

Ask HN: Is cold calling ever an acceptable marketing practice? - brockf

My company launched a product a couple of weeks that, quite simply, is amazing.  However, very few people know about it!<p>I know with absolute certainty that its target users would want to use it if they (a) knew it was out there and, (b) were able to learn more about it and/or see it in action.<p>I've tried AdWords for years and never had much success, and there's not much of a community that (like HN) which would create a real "buzz" about it.  It needs to be actively sold to get the ball rolling.<p>I've been thinking about cold calling web development firms and offering them a free license for the software as well as free consultation about how it would work for one of their web development projects.  But I HATE spam.<p>Is cold calling ever an option or is this is a black-and-white case of spam?  Any tips or suggestions on how to make these calls, if you think they <i>are</i> OK?<p>Thanks!
======
cabinguy
Cold calling isn't just acceptable - it is highly effective. Just make sure
you register at <https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/> if you want to do it
correctly.

~~~
daimyoyo
His sales would be B2B, which is exempt from DNC regulations.

------
chrisclark1729
Two points:

First, if your product truly is amazing then there is nothing wrong with cold
calling someone to alert them of it's existence. Particularly if you are
offering them free use of said product. In fact, if your product truly would
enhance their lives you owe to them to let them know about it.

If someone cold called me and offered me 25 hour days I would not call it
spam.

Second, do your best to warm the cold call. At least narrow the distance
between you and your prospects. You would be surprised at how connect you
really are. Just remember specifically who your target is and how it can help
them. Tell everyone you know to look out for these types of people and see if
you can't get 5 minutes of their time.

Bottom line, targeting the right type of person with the mission of improving
their lives is not spam. Mindlessly sending out requests to anyone and
everyone is spam.

------
daimyoyo
They are ok if you do them correctly. First piece of advice would be do not
use a dialer. There are very few things business owners hate more than talking
to some robot asking them to press 1. Second, cold calling is VERY hard work
regardless of how good your product is. You might want to hire a sales
professional. If you don't(and I presume you have no phone sales experience)
they'll eat you alive. Finally, there are other ways of marketing you may have
left out. Have you advertised in trade publications? Or asked for a story in
the tech press? Remember that reporters have deadlines to meet and they'll
cover almost anything that's interesting. Hope this helps. Good luck on your
launch.

------
transmit101
I worked as a cold-call telesales rep between the ages of 19 and 21.

If you have a product targeting SMEs, then I would highly recommend you
consider cold-calling. It's cheap, fast, highly effective and every
owner/manager of such a business is used to fielding these calls.

I was able to consistently secure my employers £1k-£2k of business per week,
selling a pretty mundane (non-tech) product. Not figures on their own that
will make anybody a millionaire, but any early-stage startup should kill for
that revenue.

Selling to larger businesses is more difficult and time-consuming, because
it's rare/impossible to be able to get an instant decision over the phone. But
it may still be worthwhile to try.

Making the calls is quite hard work. I crafted a rough script, but as I
practiced more I'd deviate increasingly from it: it's important to sound
friendly, confident and non-robotlike. And you've got to have a pretty thick
skin, and accept that some days will be relatively barren. On the other hand,
it's a great buzz when you get a few sales in a row :)

Good luck

------
pixeloution
Sales calls -- especially in the business to business market are part of the
game. If you don't do it, you're giving yourself a severe disadvantage.

------
notyetdeleted
Wait, this is software related to web development, and you don't believe
there's a community online to create 'buzz' about the product?

------
ig1
Yes. Cold calling is part of b2b sales.

------
Jsarokin
Not sure about the cold calling, but you may want to do some SEO on some
keywords you think the web dev firms would look up regularly.

That way the clients find your business on their own instead of you "forcing"
it to them.

------
kirpekar
Cold calling != marketing

Cold calling = sales

... And should be evaluated like any other sales vehicle. How much time &
money is it going to take v/s how much revenue is it going t generate.

------
remthename
You have the chance to advertise it right here. I am curious.

