I Hate Cold Calling, But, Will It Really Help My Small Business?

Author: Brandt Stohr

Source: download



I hate cold-calling. In fact, there are a lot of horrible pains I would suffer before cold-calling someone. And I think that many small business owners feel the way I do.It's true that there are a number of means of small business marketing - direct mail, personal letters, advertising, networking, public relations, internet marketing - and alas, cold calling is one of them. When it comes to small business marketing - any business activity, really - at some point you just have to buckle down and do what you gotta' do if you want to succeed. But is cold-calling one of those small business marketing activities that small business owners simply have to suffer through in order to succeed in business?Some experts say, loudly and with vigor: "Yes!" Others say, "Absolutely not."The truth about the value of cold-calling as part of your small business marketing strategy is that it's somewhere in between, and it depends on your particular business. If, for example, you retail small-dollar items through a catalog and on the Internet, cold-calling your potential customers probably isn't cost-effective: if each customer might spend $10 with you, spending 20 minutes or more on the phone with that prospect doesn't make sense. If, on the other hand, you're a manufacturer of small-dollar items that you sell to retailers who may spend $1,000 or more buying your products in bulk, then picking up the phone and making a call may well be worth your while.If you decide to make cold-calling a part of your small business marketing strategy, there are a few things you can do to maximize the chances that your cold call will turn into a new client:Cold-calling small business marketing tip #1: Take initiative. When you ask the potential client at the other end of the line "When would be a good time to meet?" you open the door for them to say "Never!" Instead, ask "How would next Tuesday at 11:00 work for you to meet?"Cold-calling small business marketing tip #2: Approach the call with the idea that your goal is to help your prospective customer. Resist the urge to make the call about you - what you do, what you want. Instead, make the call about the prospect at the other end of the line. Ask the prospect about his needs and wants. Then suggest that you can help - and if he meets you next Tuesday at 11:00 you'll tell him how.Cold-calling small business marketing tip #3: Get to the point. The prospect at the other end of the line is going to feel, right off the bat, that you're wasting her time. So, by all means, be brief. Be clear and concise. Avoid saying "um."Cold-calling small business marketing tip #4: Ask questions. This tip reflects back to small business marketing tip #2, making the call about the prospect, not about you. Asking questions also helps steer you to the right information and will help you tailor your sales pitch - for you to deliver at the appointment.Cold-calling small business marketing tip #5: Save the sales pitch. Effective cold-calling isn't about selling your product or service. It's about getting an appointment so that you can sell your product or service in person.As with any small business marketing strategy, the best way to figure out if it works is to try it. Make enough cold calls so that you can accurately measure their effectiveness. Then compare that measurement to your other small business marketing tools.Brandt Stohr, The Small Business Marketing Genius has brought startup one man operations to billion dollar corporations by using creative marketing techniques rather then investors and capital. Brandt Stohr has been helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to get their small businesses exploding with sales without the use of expensive traditional marketing techniques. For more information and a free report on the ten deadly mistakes most small businesses are still making visit Brandt Stohr's site at http://www.smallbusinessmktng.com or http://www.brandtstohr.com

Are You Setting Up a New Small Business? How to Do Your Business Plan

Author: Kaye Dennan

Source: ezinearticles.com



Have you ever done a business plan before? It really isn't that difficult to find the information, but it can be time consuming especially when you are keen to get your business up and running.



But wouldn't you rather put in the time before setting up your business and know that you have the right information to start with. It will help you stay focused, know your good points and your not so good points, and allow you to address issues that need improving before you actually start operating.



WHAT IS YOUR PROPOSED BUSINESS GOING TO BE DOING?



Now is when you need to thinking about why you are starting your small business.



Is it because you have always had a mad desire to run your own business, because you have a burning need to prove to everyone how good you are at selling, fed up with being bossed around by a so-called manager who knows less than you do, or do you really want to seriously commit your whole being to running a successful business?



That is what you need to be thinking about at this stage?



HOW WELL DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR PROPOSED SMALL BUSINESS?



For example, if you want to have a cafe, do you understand all the health and food regulations that will apply to what you are setting up?



Do you realise that there will be strict council regulations to abide by? What is your view of the menu you want to have - is it just what you prefer to eat and are there thousands of customers out there who will want to eat the same thing?



If you prefer to drink strong coffee, do you believe that all your customers should have the same served to them?



Many questins need to be answered before you start your small business.



HAVE YOU HAD A SERIOUS CHAT WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT?



Before you set too many wheels in motion you need to have a chat to your accountant and see if you will have the funds for starting a new business.



I know of one lady who got so excited about buying her dream cafe. I, as a business broker representing the seller, asked her if she had the finance. Her answer was, "Yes, my husband just borrowed against the house to buy a semi-trailer so I should be able to get a loan." Alarm bells rang with me straight away because I knew where they lived and I thought 'semi trailers are not cheap so there is probably not enough equity left in the house to borrow more money' and that was exactly the situation.



Before going too far into the idea of setting up your business you need to know:



- If you have the funds available



- If it is going to earn enough for your needs



- If you do not have funds available are you going to be able to borrow any



- What entity you will use to buy the business



By addressing these questions at the beginning you won't get into trouble early in the piece. Financing a business is a big issue and needs to be very carefully thought out.



A business plan will help you analyse many areas of a new small business and you will be able to solve many of these situations before they arise and affect your new business.



By doing a business plan for your small business before you start spending money you will be well on the road to success. Your planning will be so much clearer and you will have more understanding of your stock, staff, markeing and finance. Many skills make up the success of a small business and having a business plan at the outset will help you start on the right footing.



Copyright (c) 2009 Kaye Dennan

Kaye Dennan has owned small businesses for over 25 years and has always attended to their marketing, and has attended many marketing courses. For more information on Small Business Marketing go to http://ebooksnowonline.com/small-business/marketing/ or read our blog at http://blog.ebooksnowonline.com/?cat=67