Affiliate since: 04/15/2001, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read D.'s 3 other Ask SC answers

"Is cold calling, using a local telephone directory, a good method for attracting new PSAs?"

Absolutely not! Let's examine why.

Cold calling using a telephone directory has very few pros and many cons.

1. The Pros:

a. You have a source of leads.

b. They're free.

2. The Cons:

a. You have free source of UNQUALIFIED leads. Because of this you are guaranteed to annoy many strangers. Think about the last you received an unexpected phone call from a stranger requesting something from you. Was it a pleasant experience? Probably not. Do you know why? Because people act on the advice of people they know and trust! It all about relationships. No relationship, no deal!

b. Cold calling is long, tedious work that is not for the faint of heart. (I can personally attest to this as a former professional telemarketer who worked from a warm list (actual customers) in a call center.)

c. You may set yourself (and quite possibly, the company) up for legal action if you don't follow your local and national laws regarding this activity. In the United States we must subscribe to the "Do Not Call" list and check that the number that we are calling against before making residential calls.

(Get more information here: http://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/qa-telemarketers-sellers-about-dnc-provisions-tsr

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/telemarketing )

d. Even paragraph 10 of our Affiliate Agreement includes the following :

"Under United States law, it is unlawful "to use any telephone, facsmile machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement.""

The consequences of the cons clearly outweighs the pros in this situation.

If you want free qualified leads, start with the people who see you on a regular basis (mailman, store clerk, college students, work colleagues, etc.). They know you and therefore trust you. You know them and can filter and qualify them; this will eliminate a lot of unnecessary headaches. Even if your contacts don't become your PSA, they can recommend someone that they believe would be a good candidate. That candidate will trust you because you know their friend. Work smarter, not harder and good luck!
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"Is cold calling, using a local telephone directory, a good method for attracting new PSAs?"

Absolutely not! Let's examine why.

Cold calling using a telephone directory has very few pros and many cons.

1. The Pros:

a. You have a source of leads.

b. They're free.

2. The Cons:

a. You have free source of UNQUALIFIED leads. Because of this you are guaranteed to annoy many strangers.
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Affiliate since: 05/10/2012, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Wayne's 236 other Ask SC answers

I have done that many, many years ago – I wasn’t too good at it and was only able to get about one lead a week and one sale a month if lucky.

There is a small problem with that being done today. You see a lot of people are listed on that federal “no call” system and if you call them with a sales pitch you can be reported. That report can end up costing you around $1,500 per call. How will the find out your number? Easy it is done with Caller ID, a lot of people have that app on their phones.

With the way we have to advertise our SFI and TripleClicks business there is no need to go through the labor and heartaches of cold calling telephone campaigns. Another drawback to that is I live in a rural area and every call I make is classified as a “toll” call and it could get mighty expensive to be calling people all day long.

You also need to take into consideration on how will your down-line duplicate your cold calling method? If most of our teammates have trouble logging in daily I can almost guarantee they will not like the idea of hitting the phone daily to receive their one or two hundred “no’s” a day.

If you want to use a phone in your local area here is the safe and cheapest way to accomplish that.

Get yourself a message phone, record a message no longer than 2 minutes about SFI. Now run an ad in your local newsletters classified section for a “Need a Second Income – work from home – Call and listen to free recorded message” include phone number.

The simple message above always brought in about 50 to 100 calls daily! I would also receive about 10 to 15 prospects leave their name and phone number or email address every day..

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I have done that many, many years ago – I wasn’t too good at it and was only able to get about one lead a week and one sale a month if lucky.

There is a small problem with that being done today. You see a lot of people are listed on that federal “no call” system and if you call them with a sales pitch you can be reported. That report can end up costing you around $1,500 per call. How will the find out your number? Easy it is done with Caller ID, a lot
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Affiliate since: 10/01/2013, Power Rank: 19 | Read Aina's 157 other Ask SC answers

Do not waste your time and efforts with cold calling. People get annoyed and this will put off your relationship with your potential clients. Instead optimize your efforts by using a less invasive and more personal marketing techniques such as:-

1) Determine your Target Market
The very first thing you must do, when determining the best way to find clients without cold calling is to determine your target market.
Get down to the unique characteristics of the customers that your product suits best. For example, as an ECA selling you own clothing design, it’s not enough to say “my clothing is for women.” Dig a little deeper and determine the age of the woman likely to wear your clothes, and the income range of the women who can afford your clothes.
--> Pay Per Click advertising services helps you to target people according to age, gender,
location, area of interest, etc.

2) Networking Groups
Networking is one of the best ways to find clients without cold calling because through this method, you have an opportunity to create word-of-mouth buzz and obtain personal referrals, done via inter-change of inner referrals. There are lots of business professionals group to be considered or another regular business group.

3) Internet and Social Media
Internet and social media marketing have quickly become a preferred marketing strategy for businesses. You can create a business blog for free at a website such as Blogger, or update “fans” on Facebook through regular blog or news posts. These free methods are certainly among the best ways to find clients without cold calling because they are easy, fast, and inexpensive to reach a global market of potential clients.
--> Social Media Marketing services to make your products and services visible at various
points online where your prospective customers talk, share, discuss, and make their
purchase decisions.

4) Trade Shows and Events
The key purpose of your trade show is to network directly with customers. This tried and true marketing strategy is one of the best ways to find clients without cold calling. You’re able to develop a personal relationship with a potential customer; gauge his interest level; and obtain his contact information all within a short time frame. When you contact your customer, he’ll already know who you are and the product you offer.

5) Direct Mail
Statistically, direct mail doesn’t yield a high rate of return, the benefits of direct mail are that it’s easy to launch your campaign, and it can be relatively inexpensive compared to other marketing techniques.
--> Opt-in lists to let people register for regular updates on new products, discount offers,
contests, etc.

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Do not waste your time and efforts with cold calling. People get annoyed and this will put off your relationship with your potential clients. Instead optimize your efforts by using a less invasive and more personal marketing techniques such as:-

1) Determine your Target Market
The very first thing you must do, when determining the best way to find clients without cold calling is to determine your target market.
Get down to the unique characteristics of the customers that your
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Affiliate since: 10/26/2010, Power Rank: 347 | Read Kay's 289 other Ask SC answers

"Cold calling" is generating a conversation with a stranger about a business proposition whether to sell him some item or interest him in joining your business. Your question asks about the use of the local telephone directory to find people to contact.

I use the phone directory to do research on local businesses for the purpose of interesting them about our ECA program. While I usually do not phone them, I will see where they are and if they have an ad in the Yellow Pages. This gives me an idea about what they sell and maybe their names, etc.

I do not just open the phone book and pick a page and begin calling people to tell them about SFI?TC. Just think for a minute. The phone book is full of names and phone numbers that are no longer in service. Remember it takes months for a listing to be added or deleted after the order was put in. We only get a new directory once a year. The same goes for businesses. They pay for an ad and it might take almost a year before the new directory is printed and distributed. So the information in it is not reliable. Why waste your time calling every number when a great many are not active.

The same goes for the addresses in the directory. When you do find a wrong address, you might call the business and check to see if they have moved. I wouldn't bother with calling people unless you are particularly interested in recruiting him.

Most young people now have cell phone which are not listed in the directories. And many do not have a stationary home phone. Those with traditional home phones use them rarely, or they are no longer friendly to anonymous business calls.

So I believe that using the phone and the directory will be a drain on your time and your attitude.

Instead, use the directory as a small part of your research about a person or business. Then meet them face to face and just chat for a moment. If you hit it off right away, you might have a longer conversation with them, and even tell them that you are excited about something you came across and found to your liking. Then make an appointment.

The idea in cold calling is to target someone you don't know, find out about them including their likes, hopes, family, etc. Chat about those things, remember them, and then relate our business with something that interests them. Turn a cold call into a warm market.
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"Cold calling" is generating a conversation with a stranger about a business proposition whether to sell him some item or interest him in joining your business. Your question asks about the use of the local telephone directory to find people to contact.

I use the phone directory to do research on local businesses for the purpose of interesting them about our ECA program. While I usually do not phone them, I will see where they are and if they have an ad in the Yellow Pages. This
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Affiliate since: 03/27/2013, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Stefan's 93 other Ask SC answers

This is fair question with a very simple logical answer.

No.

Cold calling in 2015 would be very ineffective as a means of obtaining SFI PSA. Ask yourself the very same question you propose. When was the last time you were cold called and actually cared what the seller who was calling was selling? If you said recently, I would say you are amongst a very limited population.

Although, cold calling at one time used to be an effective method, that is if it was conducted correctly, it has long been dead. The main reason is technology.

Voicemail

Caller ID

Texting

Instant messaging

Let us face it, people just don't want to pick up the phone anymore unless they know whom it is that is calling.

It’s to darn easy to avoid cold callers, plain and simple.

Even if you are lucky to get someone on the line, 99 out of 100 won't be interested. The Internet has changed the way we do things or more specifically our buying habits. We control what is sold to us not the seller and that changed the entire landscape of sales.

The Internet has given customers a means of researching all the competition arming themselves before even getting to the point of dealing with a salesperson. People flat out don't want to be sold to before they are ready to buy and this is why cold calling is flat out non effective in this day and age.

Targeting advertising, whether it be on the Internet or flyers is a better, more effective means leads sourcing. The most effective method in my opinion to gather new leads is to place yourself in the buyers shoes and ask yourself what would you search for and what would spur you to come to or click on an SFI link or sign up on someones SFI gateway page.

This is a very powerful exercise. Once you place yourself in your prospective PSA shoes and understand exactly what they are looking for then you can effectively target them in many ways to sign up under you as their sponsor. This is what you should focus your efforts on and shy away from what is now a dead source of leads gathering in that of cold calling.

I hope I was able to answer your question.

Good luck!
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This is fair question with a very simple logical answer.

No.

Cold calling in 2015 would be very ineffective as a means of obtaining SFI PSA. Ask yourself the very same question you propose. When was the last time you were cold called and actually cared what the seller who was calling was selling? If you said recently, I would say you are amongst a very limited population.

Although, cold calling at one time used to be an effective method, that is if it was conducted
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Affiliate since: 04/14/2014, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Diane's 76 other Ask SC answers

In my opinion, I would say the method of recruiting by cold calling is probably the least effective of all those available to you.

Personally, I have never engaged in a conversation, or bought anything from, a cold caller. In fact, I am registered with a service which makes cold-calling me illegal, so you have to be careful if you call anyone in countries which have that kind of service.

If you cold-call people at random from a telephone directory, the chances of finding someone who is remotely interested in this type of work, must be extremely rare, they may not even have a computer. You know nothing about them, and they know nothing about you, and people will be reluctant to discuss their personal circumstances with a complete stranger, so it will be a struggle to recruit by this method.

For PSA signups, online marketing to a targeted demographic may be better.

The exception to this may be if you call companies who have a product or service to sell. You may be able to promote the ECA facility at TripleClicks. However, it would be wise to do your research first, look at what they offer, then be able to tell them how becoming an ECA can help their business and increase their sales. Make sure to speak to the owner/manager of the company, your research should give you their name. Be prepared for any questions they may have, the first 2 minutes of your conversation will be the most important in their decision-making process. Don't give them your gateway link over the phone, there is a high chance they could make an error in input, and will not sign up under you, so your hard work will all be for nothing. Grab their interest, then get their email address to send your link to. Whether they sign up immediately or not, follow up a couple of days later, either to welcome and congratulate them on their signup, or to enquire as to why they haven't registered yet, as they may have forgotten.

I hope this helps you.

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In my opinion, I would say the method of recruiting by cold calling is probably the least effective of all those available to you.

Personally, I have never engaged in a conversation, or bought anything from, a cold caller. In fact, I am registered with a service which makes cold-calling me illegal, so you have to be careful if you call anyone in countries which have that kind of service.

If you cold-call people at random from a telephone directory, the chances of finding someone
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Affiliate since: 03/04/2013, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Raymond's 64 other Ask SC answers

No no no no no... and another no for good measure.

Think back to the last time you had a telemarketer interrupt your dinner or wake you up. When you didn't recognize the number, did you even answer the call? And if so, were you kind and courteous, or were you brash, abrupt and short-tempered?

In today's world, many would view cold-calling as offline spam. When you cold-call a prospect, you are doing so without their permission as they did not specifically request to be called about your business opportunity, or any opportunity for that matter.

Not only this, but because they not request to hear about your business opportunity prior to your calling them, they are an untargeted prospect. With so much competition online, it is important to ensure that your marketing efforts are reaching the right people... people who have specifically asked for or are specifically looking for a viable business opportunity.

I hope this helps.
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No no no no no... and another no for good measure.

Think back to the last time you had a telemarketer interrupt your dinner or wake you up. When you didn't recognize the number, did you even answer the call? And if so, were you kind and courteous, or were you brash, abrupt and short-tempered?

In today's world, many would view cold-calling as offline spam. When you cold-call a prospect, you are doing so without their permission as they did not specifically request to be called
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Affiliate since: 03/16/2012, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Caroline's 111 other Ask SC answers

I have had some experience calling strangers to enlist their help in the political arena. However, although these people were strangers to me, they had shown some kind of interest in the particular party by having attended a meeting, or putting their contact details somewhere. Yet despite their seeming interest, it is extremely difficult to motivate people over the phone and I would think that to use a telephone directory instead of a list of leads, would be even harder.

People do not like to be interrupted by unsolicited phone calls from strangers. It is an invasion of the sanctity of their home and private family time. And a phone call is more confronting to someone than an email which can be deleted or marked as spam, or a leaflet which can be simply thrown in the bin.

Apart from the inconvenience and annoyance caused to the receiver of the call, this method would also be totally inefficient as a tool for prospecting as you have no idea who may be interested, when someone will be at home, or when they may have time to talk. You could spend hours and hours with no leads at all and run up an enormous phone bill with no results.

If you want to prospect using the phone, I think you would be better off spending your time driving around the neighbourhood putting up advertising leaflets with your phone number attached, and allowing interested people to call you instead.

That is my experience of cold calling even with a list of people who were apparently interested. In my opinion, it is a last resort.
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I have had some experience calling strangers to enlist their help in the political arena. However, although these people were strangers to me, they had shown some kind of interest in the particular party by having attended a meeting, or putting their contact details somewhere. Yet despite their seeming interest, it is extremely difficult to motivate people over the phone and I would think that to use a telephone directory instead of a list of leads, would be even harder.

People do not
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Affiliate since: 12/06/2012, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Elizabeth's 190 other Ask SC answers

There is nothing wrong with marketing over the phone but unsolicited phone calls are not welcomed so I do not recommend using a phone book. I suggest using email, or online landing pages or squeeze pages, or your own website that allows you to collect contact information from prospects who really want you to call them so these squeeze pages or your own website/blog with a contact section so prospects themselves give you their email and phone number so you can contact them.

As you may know going into a phone book and calling people is considered making unsolicited phone calls because they are not asking for this information and in any business no one makes calls unless the customer fills out a request form.

So please don't use a phone book, create online applications instead to create a list of contacts.

???? Good Luck with your Marketing.
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There is nothing wrong with marketing over the phone but unsolicited phone calls are not welcomed so I do not recommend using a phone book. I suggest using email, or online landing pages or squeeze pages, or your own website that allows you to collect contact information from prospects who really want you to call them so these squeeze pages or your own website/blog with a contact section so prospects themselves give you their email and phone number so you can contact them.

As you may know
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Affiliate since: 07/16/2008, Power Rank: 178 | Read Olusola's 92 other Ask SC answers

Cold calling using a local telephone directory is used by some indeed to generate sign ups. But really it is not effective because:

1. It is time consuming. You have to spend time dialing and calling each prospects. While some would quickly reject your offer, some would just merely waste your time. Imagine how long it would take you calling 50 to 100 numbers in a day.

2. Most of the prospects don't have time for you. Many of them have day's job and are unwilling to entertain your calls. You would get lots of rejection!

3. You could be calling wrong people. There are some people that are not to be called. Calling them would be tantamount to spamming which unpleasant consequences.

4. It is very laborious way of prospecting. The number of hours you would spend to get a couple of PSAs cannot be compared with the success in posting in your social media or other good advertising platforms.

However, if you buy leads from Telephone Directory companies for people interested in business opportunities, you could get a little success.

When prospecting using cold call, make sure you plan very well on how to introduce yourself and the opportunity. You should also try to get personal information that could help to cement your relationship e.g you could have attended the same school, lived in the same city before etc. Also, ensure you reach a juncture that allows you access to him/her in the future in a more friendly way.

The beautiful thing is that Affiliates you get by this personal touch tend to do well than the average ones gotten all over the internet.

So while cold calling may not be the best or the most effective method of attracting PSAs, it helps in getting committed PSA.
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Cold calling using a local telephone directory is used by some indeed to generate sign ups. But really it is not effective because:

1. It is time consuming. You have to spend time dialing and calling each prospects. While some would quickly reject your offer, some would just merely waste your time. Imagine how long it would take you calling 50 to 100 numbers in a day.

2. Most of the prospects don't have time for you. Many of them have day's job and are unwilling to entertain
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