Earlier this week I completed my target list. My goal was to create a high value list of exactly 100 customers to make it easier to learn from metrics later on.

The list I started out with had company names, main phone number and website. Only the companies I could find the name of the business owner and a direct contact email address for qualified for my list.

Send out in the morning

Although it’s good practise to check your email once or twice a day, most people are not that strict. They have this constant stream of new email notifications and will most likely see your email as soon as they get it. That doesn’t mean they have time or energy to answer it.

I was able to send my emails around 10:00 AM. I’ve read open and response rates are even higher earlier in the day. 7 AM would be perfect. So it would be nice to be able to schedule it.

The numbers

Emails sent: 100
Bounce: 2
Out-of-office: 6
Replies: 12
Answer: 6

Not too bad in the middle of high season summer holidays.

Setting a goal for the call

I planned to call both responders and non-responders. Although I reached a lot of voicemails and a lot of people were still on holidays, it all went quite well. After sending emails on tuesday, this first day of calling (thursday) I ended up making an appointment for next week!

I noticed how setting a distinct goal for the call helped me close it. My goal was to make an appointment to call back or schedule a meeting. It was not about getting as much information as possible from this call already. When I was less focused on what I would learn from the call itself, I was less attached to the outcome of the call, making me sound more natural. And I think that created trust for the person I was calling, making them more open to talk.

After doing more calls on friday I had 3 face-to-face meetings scheduled, two scheduled calls, and there was someone who called me back a day later. It felt real good making this kind of progress.

Making cold calls a little warmer

Some people told me in email they weren’t interested. When I called one of them despite, we talked for over 15 minutes and I ended up with a face-to-face meeting for next week. Unbelievable. This really learned me how sending these emails are just a way to make it easier to reach the decision maker as you have something to talk about. It’s making my cold calls just enough warmer.