How to fend off the construction marketing scammers?

You receive the intrusive calls and emails every week (perhaps every day).  Someone is offering you an opportunity to achieve "Page 1 ranking" on Google.  Or someone is telling you that for a modest fee, you can be introduced to the movers and shakers within your client community at a special invitation-only conference.  I've been "invited" to China several times in the past year.

Now, certainly some offers that you receive are truly worthy of consideration.  And I certainly have some respect (and perhaps pity) for the underpaid minions hired to make the inconvenient marketing calls.  (I can't say so much positive for the scamming spammers, however.)

The telemarketers, canvassers and spammers market with the numbers game.  They figure that if they make enough calls or send enough emails, someone will bite.  The cost per lead influences the strategy, as does sales training for the telemarketers and copy writing skills (and coding abilities) for the spammers -- especially successful ones that are able to evade your spam blocks.

I have a simple solution for these operations and virtually all inbound solicitations.  Ignore them UNLESS they can in their first sentence identify a credible person who you respect as a referring source, and provide a real reason for doing business with them.

Heck, that is a blunt rule, but it has a corollary.  In your marketing, unless you can achieve the same relationship focus with your outbound direct sales calls and messages, you should stop, take a cold, hard look at your priorities, and reset your strategies.  (Unless they are currently working, in which case, well, I suppose you are succeeding at the numbers-game approach to marketing.)

If you rethink the process then you will see how a much more effective direct sales marketing campaign can start -- with your existing, truly satisfied clients.

Ask them for their help in spreading the word.  Obtain referrals, references, and reputation back-up.  Then you can call -- and drop the names which matter the most to your potential clients (outside their own names, of course.)

Does this approach work?  Well, most of our own sales result from phone calls, faxes and emails.  Many are to people with whom we have done business in the past, but at least 25 to 30 per cent a month are brand new potential clients.  However, we always call on reference from someone they know and respect.  You can do the same thing, yourself -- and ignore the others.

Tricks, gimmicks, and shortcuts

This comment I received overnight (about 2 a.m. EDT) certainly seemed flattering.

Dude, GREAT blog. This whole site that you have set up is top-notch. Well done. I stumbled across it as I was looking for an article on general contractors.

I’m really looking forward to reading all of your archives. Terrific job, keep it up!

However, my sixth sense immediately told me something didn't ring right here. Why would anyone write such flattering remarks for an old posting relating to the Ontario General Contractors' Association? Must be, I ultimately correctly deduced, an effort by someone to steal a back link through a form of comment spam/management.

However, the back link wasn't obvious from the surface. I only discovered the trick when I posted the remarks and discovered the link embedded in the name "Janee Martin". I then immediately deleted the comment, after a cursory examination of the referenced site.

Paradoxically, the site may have had some value to the blog's readers. But why should I extend it any respect if the organization seeking attention is playing tricks and games, and presumably using an offshore service, to manipulate things.

These observations lead to a larger, more challenging question: Is it wrong to use tricks, gimmicks and short-cuts to achieve your marketing aims? And here, I cannot give you a clear answer.

Earlier in the day, for example, I saw how I could get a (purported) "free ride" with an email "blast" to thousands of people, many of whom have asked to be removed from my mailing list.

The extra mailing would take just a few minutes to set up, and would not cost a cent financially -- at least in the immediate sense. And I probably would recover some valid names and maybe a few clients, while others, perhaps fuming at the spam, would simply hit "delete" or send a spam complaint to the mailing service, not me.

Why not go for it?


But I hesitated, and then rightfully decided to stop. Maybe a follow-up or verification mailing can be justified, but it needs to be handled carefully and the intent of people asking not to be bothered again by me must be respected. Until I can scrub the list clean of anyone who asked to be removed, the email won't be sent. And if I send it, I will think hard and fast about the content and relevance first.

Then, late last night, one of my talented representatives saw for the first time the "send" list of a regional construction association. We certainly don't have permission to use this list for advertising or marketing -- but he deduced that he could send out an email inviting readers (if they wish) to submit suggestions for a guest column or editorial contributions to the publication. It is unlikely anyone will be offended by that kind of offer. A trick? Maybe, but good marketing as well (as long as he doesn't routinely repeat the exercise with the same list.)

So, what, after all, are the rules here?

In the perfect world, I suppose, we would all only send and receive marketing messages we really wish to get. And when we achieve this perfect match, we almost inevitably succeed. Consider the natural flow of personal relationships, word of mouth, and inbound inquiries.

Potential (and current/former) clients want to do business with you, so they seek you out. Undoubtedly this is the easiest and most enjoyable way to sell anything.

However, most marketing communications efforts involve some waste and (worse) irritation of people and organizations who, often for truly valid reasons, will never do business with you.

This sort of thing happens when you "force your pitch" on someone at a networking event (rather than focusing entirely on the person you are speaking with's real interests), in intrusive advertising, telemarketing, and (painfully) spamming. Telemarketing and canvassing probably are the most intrusive approaches, but they come with a trade-off -- the need to personally interact with the person you are troubling. So you either pay handsomely for the canvassers or callers to "take the rejection" or you endure it, knowing that you can gracefully back off and move to the next "prospect".

Spam, frankly, is one of the most challenging (and perhaps tempting) options. If you have a list, it costs virtually nothing to force it out on people's email, and you don't (directly) have to face the rejection. So why not just do an email blast!

The cost, of course, is in your reputation and your chance at a future relationship. Remember as well, spam can be on a small scale. Some Public Relations agency, trying to interest me in a marginally relevant story, sent the same release -- and follow-up "personal" email to me and two employees of my organization on leave, so all three emails landed in my mailbox yesterday. I deleted them all.

But another PR representative sent a straightforward news release, without any purported personalization, to more than one address. Most of these announcements land in the round basket (okay) but this one stood out -- I followed up and will probably write a story on the topic. When does spam become newsworthy?

I believe the more you can engage people with good stuff and the less you resort to intrusion and disrespect, the more you will succeed at your marketing. But sometimes it doesn't hurt to break the rules. Just be aware of the risks and real costs when you do.

Getting your phone calls returned

Mel Lester posts some worthy suggestions in his blog entry: Getting your phone calls returned. Lester wisely points out that you won't get far cold calling with a scripted message that doesn't meet your prospective client's interests.

Yeah, coming up with a good reason for the client to return your call (what I call your "entree") isn't easy. But it works. It requires more work up front. So you can make 20 shotgun calls to prospects and maybe get 3-4 to return your call. Or you can offer your entree to 5 prospects and get 3-4 to return your call. Which seems the better strategy? By the way, your chances of eventually making a sale are substantially increased when you take the more client-focused approach, starting with that initial contact

Alas, these days, the number of "bad calls" seems to be increasing disproportionately. This is because the in the era of email, the phone is used much less for casual conversations, and much more frequently for important or meaningful connections. Almost all uninvited and scripted calls are from inept marketers, and are simply not worthy of a response.

As a good example, today, one of my top sales representatives received an unsolicited call from someone representing one of our competitors, pitching advertising in an association publication.

Alas, the caller had absolutely no knowledge of our real relationship with the association -- or, for that matter, our business, or he would have never called us -- as he rattled on in a lengthy and (for us) amusing voice message.

So how do you get calls returned, and meaningful action? Assuming you have a good reason for your call, I'll add one idea to Lester's list, especially if you are calling a senior executive or CEO of a larger company with much authority.

When you call, don't ask for the person directly, ask for his (or her) executive assistant. Better, find the EA's name first (often through the receptionist) and then call the EA.

Explain your purpose, provide whatever documentation s/he requires by email or fax, and seek her guidance on the best way to proceed.

I've never had a legitimate call to an EA shunted aside or not followed through properly. Today, for example, I received a return call, not from the company president, but the person who could really answer my inquiry -- and he was being really courteous to me because he knew the company president wanted him to speak with me.

Executive assistants know which buttons to push, and more importantly, they can handle your inquiry in the most appropriate manner for their busy executive's schedule, perhaps by forwarding an email note, faxed documentation or the like, and getting the response you need. If an appointment directly with the decision-maker is appropriate, they will set one up, but usually on a cold or initial call this is way too presumptuous.

But your stage is set for discussions with more junior employees of the organization and you have a natural follow-through with the EA if you need to communicate further at the higher levels.

EAs may be "gatekeepers" to keep uninvited intruders out -- but they also facilitate your entry if you really have something of relevance to offer. If not, why are you calling in the first place?

The new way for online construction marketing

We've just wrapped up (at 11:30 p.m. on Friday) an intensive online business session, where I and two of the company's employees, Chase in St. Catharines, ON and Karen Buckley in northern Virginia, engaged in some pretty intensive and resourceful email exchanges.

Of course, I don't expect this company's employees to be available for work near midnight as the weekend starts, but the Internet makes this sort of thing possible and feasible. Individually, we're just catching up on our business; with emails and web reviews; it just happens we're all working collaboratively as midnight approaches.

Why not?

These observations provide important clues for your marketing approach in 2009. The online space operates with astounding geographical and temporal range. Sitting in our family rooms with wireless laptops, we work in spare minutes off hours and get lots done.

You can use these tools -- and respect your clients -- by sending personalized emails, images, even estimates, any time day or night when it is convenient to you and your clients.

Note I am not suggesting you spam or send junk email; and if you wish to use an online newsletter or any other form of mass communication electronically, remember the importance of obtaining permission first.

But personalized one-on-one emails (where appropriate with individualized image or video links/attachments) are powerfully effective for marketing because they can reach your potential and current clients when they otherwise would be unreachable, without intruding in their space or disrupting them when they don't want to be bothered. This is much different than the irritation of having to go to the door to say 'no' to a canvasser or answer your phone from some ill-informed telemarketer.

The (unwelcome) sales call

About 10 a.m., just as I was about to leave my home office for a series of errands, I heard the business line ring. A woman's voice addressed me in a manner I instinctively knew as "a salesperson reading from a script". She worked at an office supply place, but she didn't get past her first sentence before I bluntly interrupted her, saying "I don't have time for this call" and hung up.

As I got into my car, I thought about my rudeness and disrespect for someone simply doing her work.

Maybe the rep had a non-sales purpose (I didn't even give her time to make a pitch), and maybe her offer would be worthwhile and useful for my business. I didn't give her the time of day, and I'm sure, as she hung up the phone, she felt just a little less secure, and a little more frustrated with another cold call, and another cold, uninterested business owner.

A few years ago, on the advice of sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer, I tried a different approach. I asked my administrative assistant to log all the inbound calls, and put every caller through to me, unless I was in a meeting. I also committed to returning all calls -- from sales people or others -- within 24 hours, and I instructed my assistant to relay this fact to anyone who called, inviting them to leave a message or a voice mail which would be returned.

After a month, I reviewed the results. The entire amount of time spent on the phone took just a few hours. At the time, I accepted a proposal from a representative for a job creation program to provide some IT services at low cost, and fielded an insurance rep who convinced me to apply for some additional life insurance. (Because of some pre-existing conditions, it turned out the premiums would be far higher than I could justify).

I concluded that it really isn't too hard to be courteous and respectful to everyone who tries to sell me stuff, and vowed to change my ways.

So what happened today? And why do I often fail to return voice messages from sales reps?

Thinking about it, I realized that while I have a responsibility to be respectful to everyone, perhaps the sales reps have a responsibility to be respectful to me.

Surely, the person who called this morning could not have known that I was about to leave and really didn't have time to speak. But why did she have to call me? What offer is so important, valuable, and useful, that it requires the intrusion of an inbound call to a "decision maker"?

If she had something directly and specifically relevant to me -- not a canned message she would express in the same way to 100 or 1,000 other people, I would have listened, and if I had been rude, she would have been correct to phone me back and say, "Wait, really, listen, I know you."

The problem is that most people selling stuff are so busy selling their thing, that they forget that the individuals who might be appropriate to buy the service are not a cookie cutter "prospects" who fit the script. We're individuals and humans, too.

Is there a better way? Yes, and it involves some common sense and respect.

First, can you do enough homework before phoning anyone to know that the service you are offering is truly relevant. If you don't know, and need to find answers, maybe someone more junior in the business can help you with the research information.

Second, can you find a way to commence the relationship by giving or sharing something of value and utility. You probably will have trouble doing this by a blind phone call, but you can mail some information or if you have an email address, share things that way.

Third, do you really know who you are calling, and if you do, do you have some valid connection?

Say, for example, you were a printer trying to sell me printing services. Maybe you could speak with one of my best advertisers, and obtain their permission to call using their name. Do you think I would take a call on reference from one of our better clients? Absolutely.

I'm not saying that script-based telemarketing doesn't have its place -- and you can sometimes achieve worthy results playing the numbers game. And I vow to be more courteous in the future.

But sellers should appreciate that buyers don't need your call, unless you care enough to really know what is really important to them. This morning, I simply wanted to get on with the day.

Which will give you better return?

Here are additional details about the ongoing Construction Marketing Ideas poll.

If you could allocate $10,000 with the goal of achieving a 10 per cent increase in results on a $1 million business, would you achieve better results by improving your client service/employee systems to attract more repeat and referral business, or should you advertise, telemarket/canvas or spend it on leads services?

The ongoing Construction Marketing Ideas poll shows that, at present, 76 per cent of businesses find most of their new business through repeat and referrals. This means, your $10,000 investment in increasing your repeat and referral volume would generate on average $76,000 in new business (assuming a 10 per cent gain.) Compare the results for a similar investment in telemarketing/canvassing -- your return would be $6,000.

Of course these numbers are misleading for two important reasons:

First, if you have built our business around advertising, telemarketing and leads services, you are undoubtedly using these resources effectively and profitably, or you would stop.

And, secondly, if you are using these resources, if you convert the new clients into long-term customers who speak highly about your business, you'll garner years and years of valuable business from each lead you convert through the resources among the 24 per cent.

Nevertheless, it makes sense for you to consider improving your processes and systems to encourage repeat and referral business before you spend significant sums of money on other forms of marketing.

"Here, it's simple...."

From Seth Godin:

Here, it's simple:

You can contact just about anyone you want. The only rule is you need to contact them personally, with respect, and do it months before you need their help! Contact them about them, not about you. Engage. Contribute. Question. Pay attention. Read. Interact.

Then, when you've earned the right to attention and respect, months and months later, sure, ask. It takes a lot of time and effort, which is why volume isn't the answer for you, quality is.

That's a great way to get a job, promote a site, make a friend, spread the word or just be a human.

Yes; you can canvass, you can cold call, you can spam, you can 'play the numbers game' and you can sell. But there is a better way; it requires patience, thought, delivery, and service -- it focuses on the quality of your product/service and the quality of your relationships. Both forms of selling/marketing have their place in the continuum, but I will always advocate the giving/respectful approach is much better than the intruding, irritating and obnoxious "cold calling" model.

Who answers the phone?

Seth Godin references this Boingboing blog entry with a 1931 image showing students how the dial phone works. Perhaps we should relearn the basics.

Seth Godin has captured one of the most important marketing messages on the first ring in this blog entry, "Who answers the phone?" The question of how initial phone inquiries are handled can be extended throughout the business; rote, insensitive, and ill-thought (or no) response to phone calls/messages does absolutely no good for your business or brand;thoughtful, fast, and human rather than rote responses will work wonders for your brand, and will do a whole lot more for your business than the slickest brochure or website.

More and more these days, the phone is a secondary method of communication. Many mornings when I am working, I will be at the laptop, exchanging dozens of email messages. Although my phone number is widely displayed, I actually receive few calls. The reason is that the work involved in communicating at both ends is much higher than email -- which allows you to send your message at your convenience (and for you to respond equally at your convenience). The phone is an intrusion -- even when you are set up with a public number to welcome inbound calls -- so what do we do in business?

• We hire telemarketers (or worse yet, computers, to make outbound calls, to bug people, irritate them, and cause them to put up screens and set up answering machines to avoid inbound calls;

and

• We use the same screens (or ill-trained employees) to answer the in-bound calls.

The solution to this problem is to treat all inbound calls with respect, quickly separate the solicitation (or rote survey calls) for a polite decline, and then, listen carefully to the other calls, whether they be a client inquiry or a service request or (gulp) someone perhaps wanting to do business with us.

Perhaps the biggest challenge here is to have employees who can throw the script away and truly engage with the client. This isn't easy -- especially when in certain circumstances the inbound calls seem to follow their own predictable script. And clearly you don't want someone speaking spontaneously and carelessly -- you really don't know if the inbound caller is preparing a lawsuit or representing a competitor!

But I think if you look at the numbers, you'll see something interesting. Say you are a mid-size business preparing to spend $200,000 on a marketing campaign. Wouldn't it make sense to take $20,000 from that budget, pay it to the front-line person who answers your phone, and give the new employee a fancier title than 'receptionist'. And if you are a smaller business, without that type of marketing budget, please remember my previous posting where I advocate that brand is defined less by money than time -- that is your (and your employees') concern and respect for their clients.

P.S. Do we totally adhere to these standards: I wish so, but we have a less-than-perfect voice mail system, and too many of our calls find their way to slow-response limbo (including ones for me). It is something we will fix, and I will measure our progress. If you call me at 888-432-3555 ext. 224, will you get an answer right away (not now, I am at the OGCA symposium) and, if not, can you reach someone 'real' who cares right away (right now, only within business hours, but the phone rings to my home when I'm out of the office), and if not these two, will I return your call within one business day or at the time you request? Feel free to find out, and tell me how we are doing.

Banning marketing intrusions

University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist has introduced the website ioptout.ca to help Canadians stop unwanted telemarketing calls. Geist's site allows users to simply register and say, effectively, don't bother me -- to a large list of organizations, many of whom are exempt from existing do-not-call legislation (but not privacy regulations). Geist's website simplifies the process for those of us who do not want to be bothered by intrusions from businesses, survey companies, charities, and political organizations. Instead of having to look up each organization individually and register with them our wish not to be bothered, we simply click on the website, and voila, if the organizations call us after our registration, they will be in trouble.

Ok, I've repeated on several occasions that intrusive marketing often works effectively. Canvassing, especially, can really attract profitable business, quickly. But marketers need to realize that if you enter people's space uninvited to push your wares on us, you risk a backlash.

There is a better way -- and no, it doesn't involve wasting money on conventional advertising, leads services and the like. It involves respecting your potential clients, understanding what matters to them, and them setting yourself out as the company/organization that really understands and will help them solve their problems.

So, say, you are a roofing contractor. You could send a canvassing squad around to neighbourhoods and look for houses with crappy roofs, and knock on the doors, and you might get good results. (And, frankly, I wouldn't find that kind of canvassing that offensive, if your guys really could see the problem and knew the service is required.)

But what about another approach; perhaps leaving some informative literature at the door outlining effective options (without ringing the bell) ; perhaps contributing to a community organization helping low-income people with roofing problems, or perhaps creating some kind of helpful resource/website with all the answers about roofing that anyone could ever want, free, and easily accessible. Maybe you could strike a relationship with relevant retail businesses or organizations where people ask questions; maybe you could write a regular column for the weekly newspaper on roofing issues; maybe you could lead a campaign within your community to curb canvassing and telemarketing -- and sponsor it!

The point here is there are ways to connect and show respect for people and while sometimes in-your-face marketing is effective, and valid, it only is that when there is thought and respect for the person to whom you are marketing. Too much door-to-door and phone stuff is mindless crap, insensitive, and disrespectful of the privacy of the person to whom you are marketing. Think before you call or knock on the door -- or beware of the retaliation from do-not-call systems such as Michael Geist's.

Residential canvassing and b to b cold calls -- the yuck in marketing

I discovered this video at Seth Godin's blog -- Seth advocates Permission Marketing and I think would be aghast at the idea that marketers should send squads of canvassers through residential neighbourhoods, or sick telemarketers on your business. But the story is never so simple.

Two threads at contractortalk.com relate the challenges and opportunities of outbound 'push' marketing. I've waded deeply into the debate about the merits and risks of residential canvassing, while another thread-starter has asked the question: How should she handle a list of more than 600 potential b to b clients for fencing services. In the later thread, Susan Betz from Fences of Distinction in Ocala, Florida, expresses her fears and discomfort about making cold calls -- and receives suggestions, advice, and warnings from others.

The canvassing debate with Doug Holland of American Dream Vinyl of central Pennsylvania has grown heated at times. I've argued that door-knocking to sell services is wrong -- it is unfair for anyone selling stuff to intrude into the private space of our homes, whether or not it is legal or effective. However, I also concede that canvassing is probably quite effective and may have a place if your business is either in urgent need of a boost or in start-up mode.

The debate here revolves around a fundamental question about marketing which has gone on for eons. With all the clutter and noise out there, and all the challenges in gaining attention of our potential clients, how can we best work our way through the 'mind clutter' and achieve top of mind awareness. This problem is clearly outlined in the "this is an awareness test" video posted on Seth Godin's blog.

Here, we come to a fundamental question about marketing. If an intrusive, irritating, and downright offensive methodology -- to many, or perhaps the majority of potential clients -- 'works' for the minority, to the extent that it is utterly effective, is it wrong, especially if, once you have the clients in your system, you treat them well and with respect? In other words, if you have people banging on doors, or calling cold, and nine-tenths of the people out there want nothing to do with you and in fact are downright irritated with your intrusion, if you find the 1/10th real clients, and then convert them to loyal followers, have you done anything wrong?

These are good questions, and remind me of an experiment I tried some years ago with a fax information service for construction data and information.

I thought, why not send a free sample to everyone on a large list of construction association members. And I did, with a test sample. Out of a hundred people, I received two complaints, and two orders. The ratio seemed reasonable to me, so I rolled out the list, and picked up some 20 to 30 clients out of 1,000 names.

Fair enough. I thought, why not extend this further, to other lists; and then received the chilling awareness that when you go "in your face" you had better be careful about relevancy. Nothing but complaints -- including from people using third party fax services, who had to pay by the page for the data I dumped on them. (If I had tried this in the U.S. I would also have run into FCC regulations highly restricting fax advertising -- if you are thinking of doing any kind of broadcast fax marketing in the States, be aware, you can easily be snared in some very expensive litigation!)

The broadcast fax situation got out of hand a few years ago when, under public pressure, the FCC tried to strengthen the anti-marketing fax legislation even more to close some 'loopholes' for trade associations and prior business relationships. Fortunately, a coalition of trade associations and marketers rallied to have these rules modified -- ironically, this type of fax advertising is now hardly intrusive nor expensive for most businesses, since faxes generally feed into computers and in any case, are easy to discard without intruding on your space or time.

Canvassers, meanwhile, ran into problems with local ordinances as communities tried to restrict the nuisance of door-to-door selling. But this one found its way to the Supreme Court, and canvassing is indeed legal and cannot be stopped. So now the floodgate is opening as canvassing consultants ply their trade and sell their services -- of course not by canvassing, but by Internet and relationship-based "pull" marketing.

We can argue this one up and down and around and around but it seems to me the marketing space is polarizing, between really heavy intrusion marketing (canvassing and telesales) and really good permission marketing (PR, electronic newsletters, search engine marketing), with the more conventional advertising approaches, whether they be print, direct mail, or radio and television, struggling with costs and the challenges of breaking through the attention-getting clutter. In this environment, perhaps the best approach indeed is to find a combination -- systematically using canvassing or telesales to generate leads, even as you work to deliver your product/service with such high quality that you don't actually need to do that type of marketing, because you have so much repeat business and referrals from satisfied clients.

Of course, that is the rub of the situation. If our businesses are well enough run that permission marketing generates most of our business, why would we want to engage in practices which we find distasteful and irritating? I won't solve this problem anytime soon.

The two schools

In seeking an image for this posting, I came across CEOread.com with a blog dedicated to reviewing books relevant to business owners and leaders. This image relates to a free e-book, 9 Minds on Marketing.

I notice something of a 'great divide' in marketing and sales philosophies. One one side is the "in your face" approach -- that you need to push yourself in front of (often reluctant) people and "close" them on the sale. Canvassing and direct telephone solicitation are two of the most blatant examples of this approach. On the other extreme is the passive approach; businesses are best built on repeat and referral business; if you do your work well enough that clients love your service they will always return for more, and tell their friends, and you'll have a never-ending stream of clients.
Many succcessful businesses combine the two models, including ours. We have salespeople who will call "cold" where approrpiate, but we also see the world beyond the next transaction and seek to build/maintain lasting relationships and referrals.
So, is one approach inherently better than the other, and are there circumstances where you should consider shifting your approach to the other camp?
I would argue that you should allocate 80 per cent of your marketing effort to the service/branding experience -- creating the good will and connections to build for the future. But you should not ignore the remaining 20 per cent and here, even where it is unconventional within your community, you may wish to explore in a planned and disciplined way some of the more assertive marketing options. In certain circumstances -- say a business crisis with rapidly declining sales -- you may need to shift more urgently to assertive outbound marketing; the problem is, if you haven't prepared with testing and evaluation ahead of time, you may spin your wheels, alienate potential clients, and pour thousands of dollars down the drain in ill-thought canvassing or advertising programs.
The challenge is for you to determine how/where to use and experiment with the different marketing approaches. And this isn't going to be easy. First, you don't want to blow away your good reputation or successful models; secondly, the alternative approaches may clash with your existing business culture; and finally, if you things in a half-baked way, you are likely to end up with disappointing results which won't tell you much useful.
Here it is hard to talk theory without knowing your own situation on the ground. Every business and community has its own quirks and unique elements; you need to combine recognition of these aspects with an understanding of the general principals and values behind the different methodologies. But I still believe you should take some risks, step outside your comfort zone and experiment. Just give the experiment enough time and sufficient resources to be valid.

Cold calling for AEC Services

This poster is on an article from the British Broadcasting Corporation -- and a story about residential door-to-door cold calling. No doubt about it, cold calling can be effective BUT it is not for the faint of heart (or anyone who cannot stomach much rejection). If you are thinking of doing it for an AEC practice, it is best to go prepared, and with a clear plan of action.

An interesting discussion is developing on the SMPS listserve about whether it makes sense to cold call for AEC services (coupled with direct marketing pieces).

Paul Klassen, Marketing Coordinator of C. H. Guernsey & Company Oklahoma City wrote

I was curious about an aspect of marketing that I haven't seen come up on this list. For professional services (architecture/engineering), in a very targeted market - do any of your firms cold call via phone?
Example: You are targeting a very specific market, like a particular type of building/facility user. You may have the name of the facility manager, or not. The region is your city only. You'verecently sent a direct mail and this cold call would follow up to see if they remembered the direct mail piece and also if there are any services for facility expansion you could provide. There may be a significant number (>500) of facilities of the type in your city.
If you do not feel this is a viable process, why?
If you do, who would you expect to perform this service, an internal marketing staff? The project managers or junior level architectural staff (who would be familiar with the specific facility type)? A contracted telemarketing firm?

Dan Caldwell of Stout and Caldwell Engineers in Cinnaminson, NJ responded:

Q: You may have the name of the facility manager, or not.
A: My opinion, the "or not" piece of the puzzle needs to be eliminated. If you don't have the name
of the facility manager or a key decision maker, please don't waste the time/effort and money sending your beautifully designed marketing piece to just "facility manager".
SUGGESTION: Do your cold calls first to identify the facility manager or more importantly, the decision maker. Then, send the mailer and do your follow up calls. P.S. While you have them on the phone, verify all of the mailing contact information, phone, fax, email, website etc.
Q: You've recently sent a direct mail and this cold call would follow up to see if they remembered the direct mail piece and also if there are any services for facility expansion you could provide.
A: Design your marketing piece so there is no way they could forget it, be memorable! Forgetting your mailer cannot/should not be an option, really!
If you do this, the call you make will take little or no "re-introduction"so you can get right to the reason you really called, to see if there is any business there!
Q: There may be a significant number (>500) of facilities of the type in your city.
A: AGAIN, above all else, make sure that your mail piece is designed to be memorable so when you do the "cold call", they can't help but to remember your firm. P.S. 74%+/- of companies who send out marketing pieces, don't do follow-up calls from their mailers. They are using the shotgun approach:reason, follow-up is work, its hard work but if done correctly, it can be the best marketing tool for your business; you just have to be willing to pay that price.
Q: If you do not feel this is a viable process, why?
A: I do feel this is a viable process but with modification. Personally, I love cold calling prospective clients, with or without a pre-mailer.
Q: If you do, who would you expect to perform this service?
Internal marketing staff: 75%
Project Managers: 12.5%
Junior level architectural staff: 12.5%
A contracted telemarketing firm - either 0% or 100% (all or nothing)
A: RECOMMENDATION: If the marketing staff doesn't know and understand the specific facility type, they need to learn it and learn it fast! How could they "Talk Turkey" to the facility manager or the decision maker?
Everyone in the company needs to now the "details" of the business type that you are targeting i.e., the key players, the competition, the winners, the losers in the business, who is growing, who is contracting, which companies are the most conservative and the least conservative; the standard "lingo"in the business (and they need to speak it like it's part of their every day conversation), they have to have a handle on pricing, time variables, permitting, local, state and federal requirements etc.
My bottom line: If you spend time putting together a great marketing piece, PLEASE take the time to make sure it gets to the right person and that when you follow up to see if your mailer arrived properly, make sure that the person calling has a handle on the conversation, wherever it may go. Suggestion: If you don't like cold calling, try this: Write your script and practice it for a day. Then try it out on the prospects that are less likely to give you business. You need to learn to expect to receive "no" for an answer which makes getting a "Yes" or even an opportunity, that much sweeter. Then as you improve your cold calling skills, focus on those key prospects who really can give you business. Also, measure the success rates: (positive-vs-negative). Do it for a week, a month and a year. If you keep doing it and measuring it, you will eventually see your improvement and realize how great cold calling can be!

My thoughts? Cold calling is tough for professional salespeople; it would be demoralizing for anyone who doesn't have the 'right stuff' for sales work (but notably many people who would make great salespeople, are in non-sales jobs). Properly done it can be effective IF you know who you are calling, and have a natural approach to the situation. Otherwise, expect your share of rudeness, hostility and downright demoralizing responses.

(Today, for example, sitting at Amanda's desk, (she couldn't get in because of a snowstorm), some guys were pounding the floor in a neighbouring office with a hydraulic drill. And I needed to prepare for an important meeting due to start in 10 minutes. Someone calls: "Can I speak to the person responsible for IT services in your company?" Did that person exactly receive a favourable reception --when in fact he had reached the right person and I generally try to be courteous to inbound callers?)

"Flipping Telemarketers"?

Amy S.Quinn sent me this email yesterday:

Hi Mark,

We just posted an article "Flip the Script: 34 Scripts and Ideas for Getting Back at Telemarketers " (http://www.insidecrm.com/features/get-back-at-telemarketers-112707/).
I thought I'd bring it to your attention just in case you think your readers would find it interesting. Either way, thanks for your time!"

Clearly, this article's writer spent some time gathering quite a collection of options designed to make a telemarketer's day less than inspiring And the reality is uninspired telemarketing is just that -- it is intrusive, offensive and irritating (and this leads to a spiral of negativity).

The challenge, for telemarketers, is not to "be" a telemarketer -- but to connect on a human level; the best can do this -- if they are working from a script, you don't know it!

(Meanwhile, I have another problem. Why is it that driving for seven hours to a three day trade-show where I won't have much time to sit at a phone and return calls, I receive six messages. I'll somehow find the time later today....) We're at Booth 117, and yes, you can phone me at 613-292-3973.