[capaxess]

I recently purchased new leads from Meridian (UCC with cell numbers) and I'm looking to see if anyone else is doing outbound calling to compare notes. The list are good numbers mostly but very churned with many, many hang-ups and "please stop calling" requests.

So far I've made 1650 dials (approximately 17 days) and added 57 new prospects to my pipeline (note: to me a prospect is someone who specifically asks for contact info and expresses verbally the intent to seek financing now or in the near future)

I consider these results to be pretty poor when compared to the amount of time and effort expended. These are exclusively cold calls; I also spend considerable time on follow-up calls, emails and texts.

Making calls from a home office in isolation has some advantages (like the commute!) but drawbacks include a lack of interaction with colleagues and exchange of methods and ideas.

I'm reaching out to the board (yes, especially you Karen) for feedback. I'm not where I thought I would be earnings-wise yet and I could sure use some guidance from the more experienced members here.

Thank you!

[Michael I]

How many did you actually speak with and how many calls had no answer? Have you seen app back yet ?

[capaxess]

Haven't seen an app from this group yet and I'm low tech (manual dial) so I don't have actual response numbers to compare.

I do have quite a few that said they need an offer now but then I need to make multiple attempts after my initial contact to re-connect and actually get papers.

I have generated roughly 25 actual submissions from cold calling exclusively since May; only 3 closed with 5 deals funded (small ones).

I came VERY close on many larger deals (above $300K) all of which unfortunately fell through or were lost to better offers.

[Karen37a]

I recently purchased new leads from Meridian (UCC with cell numbers) and I'm looking to see if anyone else is doing outbound calling to compare notes. The list are good numbers mostly but very churned with many, many hang-ups and "please stop calling" requests.

So far I've made 1650 dials (approximately 17 days) and added 57 new prospects to my pipeline (note: to me a prospect is someone who specifically asks for contact info and expresses verbally the intent to seek financing now or in the near future)

I consider these results to be pretty poor when compared to the amount of time and effort expended. These are exclusively cold calls; I also spend considerable time on follow-up calls, emails and texts.

Making calls from a home office in isolation has some advantages (like the commute!) but drawbacks include a lack of interaction with colleagues and exchange of methods and ideas.

I'm reaching out to the board (yes, especially you Karen) for feedback. I'm not where I thought I would be earnings-wise yet and I could sure use some guidance from the more experienced members here.

Thank you!

Each Salesperson has different results with the same leads

It depends on your lead in questions to the call..and this is where sales ability comes in and the art of linguistics

if you ask yes or no questions or an open ended questions or questions to start the conversations off you will be told " take me off your list ", "i was called 100 times"

I probally typed how to conquer this about 10 times over the last 3 years...i am sure you can search for it

The proper sales scripts almost hypnotizes someone into a yes yes yes mode until you come down to the qualification then you choose if you want to move forward or hang up on them not you.. (dont really hang up...say 90 days or never)

[Karen37a]

Haven't seen an app from this group yet and I'm low tech (manual dial) so I don't have actual response numbers to compare.

I do have quite a few that said they need an offer now but then I need to make multiple attempts after my initial contact to re-connect and actually get papers.

I have generated roughly 25 actual submissions from cold calling exclusively since May; only 3 closed with 5 deals funded (small ones).

I came VERY close on many larger deals (above $300K) all of which unfortunately fell through or were lost to better offers.

I told you where you were going wrong when you first started...I think you went to the nurse's convention to prospect at that point.

If you do not figure it out 1 month send me the opening lines ill cross them out and send back corrected versions ( with typos on them)

middle

lock down

close

__

The real reason I could not work for someone was the salesforce was descending on my desk asking me where I got my leads from and can I teach them and the telemarking manager who cant sell hated my guts and still does ( while I was going into the manager office saying get them away from me and the tele manager yelling ...I am the telemarketing manager !!! ) ..I heard he is still yapping about me ...get over it

A few of the brokers dropping to their knees and howling at the moon when i walked by ( wolf of wall st) and calling me Gordon Gekko did not help either

[capaxess]

I have evolved a lot since then. The attention to niche markets and focusing on them came mostly because the leads I was calling at the time were skewed toward medical files. I don't focus on any particular industry now except I did notice a lot of the UCC leads tend to be construction, contracting & trucking/transportation.

My pitch is efficient in that it's simple and quick; I call on UCC/MCA leads so I just say "It looks like you were able to get financing in (month), are you looking to renew or do you need additional cash?"

That usually leads to yes/no/maybe type responses. I should point out that the leads themselves are pretty good. That is, they are mostly correct numbers and a lot of decision makers actually pick up the phone and engage so, kudos to Meridian!

The problem is that they're really rough cold calls because they've been called so often. Any list that get me quickly talking to DM's is good to me though.

[Karen37a]

I have evolved a lot since then. The attention to niche markets and focusing on them came mostly because the leads I was calling at the time were skewed toward medical files. I don't focus on any particular industry now except I did notice a lot of the UCC leads tend to be construction, contracting & trucking/transportation.

My pitch is efficient in that it's simple and quick; I call on UCC/MCA leads so I just say "It looks like you were able to get financing in (month), are you looking to renew or do you need additional cash?"

That usually leads to yes/no/maybe type responses. I should point out that the leads themselves are pretty good. That is, they are mostly correct numbers and a lot of decision makers actually pick up the phone and engage so, kudos to Meridian!

The problem is that they're really rough cold calls because they've been called so often. Any list that get me quickly talking to DM's is good to me though.

You cant say that on the front that is the trump " grab um by the Ps *** " lead in

Can you imagine being a merchant and getting 10 calls like that a day


Ther merchants who respond to the gram um by the p opening are stacked to the hilt and ready to default

and that when the brokers, some funders come on the DF saying " who does, or we do consolidations"

[capaxess]

So, what do you suggest?

[Karen37a]

So, what do you suggest?

I suggest you pm me your number and I will call you next week so I do not give out the "magic pitch" to the country and have more competition

[capaxess]

it would be an honor.

[Karen37a]

it would be an honor.

I am not that conceited I appear that way sometimes...when people are bugging me or doing all the systems wrong

its frustrating

And I am not a multi multi millionaire or billionaire

Also when people help people on these boards , greed turns them into some kind of crazy lying lunatic

[Michael I]

Haven't seen an app from this group yet and I'm low tech (manual dial) so I don't have actual response numbers to compare.

I do have quite a few that said they need an offer now but then I need to make multiple attempts after my initial contact to re-connect and actually get papers.

I have generated roughly 25 actual submissions from cold calling exclusively since May; only 3 closed with 5 deals funded (small ones).

I came VERY close on many larger deals (above $300K) all of which unfortunately fell through or were lost to better offers.

the general numbers in my opinion on ucc should be for every hundred you speak to you should have about 20 prospects in your words and 1 funded . basically 1% . keep in mind contrary to poplar belief they are different levels of ucc

[Karen37a]

the general numbers in my opinion on ucc should be for every hundred you speak to you should have about 20 prospects in your words and 1 funded . basically 1% . keep in mind contrary to poplar belief they are different levels of ucc

this is true about the ucc or any raw data...shhhhhhhh lol

you learn this by analyzing marketing .. leads, closes ..default ratios


(I knew you knew what you are doing)

Real salespeople can still call the yellow pages and get good results

100 uccs for me will yield 3-5 , if I follow up ( but they do not fund the next day )


*** this is also why new brokers should have signed onto a Super Isos...massive costs on leads lost, data,,,sales missed, backdoored etc

[Shorebird]

Read this blog.

https://fundingstrat.com/

It is well worth it.

Has opening cold call pitch in there as well.

[Karen37a]

Read this blog.

https://fundingstrat.com/

It is well worth it.

Has opening cold call pitch in there as well.

I can bet the pitch is wrong

ill take a look at it later

[Karen37a]

The Key is you have 30 seconds to dazzle them to keep them on the phone for the next 30 seconds, then to the pitch ( which has to pull people not push)

Then

logistic regression into a binary variable...there are independent variables but you must know categorical outputs

you can ask a series of questions to determine the probability ( qualifying questions)

Then intent...then you get right down to sales selling the dream or the nightmare, sell solution not debt load


( or someone puts this in plain English for you...and its not in a book or taught)



And Jordon use to sell Ices on jones beach, his name was scoops ( because he has a block and scaped it vs the other kind )and someone on this forum recruited him and trained him before he turned bad

[DonMcGrath]

So, what do you suggest?

Your problem seems to be time and creating urgency with the merchant, and to a lesser extent, you don't have a completely thought out gameplan (based on what you've told us so far).


Its not whether your opening pitch is bad or good, it's what your goal is to accomplish. You're asking
a quick Yes/No question, to find out if they have any interest right there on the spot. This is a "Sorting" strategy, commonly used for cold prospects where the goal is to get through them as quickly as possible to find that hot interested person ready to buy now.

Nothing wrong with that and it appears to be working for you as your numbers are consistent with what Michael I, ascribed to, and I agree with, about 20% of your prospects are showing interest. Of course, the time problem, you're only speak to owners about 10 -20% of the time.


The other problem is you're not executing the rest of the "sorting" strategy properly. Now that you have this hot merchant, what are you doing speed him down along this path to a close. What compelling need have you identified? Have you gotten into his desires and goals, and leveraged them to create urgency?


My guess is you have not, you are just sending the app out, letting him know you'll call back, and that's that. So you did three days of apple picking, filled up your cart, rolled it to the top of the hill, and poured them over the cliff into someone else's garden. You should come work for us www.dumbleads.com We love staff who insist on working hard for free.

To compound this, because you're doing everything manually, you're spending a ton of time prospecting with an incomplete strategy. At least with some type of automation you have more prospects to work in your favor to at least pull out some type of profit for your time, rather than taking 2 months to realize your work has been unprofitable.

But today is a new day, and you're asking now.

[Karen37a]

Your problem seems to be time and creating urgency with the merchant, and to a lesser extent, you don't have a completely thought out gameplan (based on what you've told us so far).


Its not whether your opening pitch is bad or good, it's what your goal is to accomplish. You're asking
a quick Yes/No question, to find out if they have any interest right there on the spot. This is a "Sorting" strategy, commonly used for cold prospects where the goal is to get through them as quickly as possible to find that hot interested person ready to buy now.

Nothing wrong with that and it appears to be working for you as your number are consistent with what Michael I ascribed and I agree with, about 20% of your prospects are showing interest. The problem is you're not executing the rest of the strategy properly. Now that you have this hot merchant, what are you doing speed him down along this path to a close. What compelling need have you identified? Have you gotten into his desires and goals, and leveraged them to create urgency?


My guess is you have not, you are just sending the app out, letting him know you'll call back, and that's that. So you did three days of apple picking, filled up your cart, rolled it to the top of the hill, and poured them over the cliff into someone else's garden. You should come work for us www.dumbleads.com We love staff who insist on working hard to make no money.


To compound this, because you're doing everything manually. You're spending a ton of time prospecting with an incomplete strategy. At least with some type of automation you have more prospects to work in your favor to at least pull out some type of profit for your time, rather than taking 2 months to realize your work has been unprofitable.

But today is a new day, and you're asking now.








or a compelling need

Taken off he net ( yes or no questions)
The problem with yes or no questions during sales is that you’ll do all the talking and prospects will quickly close out the conversation. The most important thing you can do during sales is to get the prospect talking by asking quality, open-ended questions that start with the following words:

Who
What
Where
Why
When
How
Which
A great question to always have handy is “How so?” That way, the prospect can continue explaining whatever it is they were talking about and go into greater detail. The best sales people are great listeners and ask great questions. Sales is about listening more than selling

__



now the person who wrote this should not ask open ended questions they should be closed ended leading questions its more effective


Great Lawyers/ Litigators have to learn to do this...or they get thier arse kicked up and down the court room

[capaxess]

Thank you!

[fundingsmbs]

"1650 dials (approximately 17 days) and added 57 new prospects to my pipeline. This equates to 97 dials per day over 17 days." Zero applications and statements = no ROI yet. You also have to add in time=money. How long did 97 dials per day take you on average?


"I have generated roughly 25 actual submissions from cold calling exclusively since May; only 3 closed with 5 deals funded (small ones)." How did 3 deals close but you funded 5 deals? May-Current would= 4 submissions per mo on avg.

on those larger files where they were killed at the end, did you try other companies as well or let it go once it got killed? I can tell you many many times when a deal is killed, we have been able to secure funds elsewhere with the same file. Maybe add some funder's if your seeing a contract in/decline trend.

[Karen37a]

Now

Do it your way...same results

or Master your Craft

Because when a great salesperson gets on the back end of those calls( not a pushy in your face grab um by the p and yes or no question.)..the merchant will shift their way ...And they can hang onto the merchant thru the backdooring drama at times

This is not order taking its sales



Something called NEXT !

( last advice on sales...people really do not want the answer, everyone wants a simple automated application thing)

[capaxess]

Thanks for taking the time to help me with this!

Ok, actually I do considerable follow up especially on those who tell me they need a deal now. Besides follow up calls to get paperwork I also use texts and emails which refer to conversation we had for example: " I'm ready to make an offer on the $30K you need".

Many times a prospect will show warm, immediate interest in getting an offer and then not answer phone/text or respond to emails for weeks before I reconnect only to have the interest gone or discover they renewed/funded elsewhere.

On those where interest is only luke warm I give them a "touch' about once every 30 days either by phone/text or email.I also connect via social media with some of the larger prospects.

[Karen37a]

Thanks for taking the time to help me with this!

Ok, actually I do considerable follow up especially on those who tell me they need a deal now. Besides follow up calls to get paperwork I also use texts and emails which refer to conversation we had for example: " I'm ready to make an offer on the $30K you need".

Many times a prospect will show warm, immediate interest in getting an offer and then not answer phone/text or respond to emails for weeks before I reconnect only to have the interest gone or discover they renewed/funded elsewhere.

On those where interest is only luke warm I give them a "touch' about once every 30 days either by phone/text or email.I also connect via social media with some of the larger prospects.

What you just said has nothing to do with your original question and it is not the solution

If you are going to be in a battle for automated applications you lost before you got started ..SEO from big companies, banks pay pal kabbage etc etc has you beat also big telemarketing rooms, amex , square, big visa mastercard prossesors offering cash advances to their merchants...credit repair and building , credit karma etc etc

You have to sell yourself...I am off

__

ps this is normally where someone says I do not understand computers /SEO or something

And I snap back " i HAVE A COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREE"

[DonMcGrath]

She’s off, but actually she’ll be right back.

What she’s saying is you need to do a much better job on the first call, because your chances of being remembered ever again drop drastically when you get off that phone call. Too many people know Uccs are a great source for deals, and when the 10 people call after you, you’ll be vapor...and not the flavored kind.

Following up is great of course, but until you develop a working strategy or technique, using the tools you mentioned pits you against people who know what they’re doing and do it on a large scale with lots of resources behind them.

Basically, keep practicing and learning. Also keep in mind that your speed of learning and the level of knowledge you receive is usually proportionate to the value you bring to the person teaching you. Basically, paid advice is usually better than free advice, so if you can help someone make money, you’ll be better off faster.

What you just said has nothing to do with your original question and it is not the solution

If you are going to be in a battle for automated applications you lost before you got started ..SEO from big companies, banks pay pal kabbage etc etc has you beat also big telemarketing rooms

You have to sell yourself...I am off

[capaxess]

Grateful for your feedback, thanks!

5 deals funded because two of my clients got two positions each from different lenders.

97 dials take about 90-120 minutes depending on how many engagements with prospects I actually get into. Because not all days/times are optimal I tend to "bunch" my calling into 200-400 dial sessions. My new minimum standard is to make at least 600 out-bound cold calls (dials) per week on top of all my other activities.

Time and experience are my only resources to build a book. I plan to invest in tools to become more efficient but I need to close some more deals first. I used these same skills in the brokerage industry for decades and they always had me at or near the top of production standings. Frankly I a little dismayed at how long this is taking to produce returns. I'm in contact with others who are tearing it up and it's frustrating.

On the larger files I almost wanna cry; one deal $375,000 was killed at login by the funder because the merchant was negative. The others were all at differing stages of closing when either the merchant went dark or decided to take a different offer.

I feel that my priority should be to increase deal flow since the percentage of submissions that actually fund is low. I have good funding source relationships but I'll never be on serious funders' speed dial because my deal flow is pathetic. I find it's much easier to find fund-ers than to find fund-ees!!lol!