Do you know what I don’t understand (don’t ask my wife this question about me because hers will turn into a three-day answer)? Why so many hardworking, dedicated, ambitious professional sales people pay for “qualified” leads. If you don’t want to keep your food down and would like to see what you ate for lunch yesterday, do some research on what organizations will charge you for access to this information.
In one gut-wrenching example, a company that I will not name in the confines of this article charges their customers $2,000 to schedule each appointment on their behalf, plus has the nerve to request a portion of the commission once the deal is closed. Imagine that! On what planet is that a good financial deal for the hardworking, day-to-day salesperson just trying to make it in a ridiculously competitive environment?
A better use of those funds, perhaps, would be to take all of the cash out of your wallet, place them in the yard, and let the birds use them for their nests. At least that way your dollars are helping to sustain life and provide a comfortable, nurturing atmosphere for Mama Bird to rear her young. But I digress.
What if I told you that, rather than paying for leads, you could get names for free? Not only that, but there is no limit to the amount of names you can get and that there is an endless supply of this information. Additionally, what if I told you that, in addition to an endless supply of free leads, not only are they qualified, but they would love to hear from you? Too good to be true, you ask?
Outside of recommending that I promptly walk to the nearest ER and get my head examined, you would probably tell me that I was nuts, that no such information source existed, and that, if one did, surely you would have found it by now because you have done Internet searches, spoken with colleagues, and gotten referrals on the matter. Am I right?
Think back to the last time you went out for a gallon of milk, a gallon of gas, or to get your weekly lottery ticket. Which store did you go to? Try to retrace your steps from the moment that you left your car to enter the store. Then again, from the time you left the store to get back into your car. Do you remember seeing anything in the entrance way of particular importance?
When I first got into business for myself, because I am a self-professed workaholic with a horrible allergy to sleep, I burned through my natural market ridiculously fast. I woke up one morning and was staring an empty, bone dry pipeline in the face wondering what my next step would be. I decided to burn off this nervous energy by completing my “Honey Do” list and making a run to the local grocery store.
I was amazed at how many different periodicals filled the racks in the entranceway of the supermarket. There were newspapers for elderly citizens, politically motivated publications, magazines for the health conscious among us, real estate listing compilations, and much more! To add the cherry to the top of this information super sundae, they were all free. I loaded up on everything I could get my hands on and raced home.
I now can envision a conversation between you and me going something like this:
Paul: “How, Dear Reader, can the producers of these periodicals remain in business when they give their product away for free? What kind of a lousy recipe for long-term financial success is that?”
You: “Were you born yesterday, man? They are able to give those magazines away for free because the individuals and companies featured pay for the advertising. You really are quite handsome by the way.”
Paul: “Oh, you mean that individuals and organizations pay for advertising within the pages of that magazine? Well, why on Earth would they do that?”
You: “Well, I’m no Einstein, but I suppose it would be because they want our business. They are hoping that we will see their ad, give them a call and, down the road, purchase their product or service.”
Egads! Has that proverbial light switch above your head gone on yet?
Every single day, whether you realize it or not, you are walking past completely free sources of information full of qualified professional leads of people that are dying for you to call them. They have, after all, paid for the pleasure, so let’s oblige them!
Even if you don’t see the direct connection between a realtor, lawyer, banker, or financial advisor and what you do, secondarily, I would bet dollars to donuts (what does that even mean, anyway?) that they are around your ideal client from time to time during the course of their day. Wouldn’t you like to build a relationship with them in the hopes that they can be a pipeline for future business?
Stop paying for pricey leads that were already selected for you by someone you don’t know. Rather, start collecting this information for free by going to places that you go to everyday anyway from people that are paying to have you find and call them. I have used this technique to grow my business and some of my best professional and personal contacts have arisen from cold calls that I made in this regard.
Want more information on how to take this simple technique and grow your business? Interested in cold calling the people on the pages of these periodicals but you don’t know how? Consider visiting www.coldcallcoach.net to learn more about my business and how I can help you grow your bottom line by not just working harder, but by working smarter!
I created my business, Cold Call Coach, LLC, in early 2015 due to the incredible demand by my associates asking what I was doing to schedule appointments at such a breakneck pace. Believe it or not, I have a 98.6% cold call success rate and can get in front of just about anybody I set my mind to. I want to share this ability with you and make you more effective at a skill that is one of the most difficult in the entire sales profession to master. Want to learn more? Visit my website at www.coldcallcoach.net or drop me a line at coldcallcoachllc@gmail.com”>.coldcallcoachllc@gmail.com or 414-313-8338. I can’t wait to speak with you!
