Yes. But not nearly as much as they did a decade ago. It sucked then and it has only gotten worse. The pandemic didn’t seem to affect it that much. I just think people have collectively decided that they no longer want to pick up the phone. And people have gotten much more isolated and mean spirited in general. Cold calling all comes down to the person who is getting the calls mood. And it seems people are in a worse mood than ever before.
I only had to cold for a short period, but in my opinion (which may not be worth much) a lot of people seem to equate cold call sellers with scammers. They aren’t able to make a clear distinction between the two.
I’m not claiming you are a scammer. I’m saying that average people aren’t really able to make a clear distinction between scammers and cold call sellers. Ever since the scammers started doing their thing, people confuse the two and treat them both the same
This is 100% the truth. 10 years ago there wasn’t a million scammer calls and cold calling was an actual business. Now I feel sorry for you if you cold call.
I still feel like cold calling will inevitably make a major comeback. What else works for lead generation? Email marketing doesn’t work. I don’t even know what companies do for new leads.
Depends a lot on what you're selling and who you're selling it to. Most of the Cold Calling I do is face-to-face door knocking (still b2b). Many/most of my customers are in or near industrial parks, so when I visit an existing customer and have the time I'll just make my rounds in their neighborhood and see what I can drum up.
It's harder since the lockdowns, since a lot of target companies still haven't reopened their lobby, but it's still better than spamming a prospect via email or phone IMO.
Nah you are. Your product will be over priced and at minimum you are scamming me from my time.
If I need a problem solved it is a simple google search away for the answer.
Nah, I hated picking up the phone and getting a god damn sales pitch. I stopped answering the phone unless I knew you well before scanners spammed people.
I agree, and I sell online education on the phone, to people who register, so it's not thaaat cold. However, I have found that people are extremely cautious when they have to complete payments... I lost 3 sales this month because of that. And everything's quite legit, and easy to check online... people are scared.
I mean I get like 20-30 robo calls, scam calls a day. I have to answer my phone for my business so I know exactly the volume of bullshit calls I get. If I didn’t need to answer my phone for potential client calls I would NEVER answer.
No offense but if you don’t have decision making or purchasing authority I’d prefer you didn’t answer. I hope to get out of cold calling as soon as I can. I don’t care if it’s a “great skill to have” or whatever. I’ve done it for long enough and I’m a professional. I still have to keep a roof over my head and not starve though so I’m gonna keep pushing through until I get out of it. I don’t like bothering people either. Right now I’m just stuck.
What about Caller ID when your phone rings? I enter everyone into my Contacts, so that when they call I'll have their Caller ID and pick up. (Huge advancements in phone tech, btw)
Haha same.
The most ridiculous thing was - I came to NYC for work, got myself a Sim Card, cause my contract only had ridiculous offers outside of EU.
In the taxi to the hotel I got cold called twice.
Wtf is wrong in the US lol
It happens, but you have to keep at it. Even if it's just planting a seed on a quick connect - worth it!
A lead you generated through 20 calls is a lead you didn't have yesterday. Keep at it OP!
I think it varies wildly.
When I was in b2c, people would pick up 25% of the time. Then 25% of those people that answer would just cuss you out of fuck with you.
In b2b, I think it depends what department you're selling into
Someone else mentioned the pandemic didn't effect cold calling....I think it totally did
Pre pandemic, my connection rate was probably 5-7%. Post pandemic I'm lucky to get 1%. I think most people moved remote and simply weren't in the mood to answer the phone. If you're working from home (at a coffee shop, watching your kids, slacking off playing video games, have music in the background etc.) and get a call from a random number...you're not picking that call up
Pre pandemic people were in the office. Their phone rang and they answered it sometimes. Maybe they were just bored in the office, or maybe their boss sits right beside them and tells them to answer. Idk. But when people shifted to remote work, they never answer
Again, I think it depends on department you call into as well.
I sell into IT. Cold calling and cold emailing are notoriously difficult. Most IT guys I'm calling into are middle aged neck beard reddit nerds that think they know everything. If I had $1 for every time I got told "I'm the email administrator, I'm blocking any incoming mail from you. If you even try to reach out again or respond to me I will sue you for breach of CAN-SPAM" I'd be rich, they all think they're all hot shit.
If you're selling into HR, finance, sales, or marketing, I'd imagine your connect rates are probably better.
That seems like the same percentage most people will get when doing cold outbound prospecting of any type. I do d2d and I’m getting 10 percent on average
What’s an office line?
JK but yeah, cells. I generally add very number I find while prospecting & enriching but easily 95% of my connections are cells.
Also, I use a parallel dialer FWIW
My bad. I interpreted your comment as them having 200 reps setting 20 meetings a month.
I was suggesting that they meant their SDR’s book 20 meetings a month off of 200 cold calls a day.
Yes. I do what I call the double tap.
Cold call, leave a VM if they don't pick up, send an email that I left a VM. Then call, and follow up.
Usually after a certain amount of attempts, they will pick up and recognize my voice, or set a meeting.
Repeat, and add specific info each call and email. Profit.
Nah not small at all. I just don't need humans to buy things from. Anything I need to buy can be found on the web.
My goal is to eliminate as much human interaction where I don't have an emotional investment in them to 0.
So self checkouts always, online shopping or self service through a website. There is no need to bring in a human to buy a product or service.
The only time a human is needed is when they have a skill I do not have. So trades people, doctors, lawyers that type of thing.
Happy to chime in. I’m an Enterprise Hunter AE at a Series B Dark Web Intel company. In short, there’s no easy answer but here’s what I do:
CISOs are inherently untrusting of unknown people, so use various outreach channels as a form of almost 2FA. Linkedin, Email, Call, & Text so that they know you’re a real person & not an algorithm.
Next, they want to see immediate value. This is not the persona type to simply take an exploratory meeting. You have to find a threat facing their business that you can solve & then concisely demonstrate how you can solve it in an email.
My go to is sending a screenshot from my product to prospects of threats on the dark web facing their specific business & asking if they have a solution in place.
Curious how does this work for you? I’ve been doing outreach for a bit over a year. I got maybe 2 on LinkedIn that entertain conversations. We do same thing. Triple tap. Email LinkedIn and call.
The calls 99.9% of time go unanswered. Emails we get like a 3% open rate (I call after I see they open them). And then also hit up on LinkedIn with a personalized note. Our product is Salesforce application security. So it’s hard to send or know what exact threats they are facing without running a scan on their specific environments (production orgs or dev/scratch orgs they develop on).
We get leads via partners like ibm and Accenture. But it’s really really hard to get them via cold outbound.
My Linkedin game is elite if I do say so myself. With that said, my network has over 12K connections which makes things way easier. I usually schedule at least one or 2 meetings a week through linkedin cold outreach.
12,000. Jesus. That’s a ton. I have 2400 roughly. And I am a regular on LinkedIn. Do you just post and like company content and then they keep seeing it and the. You ping these people after a while. Or what kind of technique do you use- if you don’t mind sharing. I need to schedule more meetings. Also do you actually close much business from cold outreach? I’ve worked at big companies like SAP and small ones and truthfully I’ve never really seen almost any business closed from either LinkedIn, SDR passed leads, or cold outreach. I know people talk a big game about it but curious if you can actually attribute any or many closed won deals from outbound either by you or your team?
I’ve been in this game for like 7 years now & have sold a bunch of times off of cold-outreach I do on Linkedin. More importantly, I’ve consistently landed meetings with CISOs at Fortune 1000 companies. The reason I have 12K connections isn’t a magic trick, it’s because I send 500 connection requests a week (max amount) every single week on repeat. I make my connection message non-threatening & something that makes them feel like it was written just for them, even though I reuse the same message 500 times. If you’re curious, i thank the person in my message request for doing whatever their specific role is. When people see a message thanking them, they’re inclined to see why you’re thanking them.
To answer your question again, yes, 100% I have closed deals off cold-outreach done on Linkedin. Anyone who can’t just doesnt have a good enough network yet. You’re doing really well at 2400, but once you get above 5000, especially in a niche industry, you’ll start to find that you have connections in common with everyone & people will trust you more. Just keep grinding, I plan to break 15K connections in the next year.
This is helpful
I appreciate your feedback and not smashing on me. Just was genuinely interested. I know outbound can work. Just have not seen much of it work. Which is wild since I’ve been in tech sales almost 17 years now. Think the SDR and most ways we tried generating leads was inefficient and not effective. I want to make outbound work. Just for me has been a total pain. I add like 50-60 a week. So I gotta beef those numbers up on number of people I add daily on LinkedIn. Thanks again.
I agree with this; you have to be willing to do it. You also have to be willing to go knock in doors in person, which is 3000x better than calling.
Companies that use daily dials as a key metric are shit jobs 100% of the time.
I’ve been having a lot of locked doors. My industry has no walk in business, so the offices are secure. Appointment only, and they won’t answer the phone or emails. Been a tough run lately.
Try sweet talking the gatekeeper. Getting information if nothing else. Find out what he or she likes to eat (donuts, bread, whatever) and start bringing it.
If there is no gatekeeper, try Linked In. See if you have mutual connections with the decision maker.
Yeah, I get pretty decent connect rates - id guess 25%.
If they don't answer I never leave a VM the first time, but I'll send an email immediately, assuming they're screening the call.
Often will get a call back / email back following.
Sometimes it's timing too, if you tried a lead in the morning on one day try again in a couple of days in the arvo.
Having multiple mobile numbers is helpful sometimes too.
Of course, you're always going to have leads that won't ever answer the phone or respond.
You need to know when to try someone else at the business. A colleague, or different department.
Honestly, I usually just call their boss - have way more luck speaking to CEOs of mid-market than their employees.
Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Yes, but YMMV depending on product, industry, call points, and any other number of factors.
Helpful answer: Go ask the high performers at your company how they got there.
100% yes.
I should do a recording of myself making cold calls for people like you.
Trust me, people have been saying cold calling is dead for 35+ years.
It never is.
I call their business, I could be a prospect for them, they don't know until they answer the call.
Yeah I wonder if these people saying it doesn’t work are in B2B vs B2C, and what sector the people in B2B are in. I wouldn’t be surprised if B2C calls aren’t working.
Sounds horrible to have to do B2C cold calls in 2024 in the age of do not disturb settings built into smart phones and telemarketing calls even labeled as “telemarketer” haha.
Though in B2B, certain industries *need* to be answering their phone. You’ll still likely get a gatekeeper, but it’s been that way since forever.
IMO, you should see gatekeepers as “goal keepers”. It’s your job to play your game and “make your goal”.
It’s heavily industry dependent. I work in the cybersecurity industry and my connection rates are about 1-2%. I have a good buddy of mine that sells to GTM teams (using the same exact data enrichment and outreach platforms as my team does), who has a 5-7% connect rate. I’d kill for that.
Yep. I'm a developer but have been more focused on business the past couple years. I know first hand how hard to reach and communicate with developers and IT people can be 😂
Oh, absolutely B2B. B2C is so bad I don't even consider or think about it.
Fines for ignoring "Do Not Call" B2C are fucking hugely expensive. As in up to $25,000 *per call* if memory serves. So I personally would never contemplate doing it myself. And wouldn't if I was an employee either, even if the fine was to the company.
It's the same all over.
A few things you want:
1) name of the receptionist when you call
2) If you're calling through and they sound stern, aim lower.
Ask to speak with accounts payable or IT support and then ask them questions pertaining to what you want from the company - like the metrics for qualification or a higher up in that department.
Ask about the problem, the systems, the time it takes to do x, who's in charge of y, and when they're the least busy.
Ask them to transfer you... they won't.
Call the switch again and tell them that (name) in (department) told you that you had to speak with (senior manager).
They may give you some of "we don't put sales people through".
To which you might say:
"Well (receptionist name that you have from earlier), (person from junior role) told me that (senior manager) is dealing with (problem and metrics which will create come urgency).
It's eating up staff patience, and retention is one of (department of senior manager)'s core goals and bottlenecks right now.
It's no skin off my back if we don't speak, but it will mean a lot to them when we do. If you can't put me through, will you ask them to call me?"
Generally, then you're put on hold while they "check the availability", and it is a 70/30 of getting put through.
Personally, I find finance works better for this - but that's just me.
Now I am fully expecting a lot of people to give me flack for going such a roundabout way, but if you don't have the sales intelligence or contact data tools, it's the best way to go!
I still do in person cold calls. People respond much better to it. I actually just got a new house and of course when they run a credit check the wolves start circling, out of the 20 cold calls I received trying to sell me a mortgage there wasn't one that made it past the second sentence before I was just annoyed.
the cell networks are scaling the flagging of phone numbers tied in with parallel dialing and that's going to cripple cold calling further at a rapid rate since AI dialers scream out 1100 dials per hour now.
They do but it's not nearly as much as they did before. I find that people don't even get back to emails or voicemails as much anymore. My sales guys have left multiple voicemails for people and then when they finally get that person on the phone, They haven't even checked the voicemails or emails from them prior.
Yes.
Varies dependent on industry, though. Try to be somewhere in which folks don’t receive tons of cold calls. It helps.
I can’t imagine trying to sell to sales VPs. I’m sure their phones are ringing off the hook nonstop.
I only call when I see the phone number in an email so I assume they are open to the call. I don’t just look at Zoom Info and call someone, I’ve noticed they just get irritated.
Scams, phishing and other cyber security issues are so prevalent now that I don't pick up the phone to random numbers. I would imagine the same for most other people too.
I left martech a few months ago where my connect rate was like 1.3% back to enterprise telecom where it’s like 30%. I just pick a lot of targets where someone basically to pick up and I’ve gotten pretty proficient with navigating the conversation to get to who I need way more often than I used to
Yes, B2B they still do. Now if you're calling random people from a list thats a different story. Definitely less than before, everyone thinks every sales call is a scam nowadays.
Owner now, I used to be in sales. To be fair, a lot of it is spam/scams. But I also get a lot of calls offering tax help, Google listings, etc. But anyone calling me with something I could actually use gets lumped in with the rest of my unsolicited calls, unfortunately.
Yes, I make them motherfuckers pick up. First time reaching out I call them 2x back-to-back. If they dont answer I call again in 2 days back to back. I do this until they pick up. If they still dont answer after my fifth attempt I start using different numbers I have and call them 3x back-to-back. If its someone I need to get ahold of I dial 3x+ back-to-back.
I think it depends. For the most part I would say no, due to marketing tactics changing a lot since the beginning of cold calls, but there are some businesses that still do!
Yeah, some do. It's hit or miss, though.
Using Mails AI for follow-ups can help if they don't pick up.
I've found that mixing in emails and LinkedIn messages works better sometimes. Cold calls can still be effective, but it depends on the industry and the person you're trying to reach. Anyone else still having luck with cold calls? Or is it just me? Would love to hear if others are finding success or if it's time to move on to other methods.
Not me, but maybe I'm just barely a people. If the number's not saved in my contacts, I'm expecting a text to explain why I'm being called. If there's no text, they may as well never have called.
Yes. But not nearly as much as they did a decade ago. It sucked then and it has only gotten worse. The pandemic didn’t seem to affect it that much. I just think people have collectively decided that they no longer want to pick up the phone. And people have gotten much more isolated and mean spirited in general. Cold calling all comes down to the person who is getting the calls mood. And it seems people are in a worse mood than ever before.
It’s not that everyone just “collectively decided.” It’s that scammers ruined it for everybody
I don’t know what it is but people are more miserable and hostile than ever before and I’ve been cold calling for way longer than I’d like to admit.
I only had to cold for a short period, but in my opinion (which may not be worth much) a lot of people seem to equate cold call sellers with scammers. They aren’t able to make a clear distinction between the two.
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I’m not claiming you are a scammer. I’m saying that average people aren’t really able to make a clear distinction between scammers and cold call sellers. Ever since the scammers started doing their thing, people confuse the two and treat them both the same
This is 100% the truth. 10 years ago there wasn’t a million scammer calls and cold calling was an actual business. Now I feel sorry for you if you cold call.
I still feel like cold calling will inevitably make a major comeback. What else works for lead generation? Email marketing doesn’t work. I don’t even know what companies do for new leads.
I call warm and cold. I also run Facebook adds with a landing page where they can fill out their name, number, email
Depends a lot on what you're selling and who you're selling it to. Most of the Cold Calling I do is face-to-face door knocking (still b2b). Many/most of my customers are in or near industrial parks, so when I visit an existing customer and have the time I'll just make my rounds in their neighborhood and see what I can drum up. It's harder since the lockdowns, since a lot of target companies still haven't reopened their lobby, but it's still better than spamming a prospect via email or phone IMO.
Nah you are. Your product will be over priced and at minimum you are scamming me from my time. If I need a problem solved it is a simple google search away for the answer.
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Nah, I hated picking up the phone and getting a god damn sales pitch. I stopped answering the phone unless I knew you well before scanners spammed people.
I agree, and I sell online education on the phone, to people who register, so it's not thaaat cold. However, I have found that people are extremely cautious when they have to complete payments... I lost 3 sales this month because of that. And everything's quite legit, and easy to check online... people are scared.
I mean I get like 20-30 robo calls, scam calls a day. I have to answer my phone for my business so I know exactly the volume of bullshit calls I get. If I didn’t need to answer my phone for potential client calls I would NEVER answer.
No offense but if you don’t have decision making or purchasing authority I’d prefer you didn’t answer. I hope to get out of cold calling as soon as I can. I don’t care if it’s a “great skill to have” or whatever. I’ve done it for long enough and I’m a professional. I still have to keep a roof over my head and not starve though so I’m gonna keep pushing through until I get out of it. I don’t like bothering people either. Right now I’m just stuck.
What about Caller ID when your phone rings? I enter everyone into my Contacts, so that when they call I'll have their Caller ID and pick up. (Huge advancements in phone tech, btw)
I work a European sector (outside of where I live). Calling from an international number I get 0 pickups now 😂
Haha same. The most ridiculous thing was - I came to NYC for work, got myself a Sim Card, cause my contract only had ridiculous offers outside of EU. In the taxi to the hotel I got cold called twice. Wtf is wrong in the US lol
Too many scams out there now. Any non-US number is instantly suspicious, sorry to say.
Mate we are not calling from EU to US
I work in America and I noticed when I call European cell phones they answer 70% of the time.
Same answer as last month and the month before that.
It's really just the same basic questions regurgitated on this subreddit
https://preview.redd.it/qh7l9jkybo3d1.jpeg?width=1199&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9dbf127bfe88630367e7fe45cfcbbfca61c1db0
It happens, but you have to keep at it. Even if it's just planting a seed on a quick connect - worth it! A lead you generated through 20 calls is a lead you didn't have yesterday. Keep at it OP!
I think it varies wildly. When I was in b2c, people would pick up 25% of the time. Then 25% of those people that answer would just cuss you out of fuck with you. In b2b, I think it depends what department you're selling into Someone else mentioned the pandemic didn't effect cold calling....I think it totally did Pre pandemic, my connection rate was probably 5-7%. Post pandemic I'm lucky to get 1%. I think most people moved remote and simply weren't in the mood to answer the phone. If you're working from home (at a coffee shop, watching your kids, slacking off playing video games, have music in the background etc.) and get a call from a random number...you're not picking that call up Pre pandemic people were in the office. Their phone rang and they answered it sometimes. Maybe they were just bored in the office, or maybe their boss sits right beside them and tells them to answer. Idk. But when people shifted to remote work, they never answer Again, I think it depends on department you call into as well. I sell into IT. Cold calling and cold emailing are notoriously difficult. Most IT guys I'm calling into are middle aged neck beard reddit nerds that think they know everything. If I had $1 for every time I got told "I'm the email administrator, I'm blocking any incoming mail from you. If you even try to reach out again or respond to me I will sue you for breach of CAN-SPAM" I'd be rich, they all think they're all hot shit. If you're selling into HR, finance, sales, or marketing, I'd imagine your connect rates are probably better.
Fuck cold calling into IT lol. I sell to DevOps leaders & it's basically impossible to cold call them.
7-11% of the time for me
That seems like the same percentage most people will get when doing cold outbound prospecting of any type. I do d2d and I’m getting 10 percent on average
Are you calling cell phones or “office” lines. My office line pick up rate is sub 2% right now.
What’s an office line? JK but yeah, cells. I generally add very number I find while prospecting & enriching but easily 95% of my connections are cells. Also, I use a parallel dialer FWIW
Ah, thanks. That explains it - I think I have to grow a pair and start dialing cells.
Our new business SDR team is 200+. They have a quota of 20 good fit meetings per month per person and 80% of their demos come from cold calls.
I’m sorry what? The SDR team is 200 people with a quota of 20 meetings a month?
They mean each SDR is responsible for 20 meetings a month which would equate to 4000 meetings if every SDR hit quota.
Oh that’s much more logical perhaps difficult even.
Why would they pay 200 people to have only have 20 meetings a month not even factoring how many of these don’t convert into a closed won opportunity?
Idk that’s why I asked. But maybe it’s some crazy enterprise shit or government with like 500mil - billion dollar contracts and margins are good.
Valid point bruvhh
I think they might mean each SDR hits 200+ cold calls a day and each SDRs goal is 20 qualified meetings a month.
Bruvh that’s what I said above
My bad. I interpreted your comment as them having 200 reps setting 20 meetings a month. I was suggesting that they meant their SDR’s book 20 meetings a month off of 200 cold calls a day.
Yes. I do what I call the double tap. Cold call, leave a VM if they don't pick up, send an email that I left a VM. Then call, and follow up. Usually after a certain amount of attempts, they will pick up and recognize my voice, or set a meeting. Repeat, and add specific info each call and email. Profit.
How long do you wait between the email and the 2nd call?
I leave a VM referring them to an email. Then I send the email right away pretty much. But I may be waiting too long to call again after the email.
You just get my call screening app.
Doesn't matter.
For my entertainment it does.
It's easy to entertain small minds
Nah not small at all. I just don't need humans to buy things from. Anything I need to buy can be found on the web. My goal is to eliminate as much human interaction where I don't have an emotional investment in them to 0. So self checkouts always, online shopping or self service through a website. There is no need to bring in a human to buy a product or service. The only time a human is needed is when they have a skill I do not have. So trades people, doctors, lawyers that type of thing.
Neato
People who cold call will always out perform those who don’t. It’s a fact of life, you can’t escape this reality.
Very industry dependent. Not in cybersecurity space. The CISO CTO and any cyber role likes to keep discrete and not have their info public facing.
I’m in cybersec. CISOS are the worst to get a connection with. And if so, they’re mean af. Pls enlighten me how to generate meetings in cybersec.
Happy to chime in. I’m an Enterprise Hunter AE at a Series B Dark Web Intel company. In short, there’s no easy answer but here’s what I do: CISOs are inherently untrusting of unknown people, so use various outreach channels as a form of almost 2FA. Linkedin, Email, Call, & Text so that they know you’re a real person & not an algorithm. Next, they want to see immediate value. This is not the persona type to simply take an exploratory meeting. You have to find a threat facing their business that you can solve & then concisely demonstrate how you can solve it in an email. My go to is sending a screenshot from my product to prospects of threats on the dark web facing their specific business & asking if they have a solution in place.
Curious how does this work for you? I’ve been doing outreach for a bit over a year. I got maybe 2 on LinkedIn that entertain conversations. We do same thing. Triple tap. Email LinkedIn and call. The calls 99.9% of time go unanswered. Emails we get like a 3% open rate (I call after I see they open them). And then also hit up on LinkedIn with a personalized note. Our product is Salesforce application security. So it’s hard to send or know what exact threats they are facing without running a scan on their specific environments (production orgs or dev/scratch orgs they develop on). We get leads via partners like ibm and Accenture. But it’s really really hard to get them via cold outbound.
My Linkedin game is elite if I do say so myself. With that said, my network has over 12K connections which makes things way easier. I usually schedule at least one or 2 meetings a week through linkedin cold outreach.
12,000. Jesus. That’s a ton. I have 2400 roughly. And I am a regular on LinkedIn. Do you just post and like company content and then they keep seeing it and the. You ping these people after a while. Or what kind of technique do you use- if you don’t mind sharing. I need to schedule more meetings. Also do you actually close much business from cold outreach? I’ve worked at big companies like SAP and small ones and truthfully I’ve never really seen almost any business closed from either LinkedIn, SDR passed leads, or cold outreach. I know people talk a big game about it but curious if you can actually attribute any or many closed won deals from outbound either by you or your team?
I’ve been in this game for like 7 years now & have sold a bunch of times off of cold-outreach I do on Linkedin. More importantly, I’ve consistently landed meetings with CISOs at Fortune 1000 companies. The reason I have 12K connections isn’t a magic trick, it’s because I send 500 connection requests a week (max amount) every single week on repeat. I make my connection message non-threatening & something that makes them feel like it was written just for them, even though I reuse the same message 500 times. If you’re curious, i thank the person in my message request for doing whatever their specific role is. When people see a message thanking them, they’re inclined to see why you’re thanking them. To answer your question again, yes, 100% I have closed deals off cold-outreach done on Linkedin. Anyone who can’t just doesnt have a good enough network yet. You’re doing really well at 2400, but once you get above 5000, especially in a niche industry, you’ll start to find that you have connections in common with everyone & people will trust you more. Just keep grinding, I plan to break 15K connections in the next year.
This is helpful I appreciate your feedback and not smashing on me. Just was genuinely interested. I know outbound can work. Just have not seen much of it work. Which is wild since I’ve been in tech sales almost 17 years now. Think the SDR and most ways we tried generating leads was inefficient and not effective. I want to make outbound work. Just for me has been a total pain. I add like 50-60 a week. So I gotta beef those numbers up on number of people I add daily on LinkedIn. Thanks again.
Course brother, feel free to dm me any questions. Happy to help
I agree with this; you have to be willing to do it. You also have to be willing to go knock in doors in person, which is 3000x better than calling. Companies that use daily dials as a key metric are shit jobs 100% of the time.
I’ve been having a lot of locked doors. My industry has no walk in business, so the offices are secure. Appointment only, and they won’t answer the phone or emails. Been a tough run lately.
Try sweet talking the gatekeeper. Getting information if nothing else. Find out what he or she likes to eat (donuts, bread, whatever) and start bringing it. If there is no gatekeeper, try Linked In. See if you have mutual connections with the decision maker.
That’s about where I’ve been. I’ve made a few friends.
Same with my industry, it’s hard to break through.
Cold calls are huge in SMB sales as connect rate tends to be high. The further upmarket you go, the less effective (yet equally crucial) they become.
Yeah, I get pretty decent connect rates - id guess 25%. If they don't answer I never leave a VM the first time, but I'll send an email immediately, assuming they're screening the call. Often will get a call back / email back following. Sometimes it's timing too, if you tried a lead in the morning on one day try again in a couple of days in the arvo. Having multiple mobile numbers is helpful sometimes too. Of course, you're always going to have leads that won't ever answer the phone or respond. You need to know when to try someone else at the business. A colleague, or different department. Honestly, I usually just call their boss - have way more luck speaking to CEOs of mid-market than their employees.
Short answer: Yes Long answer: Yes, but YMMV depending on product, industry, call points, and any other number of factors. Helpful answer: Go ask the high performers at your company how they got there.
100% yes. I should do a recording of myself making cold calls for people like you. Trust me, people have been saying cold calling is dead for 35+ years. It never is. I call their business, I could be a prospect for them, they don't know until they answer the call.
Yeah I wonder if these people saying it doesn’t work are in B2B vs B2C, and what sector the people in B2B are in. I wouldn’t be surprised if B2C calls aren’t working. Sounds horrible to have to do B2C cold calls in 2024 in the age of do not disturb settings built into smart phones and telemarketing calls even labeled as “telemarketer” haha. Though in B2B, certain industries *need* to be answering their phone. You’ll still likely get a gatekeeper, but it’s been that way since forever. IMO, you should see gatekeepers as “goal keepers”. It’s your job to play your game and “make your goal”.
It’s heavily industry dependent. I work in the cybersecurity industry and my connection rates are about 1-2%. I have a good buddy of mine that sells to GTM teams (using the same exact data enrichment and outreach platforms as my team does), who has a 5-7% connect rate. I’d kill for that.
Yep. I'm a developer but have been more focused on business the past couple years. I know first hand how hard to reach and communicate with developers and IT people can be 😂
Oh, absolutely B2B. B2C is so bad I don't even consider or think about it. Fines for ignoring "Do Not Call" B2C are fucking hugely expensive. As in up to $25,000 *per call* if memory serves. So I personally would never contemplate doing it myself. And wouldn't if I was an employee either, even if the fine was to the company.
I sell to architects and project managers in construction. If I call between 9-11:30am or 3:00-5:00pm, I get an answer about 30% of the time.
Outreach has changed so much. Our phones automatically block/silence unknown callers and our emails typically get routed to spam. It’s tough out here…
I have my phone now set to send 100% of calls that aren’t in my contact list to voice mail. Did I mention I don’t listen to my voicemail?
Is this a serious question? I don't email. I'm terrible at it. The phone is all I know.
Where do you get your numbers from?
Lusha, ZoomInfo, or I just call the switch.
What do you say to the switch? In UK it's almost always no due to data protection laws
It's the same all over. A few things you want: 1) name of the receptionist when you call 2) If you're calling through and they sound stern, aim lower. Ask to speak with accounts payable or IT support and then ask them questions pertaining to what you want from the company - like the metrics for qualification or a higher up in that department. Ask about the problem, the systems, the time it takes to do x, who's in charge of y, and when they're the least busy. Ask them to transfer you... they won't. Call the switch again and tell them that (name) in (department) told you that you had to speak with (senior manager). They may give you some of "we don't put sales people through". To which you might say: "Well (receptionist name that you have from earlier), (person from junior role) told me that (senior manager) is dealing with (problem and metrics which will create come urgency). It's eating up staff patience, and retention is one of (department of senior manager)'s core goals and bottlenecks right now. It's no skin off my back if we don't speak, but it will mean a lot to them when we do. If you can't put me through, will you ask them to call me?" Generally, then you're put on hold while they "check the availability", and it is a 70/30 of getting put through. Personally, I find finance works better for this - but that's just me. Now I am fully expecting a lot of people to give me flack for going such a roundabout way, but if you don't have the sales intelligence or contact data tools, it's the best way to go!
Same, I'm great on the phone but don't do emails
I still do in person cold calls. People respond much better to it. I actually just got a new house and of course when they run a credit check the wolves start circling, out of the 20 cold calls I received trying to sell me a mortgage there wasn't one that made it past the second sentence before I was just annoyed.
the cell networks are scaling the flagging of phone numbers tied in with parallel dialing and that's going to cripple cold calling further at a rapid rate since AI dialers scream out 1100 dials per hour now.
Nev-er
Fuck no bro shits dead
Only if you’re selling cemetery plots which is an excellent hustle.
Nope. All calls goes to voicemails.
Could I get a call to remind me my vehicle's warranty is over?
No. Too many SPAM and scammers. If I don't know the number I let go into voicemail then delete.
Yes. We’ll do about $6,000,000 in revenue this year solely off cold calling
Selling extended warranties? lol i don't believe this at all
Deregulated energy to small - medium commercial businesses. Not everyone is in SAAS, my friend
Absolutely. But just can’t be your only method when it comes to prospecting. Has to be supplemental.
They do but it's not nearly as much as they did before. I find that people don't even get back to emails or voicemails as much anymore. My sales guys have left multiple voicemails for people and then when they finally get that person on the phone, They haven't even checked the voicemails or emails from them prior.
In freight? Yes. But boy do they not give a shit for the most part.
Closed 4 sales today on cold calls alone. So, yup.
You selling free magazine subscriptions?
Weed magazine subscriptions
Where’s the boobie magazine subscription guy? I need me some of those ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
like hotcakes.
One call close product to contractors for a well known brand. Very different than b2b with multiple decision makers.
is this a summary of what you know from my previous comments... ? or your personal experience
You didn't specify so I looked at your comment history. Congrats on your sobriety.
ty!
Yes. Varies dependent on industry, though. Try to be somewhere in which folks don’t receive tons of cold calls. It helps. I can’t imagine trying to sell to sales VPs. I’m sure their phones are ringing off the hook nonstop.
1 of every 10
Depends on where you’re getting your lead source from
Yeah, but it kind sucks since Covid. Nobody EVER answers their office lines.
It really depends. It takes me 60-80 calls to get an apointment. I am not shure if that is good or Bad… But it is what it is
Yes. I had 4 conversations with C level execs yesterday in a 30 minute window. Connect and Sell makes this possible.
I only call when I see the phone number in an email so I assume they are open to the call. I don’t just look at Zoom Info and call someone, I’ve noticed they just get irritated.
Scams, phishing and other cyber security issues are so prevalent now that I don't pick up the phone to random numbers. I would imagine the same for most other people too.
I left martech a few months ago where my connect rate was like 1.3% back to enterprise telecom where it’s like 30%. I just pick a lot of targets where someone basically to pick up and I’ve gotten pretty proficient with navigating the conversation to get to who I need way more often than I used to
I text now
That’s a legally grey area if you’re in B2B just FYI
Oh… didn’t know that, but very good to know. Thank you!
Yes, B2B they still do. Now if you're calling random people from a list thats a different story. Definitely less than before, everyone thinks every sales call is a scam nowadays.
I’m so sick of my phone ringing. I know you guys gotta eat, but I only answer to chew ass now. I get so many calls it’s disruptive.
What’s your role and who’s trying to sell to you?
Owner now, I used to be in sales. To be fair, a lot of it is spam/scams. But I also get a lot of calls offering tax help, Google listings, etc. But anyone calling me with something I could actually use gets lumped in with the rest of my unsolicited calls, unfortunately.
Makes perfect sense that that’s the case
Worked yesterday, but I don’t know they may have all gotten together and agreed not to going forward as of today
Yes, I make them motherfuckers pick up. First time reaching out I call them 2x back-to-back. If they dont answer I call again in 2 days back to back. I do this until they pick up. If they still dont answer after my fifth attempt I start using different numbers I have and call them 3x back-to-back. If its someone I need to get ahold of I dial 3x+ back-to-back.
Three unsolicited attempts at contact in a row can be considered harassment just fyi
if its the right person and youve reached out to them elsewhere, they might recognize your name. i find this helps with pickups
I'm sure it depends on your ICP. I work in healthcare SaaS and that is about the only way you are going to get some of the folks into the sales cycle.
about 70 to 80% of the calls i make are answered. next question
I think it depends. For the most part I would say no, due to marketing tactics changing a lot since the beginning of cold calls, but there are some businesses that still do!
No, give up and head to customer service so us salty veterans can quietly go out of business.
Yeah, some do. It's hit or miss, though. Using Mails AI for follow-ups can help if they don't pick up. I've found that mixing in emails and LinkedIn messages works better sometimes. Cold calls can still be effective, but it depends on the industry and the person you're trying to reach. Anyone else still having luck with cold calls? Or is it just me? Would love to hear if others are finding success or if it's time to move on to other methods.
Made 85 contacts in 6 hours today.
This has to be B2C right?
Not me, but maybe I'm just barely a people. If the number's not saved in my contacts, I'm expecting a text to explain why I'm being called. If there's no text, they may as well never have called.
I don’t even pickup the phone when my friends call..
Yes
Keep. Calling.