[quote=DTA]

Any services that are worth it?

[/quote]

ReferenceUSA is a free subscription through your library - gives the name of businesses and their owners (can't be on DNC list).  Found this to be much better than residential lists.

I have been using ReferenceUSA. I have almost a list of 10,000 business owners to call.

Have you had much luck? 

[quote=DTA]

I have been using ReferenceUSA. I have almost a list of 10,000 business owners to call.

Have you had much luck? 

[/quote]

Yeah, it works, doesn't solve the gatekeeper problem.  I mentioned on a prior thread that I was using a mail/call/mail, and getting quite a few "incomplete address" returns and mispelled names etc.  Nothing worse than misspelling the name of a local CEO in a mailer :(

Decided against, the mail first campaign.  More of a call/mail/call type program now. Also, owners/senior execs do change, so don't let that list sit stale toooo long.

Off to lunch.

Dials: 67

Contacts: 17

Prospects: 2

I am wondering if I should focus on dials or contacts. Like 250-300 dials a day or 30+ contacts a day as a goal?

I posted this a long time ago. Check out jigsaw.com. There you can “trade” one contact for another and/or just use it for a list of names at a company and call their main line for a dial-by-name directory.

I posted this a long time ago. Check out jigsaw.com. There you can “trade” one contact for another and/or just use it for a list of names at a company and call their main line for a dial-by-name directory.

Forgot to post my numbers before I left the office.

Dials: 155

Contacts: 32

Prospects: 5

Would have gotten in more dials, but bossman took me out for a beer.

DTA,

How did you finish out the day? i would focus on dials and be careful about the contacts. a lot of people will show interest just because they are too polite to say no. they are a waste of time and will drive you nuts.

one thing i had success on in the past:

schedule a seminar and cold call real hard on that seminar. have a topic that is powerful. get their interest level on the first call and mail a invite. then follow-up hard core and MAKE them want to come. this will create a good rapport and they are more open to further conversations.

just my experience. now i have read all these posts about cold calling on product, such as a muni bond, and it sounds great. doesnt seem to fit for me or the area i work. seminars work and there are ways to mix cold calling with seminars. not the instant gratification but a way to build long term relationships.

the goal is always to do enough to stay alive. if you can get a bond sale on the first call, great. If you have to do a song and dance before the prospect opens up, great. whatever works and you can build a book on.

Hacksaw, do you work for jigsaw.com?

Name kinda looks like it......

[quote=TheRook]

DTA,

How did you finish out the day? i would focus on dials and be careful about the contacts. a lot of people will show interest just because they are too polite to say no. they are a waste of time and will drive you nuts.

one thing i had success on in the past:

schedule a seminar and cold call real hard on that seminar. have a topic that is powerful. get their interest level on the first call and mail a invite. then follow-up hard core and MAKE them want to come. this will create a good rapport and they are more open to further conversations.

just my experience. now i have read all these posts about cold calling on product, such as a muni bond, and it sounds great. doesnt seem to fit for me or the area i work. seminars work and there are ways to mix cold calling with seminars. not the instant gratification but a way to build long term relationships.

the goal is always to do enough to stay alive. if you can get a bond sale on the first call, great. If you have to do a song and dance before the prospect opens up, great. whatever works and you can build a book on.

[/quote]

I finished out with:

Dials: 155

Contacts: 32

Prospects: 5

The contacts are people who let me pitch them. The prospects are the people who wanted more information after I pitched them and I set up a time the following week to call back and discuss the info I sent them.

Nope just use it. Jigsaw is a division of sales force if I am correct. You can exchange contacts if you want direct phone and email (though it is not a 1-1). Give them info and they give you credits to use to redeem for other contacts. You might be able to buy credits but I’m not sure. , I just typically get names for a business and call the main line and dial-by-name directory. Pretty good and up to date information (can see when the last time the contact was verified).
Oh and Hacksaw is in reference to my favorite wrestler from the 80s - Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

Not stellar, but I got caught up with a wholesaler.

Dials: 197

Contacts: 28

Prospects: 4

What happened to your contact ratio? It is back to a normal range?

I believe that it is back to a normal range. When I called on Monday, it was late afternoon so a lot more people were home. Lately, I have been calling in the morning and early afternoon so Its harder to get people to pick up the phone since most people are at work. 

Reading the 500 day war it says something about a total of 200k dials over the two year span. How many actual names and numbers does it take to call on? This is the only thing I was unsure about starting a good cold calling campaign. I am guessing you keep going through the same list until you land a client, get told to F off or just give up on calling it. Do you build a list of say 6000 and add to it as names are taken off? At 300 dials a day times 20 or so working days a month is 6000 names to call on.

Sorry DTA if you take this as a hijack. It wasn't meant to be.

I have a bunch of different lists. All with different parameters because I am in a smaller town. I go through the lists and mark off bad information, not interested, and mark prospects. Then when I get done, I go back through. I would say with caller ID you don’t want to be calling more than once a month (or two). Also remember you can never have too many good leads.

[quote=N.D.]

Reading the 500 day war it says something about a total of 200k dials over the two year span. How many actual names and numbers does it take to call on? This is the only thing I was unsure about starting a good cold calling campaign. I am guessing you keep going through the same list until you land a client, get told to F off or just give up on calling it. Do you build a list of say 6000 and add to it as names are taken off? At 300 dials a day times 20 or so working days a month is 6000 names to call on.

Sorry DTA if you take this as a hijack. It wasn't meant to be.

[/quote]

N.D., I definitely do not take this as a hijack since I have been wondering the exact same thing. I am thinking that I will focus on actual prospects that want me to send information and want me to call after they receive my info. I figure 5 a day which which is 110 a month since I am going to work every other saturday. This equates to 1320 actual prospects a year. The 500 day war says that all those dials should ultimately net 2500 prospects. I figure a little over 2 years (since I know I will probably take a day off here and there. Hey, I live in a resort town.) will leave me with around 2600 prospects. 

Maybe I'm wrong...

I seriously need to get the number of dials up, but I keep getting pulled out of my office. I was going to stay later, but my boss told me to go and enjoy the weekend. I told him I would be in tomorrow. He laughed and said he somehow already knew that.  At least my number of prospects are average.

Dials: 77

Contacts: 18

Prospects: 5

For the week:

Dials: 494

Contacts: 91

Prospects: 19 (6 less than my goal, but I will come in tomorrow to make up for last Monday.)

Should have never took yesterday off. I need a kick in the pants!