty side which aids with me gathering pertinent information.

My curiosity though is after you have whittled the list, do you visit them in person are you still cold calling to setup the appointment?
Click to expand...

We don't cold call. Maybe we might be letting some slip through by not cold calling but I doubt it. All appointments are made in person. When we can't do it personally we pay someone to do it. Some of them are being visited today while we are 2000 miles away. This is all factored into the cost of doing business.

Pinpointing exact appointment times may be made on the phone if necessary after the appointment is,guaranteed.

This is working for us. It might not work in your area. In Tennessee they like that "good ol boy" in a suit routine and it's effective. In Vegas we can sell in a polo, shorts and sandals. If we showed up in a suit they'd think we were missionaries.

That's whats so good about forums like this. You have to learn what works where you are.


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I hear a lot of conversations on this subject of landing new PM contracts.

Have you ever had an opportunity to stop and figure out who you're selling to first? If you can determine what they truly want from you, it makes cold-calling a lot more fun, and effective.

What do you think are the 3 most important things that a PM would look for in a pressure washing contractor?

#1. _______
#2. _______
#3. _______

How would you fill in those blanks?
 
Tony Shelton said:
There is one aspect I'd take issue with though. I, personally, don't ever BS a customer with any BS at all. If I have an appointment available I would never try to "take control" of the sale by pretending to be busy. One lie leads to another, then another, then another. One might call it salesmanship, I think it's lying and will eventually come back to bite you. All it takes is one lie to be caught and from that point on you are forever marked as a liar. The PM community is not as large as one might think. It doesn't take long to burn an entire market. Do whatever you feel is right, I just don't do that.
Click to expand...

Tony, I respect your convictions. A lot.

I think there's a way of doing it that doesn't involve lying, though.

"Sounds great, Mr. Smith, okay, let's see, as far as a service date, we could do it this Friday at 10am or the following Wednesday at 3pm. Which of those appointment times would work best for you?"

Even if your schedule was bone dry, I think it would be smart to offer staggered options. Unless, of course, you've promised (and they are expecting) next day service or something like that.

Consumers like to do business with busy vendors. Stores that are full of people are more attractive than stores that are empty. Restaurants with line-ups out the door pique our interest. Parking lots full of cars make us think that there are deals to be had.

A seemingly busy vendor sends the same message, and you can convey it without lying to the client or prospect.

Again - I agree with and respect your commitment to honesty. I feel the same way.
 
I agree, lying or trying to B.S. the potential customer is never a good idea because it can come back to bite you in your ass or worse, they find out and tell others how you lie and B.S. people out there trying to get the job, really not a good idea or smart to do for someone in business.
 
Kevin with respect to the blanks: I would say honesty, trustworthiness, and reliability. But I am not sure if those are specific enough. You know they seem general to me, but maybe that is the message, the just want a human.
 
Have anyone here ever heard of Grant Cardone? I am in car sales now and is starting my pw business very soon. But anyway Grant Cardone is a very well known sales coach who even had a tv special on him a few days back. We go to his sales training every month to sharpen our car sales skills. I will teach this to my employees also. He teaches how to overcome objections. How to greet customers, proper ways to handle sales calls, and different closing word tracks. There is even a part where he talked about scheduling and he says if they give you a time such as 3:00 you say I have an appointment for that time and then give them an odd time. "Would 3:35 work for you?" If you have not heard of him look him up he even have an app. Yall should try to get him at one of the siminars.
 
He also says people like places that look like things are happening and look busy
 
1 - How my service will directly benefit the PM (making him or her look good)
2 - Can I do what I say I can do
3 - trust
 
The biggest problem here is mixing one time selling to relations with clients that will last a lifetime.

Car sales , hardly anyone will ever use a car salesmen twice.

I think we often are mixing sales philosophy. None right wrong, just a different approach.

This was cold calling commercial clients. I would approach a residential client different than a commercial customer.
 
Yeah car salesmen suck lol. But the sales training I receive could be applied to any industry. I believe what others were saying, practice your craft. Put your spin on it and mimic your potential client to a point. If your client is timid,
then ease in, speak softly and calm. If you have a big bad Bubba as a client be firm speak strong. Another thing that helps when cold calling, try standing up when you are on the phone and smile before they answer. People can read your attitude from how you sound on the phone. This really works!!!! Also a handshake when you meet someone says a lot. Work on it nice and firm. You would be surprised how many people talk about soft jelly fish hand shakes. Confidence and arrogance are on different sides of the spectrum. People love confidence not arrogance. Stay positive!!!!

Look at me trying to school you pros and I don't even have a trailer yet lol
 
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boyo8023 said:
Yeah car salesmen suck lol. But the sales training I receive could be applied to any industry. I believe what others were saying, practice your craft. Put your spin on it and mimic your potential client to a point. If your client is timid,
then ease in, speak softly and calm. If you have a big bad Bubba as a client be firm speak strong. Another thing that helps when cold calling, try standing up when you are on the phone and smile before they answer. People can read your attitude from how you sound on the phone. This really works!!!! Also a handshake when you meet someone says a lot. Work on it nice and firm. You would be surprised how many people talk about soft jelly fish hand shakes. Confidence and arrogance are on different sides of the spectrum. People love confidence not arrogance. Stay positive!!!!

Look at me trying to school you pros and I don't even have a trailer yet lol
Click to expand...

Many sales training can overlap, most of the fundamentals the same.

It's all about how you get to the end results.
 
Kevin Dubrosky said:
Tony, I respect your convictions. A lot.

I think there's a way of doing it that doesn't involve lying, though.

"Sounds great, Mr. Smith, okay, let's see, as far as a service date, we could do it this Friday at 10am or the following Wednesday at 3pm. Which of those appointment times would work best for you?"

Even if your schedule was bone dry, I think it would be smart to offer staggered options. Unless, of course, you've promised (and they are expecting) next day service or something like that.

Consumers like to do business with busy vendors. Stores that are full of people are more attractive than stores that are empty. Restaurants with line-ups out the door pique our interest. Parking lots full of cars make us think that there are deals to be had.

A seemingly busy vendor sends the same message, and you can convey it without lying to the client or prospect.

Again - I agree with and respect your commitment to honesty. I feel the same way.
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Kevin, I,agree with that 100%. That's just taking the bull by the horns.

But if the bull takes you, you just have to go with it and hang on. Trying to bs will backfire

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NickGann said:
Kevin with respect to the blanks: I would say honesty, trustworthiness, and reliability. But I am not sure if those are specific enough. You know they seem general to me, but maybe that is the message, the just want a human.
Click to expand...

Interesting, Nick.

In that order? If so, then you need to present your company as the most honest, trustworthy, and reliable solution, and show them how you are uniquely qualified in at least one of those specific areas. Ideally the most important one.
 
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