Cold Calling Strategies For Business Newcomers

In running a business most of us at some point have to do some cold calling. Just these two words "cold calling" can strike fear into the heart of even the most determined entrepreneur.

So how can we make cold calling easier? Here are some tips that might help:

1. Who are you going to ask for?

Try and find out the name of the person you want to speak to before you pick up the phone. There is nothing worse than saying "Can I speak to the manager?" Immediately the secretary knows that this might be sales call.

How do you do this? There are many websites and publications that actually tell you the size of the company and who the boss is. Your local chamber of commerce might be able to help with this regard. Attending networking meetings is another way to find out who the decision makers are.

2. Learn more about your target.

Get to know a little bit about the business before you call them. This way when you speak for the first time with somebody new you have some common ground.

3. Talk to your existing customer base

Talk to your customers and any business people you are friends and ask for help. Many will be happy to give you referrals and a few might even make the initial call for you!

4. Make friends with other sales people

Make friends with sales people and share information and contacts. This will work great as long you are not selling identical products and competing with each other! You can make the initial introduction call for your friend and they can do the same for you.

5. Make friends with other business owners

Especially with businesses that have a lot of sales people. This works on the basis "I scratch your back, you scratch mine." You can share referrals and help each other.

6. Practise makes perfect…

The more calls you do the better you will become. Reward yourself with a point every time someone says "no" to you. Once you hit ten points it is time to stop for a break.

7. I do not care how good you are...

Nobody can cold call for a full 8 hours without getting absolutely shattered. It is far better to spend say three hours every day cold calling than to dedicate one day a week to this task. Choose the time of the day you are at your best. Some people are great in the mornings whilst others perform better in the afternoons.

8. Buy a decent headset.

This will enable you to make notes whilst you are the phone, stop your neck getting sore and even allow you to carry on a little longer when you are on a roll. Work like a pro and get professional results.

9. Send a thank you note.

Building relationships with existing customers and people who did give you the time of day is what it is all about.

10. Change anxiety into something positive.

Learn to turn your feelings of dread into something more powerful. Actors can turn stage fright into something positive that makes them perform better on a live stage and so can you.

11. If all else fails…

Then employ someone else to do it for you. If your time is better spent converting people who have already agreed to meet you then pay a telemarketing company to make your cold calls.

If you can start enjoying talking to new people and stop taking "no" as a personal insult then you are on your way. Tell little jokes and one liners and have a laugh at the same time as trying to make that appointment. You are allowed to have fun when you are cold calling!

Conference Calling – Meeting The Needs Of The Modern Business

These days it seems business is becoming more and more complex and globalized. We are doing business with people everywhere in the US and in many instances, people in other countries. Due to the wide use of the Internet, the words “foreign country” doesn’t even seem to apply anymore.

The Internet has brought us all closer together in one aspect, but how does that affect investor relations, sales pitches, meetings, and group sessions? A lot of people now work closer with their computers than they do with co-workers and because of the Internet, many companies have people working for them from different parts of the world who have never even met each other.

Never before has conference calling been a more popular solution to the communication needs of companies and individuals all over the world. Conference calls are becoming increasingly popular as a method of bringing people together for meetings and discussions.

In this article, I will do my best to explain the advantages of conference calling for your business communication needs. Whether you are talking about meetings with investors, conference calls with your employees, making your sales presentation to groups, or simply needing several people in on the same discussion, conference calling is the most useful tool there is.

Chat rooms and message boards just don’t cut it. Message boards are impersonal, not real-time, and tend to get filled with useless information that isn’t directly related to your topic. Chat rooms are just that, chatty. You type in messages in real-time so it is better than a message board, but it again lacks the personal touches and insights conference calling provides.

Voice inflection, as many of you know is a great way to tell how someone feels about what you are saying. Simple typed messages do not give you that same advantage. When we hear our counterparts speak, we can tell how enthusiastic, positive, negative, or apathetic they are about what you say.

Conference calling is relational, while message boards and chat rooms are merely informational. That is the great difference in those options. You don’t make sales through information alone. You make sales by creating relationships.

You don’t encourage or motivate your employees or partners through information alone, you do it by creating relationships. You don’t instill confidence to your investors through providing just information, you do it by letting them hear how enthusiastic and positive you are about your proposal.

Only conference calling can provide the relationship solution when working with people who are too far away to physically attend meetings.

A simple search on your favorite search engine or just following the links in the footer of this article can provide you with many options for your specific conference calling needs.

What are some of the things that separate good conference calling services and bad ones? That is the question I get asked the most when discussing this topic. Here are some of the features you should look for;

High sound quality; The last thing you want to do is try to hold an important meeting through static, interrupted service, and low quality sound. The sound quality of your conference calls is far more important than the price or other features. If they cannot hear you speak clearly and you cannot hear them clearly, what is the use of a conference call at all?

Operators: While an operator assisted call is not necessary, having someone from your conference call service provider greeting each person as they are connected is a valuable service. They can tell the participants what to expect better than your own staff can, since they are familiar with the conference call software and service. In addition to that, the operator can and should monitor the entire call to make sure the sound quality maintains a high level of clarity. They will know what to do to fix it if a problem arises.

Recordings and Copies: If your conference call provider has the ability to record and provide playback of your conference call sessions, then you will want to take advantage of that feature. Some conference call providers can even provide it to you on CD afterwards. This is enormously helpful for you to be able to review your conference call sessions later. It may also serve as a record of agreements made during the conference call session.

Price: Last, but certainly not least, you have to consider price. You may be able to choose a conference call provider that gives you all of the features I mentioned above and more, or you may be on a tight budget and have to settle for less service. Whichever conference call service you use, do not sacrifice sound quality for price. That is the one feature you cannot afford to do without, no matter what the cost.

I hope this article on conference calling has been helpful to you. It was my goal to share with you what features I consider the most helpful to me in my business meetings.

Conference Calling In Business Today

In the world of today, organizations have the advantage of using talent from all parts of the world. Companies that are larger, which have a greater infrastructure, and which have made their presence felt globally are especially aware of the problems of having to manage a diversified workforce.

With the rise of globalization it has become possible for companies to draw their workers from all parts of the world. This is an essential feature of companies trying to develop a worldwide influence. As a result, different departments and divisions may have separate commands. But the need to send out a single message does arise from time to time, and this is where the conference call becomes so very important.

This view, of course, looks at only the global picture. If we were to reduce this scale and look at the working of different departments on a local level, we would find that the conference call method has made life a whole lot simpler for business houses. After all, not everyone can be present at a single venue at a given time. Hence, the conference call has continuously gained in popularity. Even today, with the rise of the Internet, and thereby, of web conferencing, the conference call continues to hold its own.

A conference call is of two basic types. In the first type, the person or party that is called is allowed to join in the discussion. In the second type, the person is allowed to listen to the call but he may not participate. The first type is very useful in having discussions with remote clients. The latter is commonly used in providing updates and imparting training to the workforce.

What are the benefits of using the conference call device? Well, it is very convenient in that people do not need to go elsewhere to attend a meeting. This saves energy and does not subtract from an employee's performance.

A conference call also helps in cutting costs. Every business house looks to increase its revenues while cutting down on its expenditure. A conference call helps one achieve this by reducing the travel costs that employees would have incurred otherwise.

And cutting costs does not only mean the money costs. A waste of time can mean the loss of a great business opportunity. The conference call helps speed up the business process. Moreover, it is possible to record the calls and use them for future reference.

The conference call has become an integral feature of professional life today. Doing business without it is close to unthinkable.

Business Conference Calling: Making Professional Meetings Easier

With businesses being so fast paced nowadays, it can be difficult for people to meet for a conference. A wonderful solution for this has been business conference calling. This is a calling tool that allows numerous people to talk simultaneously over the phone. This is a great way to let people who are traveling stay in touch with everything back at the office and to take part in conferences from far away. Company leaders love this method of speaking to all their employees at the same time, because of all the important time that it saves.

The Different Types of Business Conference Calling

The basic business conference calling is a means for getting a group of individuals together to discuss something without them having to physically meet. This is very helpful for companies that need to meet very often, but the meetings seem to interfere with getting work done quickly.

Advanced business conference calling is a calling system that involves the use of web cameras and the internet. This allows each person to be auditory and visually present at the meeting even thought they aren’t physically present.

Assisted business conference calling is the third main type of conference calling. This is where you have a meeting organizer who will open the meeting, introduce speakers at the meeting, and then close the meeting. This is someone that the business hires in order to oversee professional meetings.

Advantages of Business Conference Calling

Typically meetings require people to spend money to travel to the meeting and the travel time cuts into a business day. Also, if conference room availability is hard to come by, the meeting can be even more difficult to schedule at a time when everyone can attend. The great thing about business conference calling is that it is cost-effective and saves a great deal of time. No travel is necessary, which puts time and money back into the business. Then on top of that, no large room is required to have everyone a part of the meeting. Instead you can remain at your office chair and be a part of the meeting.

There are a number of other advantages to business conference calling, but one of the favorites is the use of technology. Since most companies have switched from using overheads to using programs on the computer, like power point, in order to give presentations. All the speakers need to do is email the power point out to the people attending the conference. With so much ease, every business will soon be making the switch to business conference calling.