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90 Day Cold Calling Challenge

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Crazy GG

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Update

So I have had a bit of time to reflect on my cold calling challenge and journey itself.

Results

Even though I didn't achieve my main goal which was to have a sustainable business at the end of 3 months, I still achieve goals #1 and #2 which was mostly about taking important action every day.

I feel like my method and execution wasn't the best but I got over stage 1 which holds most people back for most of their lives - fear.

As for the results themselves - even though I got only 1 client, it was the first client ever from cold calling. Also, in total I managed to send out 5 proposals from which I am still awaiting 1 response.

I also received my first ever referral (it was from that 1 cold calling client) and I am also awaiting his response for a proposal.

Mistakes

One mistake I made in the beginning was not being direct enough. I thought if I will be speaking more and general then it will sound less like a cold call which obviously didn't produce many results.

Another mistake was focusing too much on just completing the task, not doing it well. I think it's important to not be a perfectionist but I was too focused on just making the call rather than actually making a GOOD call (and trying to close). Part of it was that I didn't believe in myself.

Future

In the next following weeks, I will test a bit different approach.

@Stargazer has suggested approaching accountants and offering them a free site which I will do.

I will also begin my prospecting by Facebook outreach (warm intro + qualifying the leads since if they have a good FB page they probably care about their online presence) and follow up with a call.

Big thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. I really think my journey has just started.

I might make another execution thread in a while but for now I will disappear into the trenches and try to make something happen.

P.S. Is anyone looking for an accountability partner?
 
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whiz

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Listened to the Nov.16 phone calls (maybe there's more recent ones I missed?).

Why do you call and then immediately give them control? You pick up and then say "I assume you're busy, can I call you back later?"

Don't do that - just go balls to the wall and lead with value.

Also, they don't care that you're a "young entrepreneur", and in fact, this probably hurts you. It's really vague and it says nothing about why you're on the phone.

There's a lot of fat in the phone calls - just trim the fat. These biz owners get 19283 calls per week and they can automatically tell which ones are B.S. (99.999% of them).

The only reason they pick up the damn phone is the .001% chance that this one might actually have something of value. Make them believe...

The phone call should waste no time. Remain in control and get through these 4 points:

1. This is who I am (I help businesses make more $ by [xyz])
2. This is what I can do for you (I can give you [x] more leads)
3. This is why it'll benefit you (You'll make [x] more sales or get [y] more clients per month)
4. Here's the next step (In person meeting Friday at 2 PM)

Also, you should have a really valuable, well-thought-out product that's tested and proven (quantifiably). Otherwise you might make a sale, but you won't keep the client for too long.

You have to provide results.

On the bright side, you are deadening your phone nerves. I am still terrified of the phone sometimes.

But it's ALOT easier when you have a solid product and you're confident in yourself. Everything becomes natural and you don't feel "salesy". You feel like you're actually calling to help. It's like it's your duty at that point.

edit:

Also... just cut to the chase and do it quickly.

I see that you stop a lot and "ask for their permission" to continue. It comes across as lacking confidence. Just go go go, don't wait for them to give you the green light.

Just go balls deep - you shouldn't care if they want you to continue or not - you have VALUE and you HAVE to let them know.

So just answer the phone and hit them with a 30 round clip of value before they can say no...
 
Last edited:

whiz

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Another edit:

Don't say your product can "potentially help" - tell them specifics like "generates 5 more leads per week, ranks businesses to the top of google"... etc.

"Differentiating businesses by making businesses stand out" is a weak value prop. The sentence really doesn't say anything or tell me what you're selling.

It would be much better to just say "We offer the best social media branding system in California. Most clients make back $500 for every $100 they spend with us. We do the first month for free because 97% of our customers sign on anyway..."

Something like that... it just has to be stunning and like "damn, OK... tell me more..."

The only thing a biz owner cares about is cold hard numbers and how its gonna make their business bigger and get more $ coming in. They want proof and 100% confident assurance

Get on the phone, throw a monster haymaker of value, make them go to the next step (skype meeting, in-person, whatever)
 

whiz

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Another thing I forgot to say:

When you tell them what you do...

Make it niche specific.

Don't say "I help businesses get more clients"

Say "I help florists get more wedding jobs"

Don't say "I help businesses get more clients"

Say "I help dentists get new patients to walk through their doors"

Don't say "I help businesses get more clients"

Say "I help mechanics get more cars in the shop"

Or in your case with the social media or branding or whatever you're doing, say "I help local florists get more jobs through social media campaigns. Especially more weddings"

That will floor them and their ears will automatically open up. They don't care about "I help businesses get more clients"
 
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Kid

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@Crazy GG , that was hell of a journey (in positive sense)

Instead of running all over the place you kept your discipline and stayed on course.
I think this ,itself, is more valuable then X number of prospects at the end of journey.
 

Crazy GG

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Thanks for all the tips - I appreciate the time you put into this.

I wanted to ask you more about 2 specific points...

Another edit:

Don't say your product can "potentially help" - tell them specifics like "generates 5 more leads per week, ranks businesses to the top of google"... etc.

"Differentiating businesses by making businesses stand out" is a weak value prop. The sentence really doesn't say anything or tell me what you're selling.

It would be much better to just say "We offer the best social media branding system in California. Most clients make back $500 for every $100 they spend with us. We do the first month for free because 97% of our customers sign on anyway..."

I know what you are saying but on the flipside if I say to them "I can get you on the top of google" they have heard that pitch 100x times and they know I cannot guarantee them that. Same with getting their business 10 new jobs / month - I cannot really guarantee them that and since most of them have been burned before they need someone who they can trust.

For instance, if I say I can double their business in the next year, that's a huge value-proposition but that will immediately ring their alarm bells, so I have to be realistic.

At the same time, nothing ever is guaranteed in life, so I guess you just have to be bold enough to say you are going to do something and then finding ways on how to do it.

You are right - my product is not that tested ( I don't have many testimonials) so I am not that confident. But I have some so I should have confidence.

But I like your advice about being more specific.

Another edit:

Why do you call and then immediately give them control? You pick up and then say "I assume you're busy, can I call you back later?"

I see that you stop a lot and "ask for their permission" to continue. It comes across as lacking confidence. Just go go go, don't wait for them to give you the green light.

Just go balls deep - you shouldn't care if they want you to continue or not - you have VALUE and you HAVE to let them know.

A lot of times when I call them, they are working so they don't have my full attention so I try to get them to a time where I can have their full attention.

Also, I feel like if I ask for permission, that shows social calibration and they are more likely to listen and I am less likely to sound like a sales person. If I just go and fire away I might lose them - I guess that'a fear I have.

Would be interested to find out your thoughts about this,

Thanks
 

whiz

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Thanks for all the tips - I appreciate the time you put into this.

I wanted to ask you more about 2 specific points...



I know what you are saying but on the flipside if I say to them "I can get you on the top of google" they have heard that pitch 100x times and they know I cannot guarantee them that. Same with getting their business 10 new jobs / month - I cannot really guarantee them that and since most of them have been burned before they need someone who they can trust.

For instance, if I say I can double their business in the next year, that's a huge value-proposition but that will immediately ring their alarm bells, so I have to be realistic.

At the same time, nothing ever is guaranteed in life, so I guess you just have to be bold enough to say you are going to do something and then finding ways on how to do it.

You are right - my product is not that tested ( I don't have many testimonials) so I am not that confident. But I have some so I should have confidence.

But I like your advice about being more specific.



A lot of times when I call them, they are working so they don't have my full attention so I try to get them to a time where I can have their full attention.

Also, I feel like if I ask for permission, that shows social calibration and they are more likely to listen and I am less likely to sound like a sales person. If I just go and fire away I might lose them - I guess that'a fear I have.

Would be interested to find out your thoughts about this,

Thanks

In regards to the "asking for permission", I don't like to. I like to just talk away.

In regards to promises, just be realistic and don't make insane promises you can't keep.

They don't want insane promises anyway - it's usually too good to be true.

You might not be able to guarantee results but you CAN guarantee their money back.

Or you can give them a free week, or first month or something, depending on your service.

With the whole churn-and-burn bad marketing plague, yeah, they've probably been burned before.

So don't put the risk on them - take it off them. YOU take the risk.

"blahblah I'm so confident I'll do a free week, then we'll see if you like the results. No obligation blahblah"

Make a great product and give them an offer they can't refuse.
 
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Crazy GG

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Haven't been here in a while but wanted to post an update.

For the last 6 months I have been doing a lot more networking and a lot less cold calling. From June 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 I closed in total € 18,101 business with an actual € 11,483 coming into my company's bank account!

Still a long way to go but remembering where I was last year it feels a great place to be. Your messages mean a lot
 

WillHurtDontCare

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Haven't been here in a while but wanted to post an update.

For the last 6 months I have been doing a lot more networking and a lot less cold calling from June 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 I closed in total € 18,101 business with an actual € 11,483 coming into my company's bank account!

That's great man! Keep it up.
 

MaxKhalus

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Update

So I have had a bit of time to reflect on my cold calling challenge and journey itself.

Results

Even though I didn't achieve my main goal which was to have a sustainable business at the end of 3 months, I still achieve goals #1 and #2 which was mostly about taking important action every day.

I feel like my method and execution wasn't the best but I got over stage 1 which holds most people back for most of their lives - fear.

As for the results themselves - even though I got only 1 client, it was the first client ever from cold calling. Also, in total I managed to send out 5 proposals from which I am still awaiting 1 response.

I also received my first ever referral (it was from that 1 cold calling client) and I am also awaiting his response for a proposal.

Mistakes

One mistake I made in the beginning was not being direct enough. I thought if I will be speaking more and general then it will sound less like a cold call which obviously didn't produce many results.

Another mistake was focusing too much on just completing the task, not doing it well. I think it's important to not be a perfectionist but I was too focused on just making the call rather than actually making a GOOD call (and trying to close). Part of it was that I didn't believe in myself.

Future

In the next following weeks, I will test a bit different approach.

@Stargazer has suggested approaching accountants and offering them a free site which I will do.

I will also begin my prospecting by Facebook outreach (warm intro + qualifying the leads since if they have a good FB page they probably care about their online presence) and follow up with a call.

Big thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. I really think my journey has just started.

I might make another execution thread in a while but for now I will disappear into the trenches and try to make something happen.

P.S. Is anyone looking for an accountability partner?
thx for sharing your mistakes. that's the first thing we need to look to get the best results
 
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MaxKhalus

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Another thing I forgot to say:

When you tell them what you do...

Make it niche specific.

Don't say "I help businesses get more clients"

Say "I help florists get more wedding jobs"

Don't say "I help businesses get more clients"

Say "I help dentists get new patients to walk through their doors"

Don't say "I help businesses get more clients"

Say "I help mechanics get more cars in the shop"

Or in your case with the social media or branding or whatever you're doing, say "I help local florists get more jobs through social media campaigns. Especially more weddings"

That will floor them and their ears will automatically open up. They don't care about "I help businesses get more clients"
is there a way to replace "help" and "get" for something specific? or more compelling.
Don't just get more sales, explode in revenue, for example.
 

Josemaría Tosso

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[QUOTE = "Crazy GG, publicación: 851481, miembro: 55512"]
No he estado aquí por un tiempo pero quería publicar una actualización.

Durante los últimos 6 meses, he estado haciendo muchas más redes y llamadas menos frías. ¡Desde el 1 de junio de 2019 hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2019, cerré un total de negocios de € 18,101 con un ingreso real de € 11,483 en la cuenta bancaria de mi empresa!

Todavía queda un largo camino por recorrer, pero recordar dónde estuve el año pasado es un gran lugar para estar. Tus mensajes significan mucho
[/CITAR]
Amazing man! you inspire me, cheers
 

Odysseus M Jones

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Odysseus M Jones

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hahaha no inspired me to start with cold calling, today a must start makin 250 dials per day.
pd: sorry my english, im from Argentina
No worries, here's another thread for inspiration if you haven't seen it yet

 
D

Deleted68316

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Haven't been here in a while but wanted to post an update.

For the last 6 months I have been doing a lot more networking and a lot less cold calling. From June 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 I closed in total € 18,101 business with an actual € 11,483 coming into my company's bank account!

Still a long way to go but remembering where I was last year it feels a great place to be. Your messages mean a lot
that's amazing man.
 
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DW85014

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Hello everyone!

I will be making a 90 Day Cold Calling challenge where I will call local businesses for 3 months straight on working days.

With this, I hope to change my life so stakes are high...

I will be posting updates at the end of each day.

P.S.This is inspired by @Vilox legendary post about cold calling and @Fox original webdesign thread. You both guys are legends.


A bit of background
So I started with my business about a year ago before my last year at university.

I messed around with selling websites and Facebook advertising to local businesses.

Even though I have had a bit of success so far (a few clients here and there), it's no where near being a sustainable business and right now I am actually where I started a year ago - without any clients.

Having thought about it a while, I realized that the reason I am not successful is that I am not prospecting consistently...

I might call businesses for a week and then the next two weeks I waste on following up on dead leads and learning how to run a better offer on Facebook even though I don't have any clients.

In my heart I know that I should be reaching out to new businesses but as you all know, our mind is fantastic at procrastinating and making excuses.

No more - I have had enough.

My goals
  1. Prove myself that I am worthy of calling myself an entrepreneur by doing something that actually matters.
  2. Develop a routing of prospecting consistently.
  3. Have a sustainable business at the end of 90 days.
If I can achieve these 3 goals, I will have changed my life. That's the goal.


Challenge Details

  • I will be selling websites.
  • I will call a minimum of 20 new businesses every day (100/week) no matter how many follow up calls I need to do.
    • That's a minimum of 1200 new businesses contacted at the end of 90 days
  • I give myself 3 days maximum in which, if for some reason I cannot do the daily calls, I can compensate the next day by calling 40 businesses and the challenge is still on.

Okay, that's it for now.

See you all this upcoming Monday!
Curious how many people are still cold-calling regularly today. I'm curious if cold-emailing /Linkedin is more effective (ditching /ducking gatekeepers0?
 

cikatomo

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Not sure where this conversations is supposed to go. Just tell them what you're about, but frame it in a way that's beneficial to them. Something along the lines of:

I help companies acquire and retain customers through the Internet vs. I build websites

Good job on keeping the streak going!
And after I get 2 plumbers to hire me I would change to: Plumbers usually hire me to help them get more customers etc etc..
 

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