I'd consider this a "100% response rate" rather than an aspect of conversion rate. Conversion typically implies sign ups or sales of some form, especially in the context of cold calls.
That said, this information is gold -- I'll use it myself to increase high-priority responses.
That is a fair point. I debated about that phrasing specifically, but a friend of mine in outside sales uses 'response rate' for a cold call to simply mean he got to make a pitch.
We've used a similar technique - although not very aggressively at http://row27.com
We work in sports, and found that although we had 50+ clients in college, the pros were hard to penetrate. So we started http://rowshow.com and contacted a few industry leaders to be on. Very quickly that got us our first two pro teams, 1 NBA, and 1 NFL - 100% conversion to sale.
Although after reading this I think we might do it in a more organized fashion, at least after all other contact methods have failed.
This isn't a 100% conversion rate. You're investing a lot of time and effort on this and not getting a financial return. It may well help you with prospecting and could even help get you to your initial sale but please see it for the exercise that it is, which is market research, not sales.
I do hope it all works out well for you and that you get some very valuable feedback.
I feel like the first bit is an argument over semantics. Does conversion mean I sold something? Does it mean I got someone to perform a desired action?
You're right on the next part. It is a significant time and effort investment. The theory is that I'm saving myself money and time spent developing software no one will use. And the Zen Master said, "We'll See."
Simply brilliant! All this time i’ve been thinking i’d like to write staff scheduling software for cafe’s, if only i could make some contacts with cafe owners. This sounds like a great way to make those contacts.
Do you mind telling us which blog it is that you’ve got? Was it important to the prospects that your blog has lots of readers? Also, were the prospects you called in an internet-related industry where linkbacks and blog posts are important to them? Or were they simply bricks and mortar?
Thanks
The blog in question is fledgling (~ 6 months old). It has little traffic, but is growing quickly. The industry is wildlife management. None of the business owners I spoke with even asked about traffic. They aren't (usually) technically sophisticated.
They typically do have websites and they sell breeder stock wildlife online through different channels. Link backs and online PR can really benefit them and they recognize that.
The business requires acreage, starter animals with recognized genetics/pedigree, and a lot of dirty work.
IMHO the OP is misleading in saying he only wants to "know more about <industry>", because he actually wants to turn these people into early customers. Isn't that a way to piss them off? Otherwise maybe the idea is to defer the customer development phase to later, but it seems a waste to find interested people and not having them as customers.
If he solves their problems and the become customers why would anyone be pissed off? If it validates his idea it's far more valuable than the time he'd waste developing his concept in a vacuum. Seems like I've read somewhere that if you want to succeed in business you need to be OK with pissing a few people off.
This is basically the equivalent of an information interview that he then writes about on his blog. He even addresses this with: "There were a few skeptics on the phone that wanted to know what I was getting out of the arrangement. I replied with the truth:" and what he says is the truth.
This is customer development, not sales. He wasn't selling anything. He was doing research on potential customers' needs. He was 100% upfront about what he wanted from them: to hear about what they do.
I'm not selling them anything. I do write a blog in their industry. Honesty is important to me. I'm establishing relationships and trying to understand people and the problems they may have with their business.
It says pretty clearly in the article that he wasn't selling anything. He admits in his script that he doesn't have anything to sell. Your point is valid, just not applicable to this article.
[+] [-] aspir|14 years ago|reply
That said, this information is gold -- I'll use it myself to increase high-priority responses.
[+] [-] rgraham|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dusing|14 years ago|reply
We work in sports, and found that although we had 50+ clients in college, the pros were hard to penetrate. So we started http://rowshow.com and contacted a few industry leaders to be on. Very quickly that got us our first two pro teams, 1 NBA, and 1 NFL - 100% conversion to sale.
Although after reading this I think we might do it in a more organized fashion, at least after all other contact methods have failed.
[+] [-] _b8r0|14 years ago|reply
I do hope it all works out well for you and that you get some very valuable feedback.
[+] [-] rgraham|14 years ago|reply
You're right on the next part. It is a significant time and effort investment. The theory is that I'm saving myself money and time spent developing software no one will use. And the Zen Master said, "We'll See."
Thanks for the encouragement.
[+] [-] marcamillion|14 years ago|reply
I tried cold calling a few prospects, but I could only get through less than 20. It was brutal.
But now that you have proposed this, I am going to re-think my process and see how I can integrate this.
I think this can work, when done right.
Plus, it can be an awesome source for some good quality blog articles - that increases SEO traffic on those keywords.
[+] [-] Tichy|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chubs|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rgraham|14 years ago|reply
They typically do have websites and they sell breeder stock wildlife online through different channels. Link backs and online PR can really benefit them and they recognize that.
The business requires acreage, starter animals with recognized genetics/pedigree, and a lot of dirty work.
[+] [-] toumhi|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jharrison|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amorphid|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dolvlo|14 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] noahc|14 years ago|reply
This is basically the equivalent of an information interview that he then writes about on his blog. He even addresses this with: "There were a few skeptics on the phone that wanted to know what I was getting out of the arrangement. I replied with the truth:" and what he says is the truth.
I don't see any lying at all in this.
[+] [-] chc|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rgraham|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jharrison|14 years ago|reply