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Cold Callers: I want your opinion!

Crexty

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Hello Fastlaners,

This is my first post here, and i'm looking for some genuine help. I am selling B2B Office Cleaning services. I have lots of value in what i'm selling (i'm not just pitching cleaning, but cleaning + plenty of features to reduce micromanagement on their part, hygiene testing, etc.) Basically cleaning service on steroids.

I'm not having much problems closing. I can't get through the door though. I'm calling medical offices, chiropractors, massage spas, lawyers, insurance offices, logistic companies, etc. But I'm always being sent to voicemail or having to leave message.

Main Problems :

1. Gatekeeper's always say DM is not available or out of office, and messages never returned.

2. Gatekeepers always say, We already have cleaning or we In-house our cleaning.

3. Gatekeepers saying , we are not interested. BYE.


My script goes as follows:

Hi this is (NAME) with (COMPANY). May I please speak with (DM), Please?

OR (if I don't know the DM name)

Hi this is (NAME) with (COMPANY). Maybe you could help me, I need to speak with whoever is in charge of the office cleaning being done, could you put me through to that person?

I understand that this is not a one shoe fits all question and that i'll need to do plenty of testing. However for those of you who have had success reaching decision makers in similar conditions.

What worked best for you?

What ideas do you guys have that I can test?

What type of companies would you focus on calling if you were selling this product?

 
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ButGregSaid

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Patrickg

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Hey @Crexty, was going to suggest @Scot's AMA thread that may be helpful to you but I see you already found it - think you might have a better chance jumping into the conversation there since it has quite the following atm - Ask Me Anything - The Beginner's guide to Sales + AMA

Good luck!
Anyobody? Please Help.. I'm trying.
Anyobody? Please Help.. I'm trying.

How many calls did you make?

There is no silver bullet. That's what is great and hard. Assuming your volume is correct.

Give me an idea your volume and I'll try to help from there.
 
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Crexty

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How many calls did you make?

There is no silver bullet. That's what is great and hard. Assuming your volume is correct.

Give me an idea your volume and I'll try to help from there.

I've been doing about 100 Daily...

From medical offices I'm getting a lot of
"doctor is not in office", "we already have cleaning",
"Would you like to leave a message?".

I have a lot of value to add to their cleaning, but its so hard to get in front of these people.. Might stop calling Medical facilities for now.
 

Patrickg

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Okay volume good.

Out of 100 calls how many appointments do you get?

Also from my experience most medical facilities for business related task you have to go through the office manager. Then they get the owner( possibly doc) involved. Multi step sales process.

Just had a meeting last week with dentist, but I originally had to meet with office manager and wow her first.

FYI I did a in person drop in for that. That may be some to consider as welll. Phone is obv. Faster and cheaper but you can't beat in person drop ins.
 

jpanarra

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Hey man!

Cold calling is a major challenge but its really necessary for my business. I do websites, and my challenge with cold calling is that I'm deaf and I struggle with cold calls because of the relay service that is in between myself and the prospect.

The most time consuming thing about cold calling is to actually the prospecting step. If you dont prospect well as in researching who they are, their names. Creep a bit on facebook and maybe find something with common ground like a group or so. When you call them be like

"Hey, It's jason. I'm calling mark is he avaliable right now or no?" Make it sound like you're somone that knows him personally. Then when you get in touch, refrence the common ground and thats how you came across him. Its time comsuming and I spend maybe 10 hours a week on it, but it makes my cold calling rate go from like 2-3% close to like 10-15% close.

This being said, I'm actually working on a direct solution for this issue on the inside. Only because I noticed it was a major need for me and I assume that others need it as well..
 
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Doug Smith

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I've been cold calling for the last five years. It's been easy for me since I only call a particular niche and our script is proven over the last 19 years.

I would suggest trying different variations of "who handles the office cleaning" or "Who do I talk to about cleaning invoices"

The trick is to get the name, or anything that will help you get closer to the sale. Even if the gatekeeper shuts you down, you know who to ask for next time you call.

I also never take the hangups and "not interested" personally. These people get probably 50 cold calls a day from every industry you can think of. They just want to get back to their work, or instagram, or whatever they are doing.

If you aren't already tracking your calls, I recommend doing so. This will help you to understand predictable numbers (100 calls, 50 contacts, 20 productive conversations, 10 appointments, 4 sales)

Hope it helps.
 

jpanarra

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If you aren't already tracking your calls, I recommend doing so. This will help you to understand predictable numbers (100 calls, 50 contacts, 20 productive conversations, 10 appointments, 4 sales)

1000x this... the best sales people know their numbers and where they can improve themselves.
 

minivanman

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Yes, just a part of the reason I never tried to get commercial accounts to go along with my residential accounts. Too time consuming. The only commercial accounts we had were only because a residential customer wanted us to clean for their business or their husband's company.

My friend had a large commercial cleaning business in Michigan. Here is what he always did when he was about to sit down to speak with whom ever was in charge of cleaning.... he would use his hand to act like he was dusting off the seat of the chair. It was just a little mind game he played to make them think their current cleaner wasn't cleaning the chairs.

Do you also do floor work? Carpet/strip/wax/buff?
 
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Crexty

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Okay volume good.

Out of 100 calls how many appointments do you get?

Also from my experience most medical facilities for business related task you have to go through the office manager. Then they get the owner( possibly doc) involved. Multi step sales process.

Just had a meeting last week with dentist, but I originally had to meet with office manager and wow her first.

FYI I did a in person drop in for that. That may be some to consider as welll. Phone is obv. Faster and cheaper but you can't beat in person drop ins.


Out of calling 100 Dental Clinics.. I believe I got 1 appointment, sometimes none. When i call other types of businesses , like general offices.. i'm able to get 1-3 per 100 calls..
 

Crexty

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Feb 2, 2018
107
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Arizona
T
Hey man!

Cold calling is a major challenge but its really necessary for my business. I do websites, and my challenge with cold calling is that I'm deaf and I struggle with cold calls because of the relay service that is in between myself and the prospect.

The most time consuming thing about cold calling is to actually the prospecting step. If you dont prospect well as in researching who they are, their names. Creep a bit on facebook and maybe find something with common ground like a group or so. When you call them be like

"Hey, It's jason. I'm calling mark is he avaliable right now or no?" Make it sound like you're somone that knows him personally. Then when you get in touch, refrence the common ground and thats how you came across him. Its time comsuming and I spend maybe 10 hours a week on it, but it makes my cold calling rate go from like 2-3% close to like 10-15% close.

This being said, I'm actually working on a direct solution for this issue on the inside. Only because I noticed it was a major need for me and I assume that others need it as well..

Thanks! I'll give that a shot.. I get my list right now from a free public data source. It usually has an executive name on there.
 

Crexty

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Feb 2, 2018
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Arizona
I've been cold calling for the last five years. It's been easy for me since I only call a particular niche and our script is proven over the last 19 years.

I would suggest trying different variations of "who handles the office cleaning" or "Who do I talk to about cleaning invoices"

The trick is to get the name, or anything that will help you get closer to the sale. Even if the gatekeeper shuts you down, you know who to ask for next time you call.

I also never take the hangups and "not interested" personally. These people get probably 50 cold calls a day from every industry you can think of. They just want to get back to their work, or instagram, or whatever they are doing.

If you aren't already tracking your calls, I recommend doing so. This will help you to understand predictable numbers (100 calls, 50 contacts, 20 productive conversations, 10 appointments, 4 sales)

Hope it helps.

So you're saying try something along the lines of..

Good morning. This is ___________, who should I speak with regarding cleaning services?

and yeah I'll start tracking my ratios starting tomorrow.
 
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Crexty

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Feb 2, 2018
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Arizona
Yes, just a part of the reason I never tried to get commercial accounts to go along with my residential accounts. Too time consuming. The only commercial accounts we had were only because a residential customer wanted us to clean for their business or their husband's company.

My friend had a large commercial cleaning business in Michigan. Here is what he always did when he was about to sit down to speak with whom ever was in charge of cleaning.... he would use his hand to act like he was dusting off the seat of the chair. It was just a little mind game he played to make them think their current cleaner wasn't cleaning the chairs.

Do you also do floor work? Carpet/strip/wax/buff?

We mainly do general office cleaning. However I do sub out the carpet/floor jobs to people when I get them from my office cleaning clients.
 

minivanman

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We mainly do general office cleaning. However I do sub out the carpet/floor jobs to people when I get them from my office cleaning clients.

You tell me.... do you want the truth or should I not say anything at all? I have decades of experience in the cleaning business.
 

minivanman

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After 20 years on the internet I finally asked because usually people get their feelings hurt and start crying when I tell them things and then a year later they tell me I was right and wish they would have listened. lol So I was just asking.....

In your head, you are the best and most different cleaner in the world. You want to offer things that no others usually offer. You want to do this and you want to do that.... But these people deal with people like you calling them every day and promising them the moon..... problem is that they usually don't do a very good job and end up just like the last cleaner. But is it the cleaners fault? In commercial cleaning it is usually a race to the bottom. Most businesses hire the cheapest company.... get what they pay for.... then bitch and complain because they want a million dollar job for $100.

Let's take 1 month of a business like you want. Lots of cold calling, maybe a few bids now you wait for an answer..... you finally have to call them back just to get a NO!

Now let's take a residential cleaning business. Advertise, start getting interested, potential customers within just a few minutes sometimes. You could go on a bid or 2 that same day and if you know what you are doing.... get the job and have it cleaned within 48 hours with money in your pocket. Speaking of money.... in commercial work you have to wait 30-45-60-90-will they ever pay?

But if you just MUST be in the commercial cleaning business, you can do a few different things. Call the Montessori schools in your area. You might get lucky. There are a lot of people that sub-contract from larger companies. It's a start as long as you don't do it too long, just long enough to learn the ropes.

The thing that could set you apart is doing floor work. That is the business you should get in to if you want to be in the cleaning business. No carpet, just strip/wax/buff jobs. That way you could get in with the other commercial cleaners in your area. There is decent money in floor work but nothing to write home to mom about.

Commercial cleaning is a tough business to get in to for a few reasons. If you do get a break and had the opportunity to bid on and get a big job.... then you have to fund it for 60++ days. That's why the big companies have all the big accounts unless some guy just has a boat load of money he wants to fund a commercial cleaning business with.
 
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minivanman

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Oh yeah, just to add on a little, I once knew a girl that cold called for a large company back about 5 years ago. This company had several franchisee's. They gave her a phone book and she dialed number after number. Most of the meetings she set up were with places like a daycare or a trucking company, maybe a small office that has 2-5 rooms.... but this franchise had to get it's franchisee's work, that was part of the agreement. So these people bought in to a business that got them crap work for little pay. The moral of this story.... it's even hard for bigger businesses to get commercial work so don't think it will be easy for you. I'm not sure how big you wanted your business to be but as far as a big money-maker.... commercial cleaning probably is not even a slow lane way to get to the top.

By the way.... she dialed for roughly 6 hours per day and usually got 3 meetings set up per day.
 

Crexty

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Wow. Thanks for the input.

I agree that commercial cleaning is hard to get into, but I don't see eye to eye with you on business.

There is millions of square feet of commercial property in just one small city. 54% of companies will fire their current cleaning company due to quality issues.

The thing is I am actually adding value to the serivce. I'm not just providing "Over the moon" cleaning. My company has many features that nobody else is doing in my city (too my extensive knowledge) that allow the owners to get amazing cleaning without having to oversee , and a couple other things i'd rather not say here. I have gotten clients from cold calling and always get price objections. But when they see what I'm offering and I carefully go over it when them, they see how we add value and differ from most (if not all) companies.

I'm not having problems with my closing when I get in front of people, my rates for amount of closes to proposals/presentations is very good. I'm just not good with getting in their door (cold calling).

I owned a house cleaning service and sold it. I prefer this service to that honestly.

Thank you so much for that information, I do really appreciate the info
 
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Crexty

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Another thing to note, i'm not going for huge accounts. Huge accounts will want cheap prices = small margins.. key is to target smaller accounts here.

+ many smaller businesses pay for my service (Nearly immediately or when i tell them too) when I'm able to show them what we actually do (BESIDES the cleaning)
 

Doug Smith

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So you're saying try something along the lines of..

Good morning. This is ___________, who should I speak with regarding cleaning services?

and yeah I'll start tracking my ratios starting tomorrow.

I would honestly, ask the question first. There is no need to announce who you are to anyone but the decision maker. I ask the question, get a name, ask to be connected to them and when I get them on the phone I say who I am, and the reason for the call.

With cold calling it's very easy to create obstacles for yourself without realizing it. Don't tip your hand to the gatekeeper because they will shut you down now and on future cold calls. I'm not saying to be deceptive, just strategic to get to the decision maker.

I also highly recommend checking out Grant Cardone's cold calling videos on YouTube.
 

Crexty

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I would honestly, ask the question first. There is no need to announce who you are to anyone but the decision maker. I ask the question, get a name, ask to be connected to them and when I get them on the phone I say who I am, and the reason for the call.

With cold calling it's very easy to create obstacles for yourself without realizing it. Don't tip your hand to the gatekeeper because they will shut you down now and on future cold calls. I'm not saying to be deceptive, just strategic to get to the decision maker.

I also highly recommend checking out Grant Cardone's cold calling videos on YouTube.

But what do you do if that ask who I am? or what company i am with?

What if they ask me what is the call regarding?

I'll check them out
 
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jlwilliams

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It sounds like you are telling them what you do, not why they want you to do it. Office cleaning is pretty simple on its face and most places have someone doing it already, either a service or themselves. What's in it for them to hire you?
 

Crexty

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It sounds like you are telling them what you do, not why they want you to do it. Office cleaning is pretty simple on its face and most places have someone doing it already, either a service or themselves. What's in it for them to get pictures emailed to them weekly to monthly.
 
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jlwilliams

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Well not only do we provide amazing cleaning (which is essential in this business)..

We geo-track our employees to monitor clockin/clockouts to prevent them missing cleanings (believe it or not happens frequently in this industry), and to monitor time spent in location.

We offer monthly hygeine testing to monitor the bacterial growth in the facility..

We offer monthly inspections including pictures emailed to them weekly to monthly.

Excellent! Now, figure out how to lead with that.
 
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Crexty

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Excellent! Now, figure out how to lead with that.

But my problem is not selling that to decision makers..

My problem is getting to the decision makers...

gatekeepers never want to hear about what i have to offer, they just want a name and a message usually
 

jlwilliams

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But my problem is not selling that to decision makers..

My problem is getting to the decision makers...

gatekeepers never want to hear about what i have to offer, they just want a name and a message usually

Ahh, got it. If I had the magic key to bypass sales prevention managers (aka gate keepers) I'd hook you up, but that I don't got.

I try different times of day. Some owners are there all day, some early and some late. I try the same business at different times and AS MANY TIMES as it takes to get to them. Persistence is the closest thing I know to the magic key.
 

Crexty

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Ahh, got it. If I had the magic key to bypass sales prevention managers (aka gate keepers) I'd hook you up, but that I don't got.

I try different times of day. Some owners are there all day, some early and some late. I try the same business at different times and AS MANY TIMES as it takes to get to them. Persistence is the closest thing I know to the magic key.

Gotcha. I know this question might not be in your department, but what type of offices would you target (Other than medical facilities)..

I'm thinking lawyers, Insurance offices, call centers, chiropractors, massage spas, logistics, manufacture offices, contractor offices..
 

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