Cold calling local businesses as a foreigner?

iSmexy

iSmexy

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2013
Messages
336
Reaction score
274
Anyone has any experience with that? offering services to local businesses doesn't work the usual way here in my country and the money is not even worth the effort so I want to try and cold call US local businesses. Does the accent make a difference or make it look unprofessional that I am not American?
Or is it fine as long as they can understand what I am saying?
 
Advertise on BHW
Depends, accent but still easy to understand what you are trying to pitch them?
Furthermore, the issue may just come into play depending how much you want to charge and they will surely want contact information. Do you have a website? official business?

Also, keep in mind you have to set yourself apart as these businesses get sooo much spam in their mail, so many spam/sales calls that you should be prepared for rejection and not give up.
 
iSmexy said:
Anyone has any experience with that? offering services to local businesses doesn't work the usual way here in my country and the money is not even worth the effort so I want to try and cold call US local businesses. Does the accent make a difference or make it look unprofessional that I am not American?
Or is it fine as long as they can understand what I am saying?
Click to expand...

You should be good to go. Just remember to use phrases such as " hey my friend" and "buddy"
 
theRevolt said:
Depends, accent but still easy to understand what you are trying to pitch them?
Furthermore, the issue may just come into play depending how much you want to charge and they will surely want contact information. Do you have a website? official business?

Also, keep in mind you have to set yourself apart as these businesses get sooo much spam in their mail, so many spam/sales calls that you should be prepared for rejection and not give up.
Click to expand...
Anything from web design to SEO. Currently I have a half assed basic looking weebly website as I don't have any investment but I am targeting successful local businesses with websites that look straight out of 2003, so it shouldn't be an issue I think. After the first sale I'll get a domain and a professional looking website but I think this one will do for now.
 
LukaB said:
Where are you from?
Click to expand...
Egypt, I can comfortably understand English and my accent is average and understandable I think since I've made a call about a job before and I was told it was better than expected.
 
iSmexy said:
Egypt, I can comfortably understand English and my accent is average and understandable I think since I've made a call about a job before and I was told it was better than expected.
Click to expand...

You won't know until you try.

Truth is, a U.S accent is an obvious plus however what I noticed, at least in California is that it's incredibly diverse. You have all types of accents (I've had one, but living there for 2 years I've adopted the Cali accent and now when I travel people say I'm from the U.S). Despite that, people still keep their accent with a mix of a local one, so you do have a chance.

Test different ways and figure out what works best, and scale. Cold calling in general can be difficult regardless of the accent, as businesses get cold calls daily.
 
iSmexy said:
Anything from web design to SEO. Currently I have a half assed basic looking weebly website as I don't have any investment but I am targeting successful local businesses with websites that look straight out of 2003, so it shouldn't be an issue I think. After the first sale I'll get a domain and a professional looking website but I think this one will do for now.
Click to expand...
Ok well, you obviously need to seel the benefit of the new site now "it will look better", especially if you just have a weebly that won't really fly in case they do ask you (they should).
Good luck (keep in mind timezones so you don't call late evening/night as guarantee they won't be too excited to get a regular pitch late in the day.
 
Hello,

Cold calling is tough because you will get many who say no, and some people do not handle that well. If you have a good product or service and can show a business owner how he can benefit, accent, etc. should make no difference.

Good luck!

WSL
 
Choose your demographic if an accent is going to be an issue.

There are areas in the US where someone with an accent that is not local is not welcomed and other areas where the thought process is, "Who cares".

As @LukaB mentioned California would probably be good, Southern Florida, any of the big cities, NY, Chicago, etc are not going to have an issue.

Small towns in some areas are not going to be as receptive so stay out of them in order to give you a better "CTR" on your cold calling.

Also, get a proper website as the first thing people want to know is your site and if you have a mickey mouse website on a free platform you'll not do as well as if you had a decent site on regular hosting.
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
Choose your demographic if an accent is going to be an issue.

There are areas in the US where someone with an accent that is not local is not welcomed and other areas where the thought process is, "Who cares".

As @LukaB mentioned California would probably be good, Southern Florida, any of the big cities, NY, Chicago, etc are not going to have an issue.

Small towns in some areas are not going to be as receptive so stay out of them in order to give you a better "CTR" on your cold calling.

Also, get a proper website as the first thing people want to know is your site and if you have a mickey mouse website on a free platform you'll not do as well as if you had a decent site on regular hosting.
Click to expand...

This.

Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, I've seen managers answer cold calls and flip the fuck out as soon as they heard an accent that didn't start with "y'all". Then I had to deal with the racial tirade afterwards.

If you start off by mentioning that you're from Egypt, you give them both "Africa" and "Middle East" as ammunition in the gunfight against anyone who isn't a good ol' boy Travis Tritt lookin' muthafucka.

My favorite was a complete asshole old man telling an African American teenager who was offering lawn care services to his face to "Go back to Africa", at which point he immediately came back with "I'm from Charlotte you stupid fuck".

I made a friend that day.
 
iSmexy said:
Anyone has any experience with that? offering services to local businesses doesn't work the usual way here in my country and the money is not even worth the effort so I want to try and cold call US local businesses. Does the accent make a difference or make it look unprofessional that I am not American?
Or is it fine as long as they can understand what I am saying?
Click to expand...
There are a lot of things you can offer ... Web Design / Digital Marketing / Virtual Assistant services etc...
A decent accent can see you through in most cases when you are technically strong. I myself can offer / partner with you to sell some of my services should you be interested and we can work out the numbers... Hit me up if you are interested... Thanks
 
If you have a very strong accent then I would advise against doing it yourself. OP you can always hire somebody to make your sales calls.
If somebody with a strong accent cold calls me and I don't understand them, then the call can become frustrating and I will generally cut the call short or hang up on them, purely because I don't have time to faff about.
 
If you are from Egypt (and have a Muslim background), try targeting Muslim businesses. Your accent wouldn't matter. In fact, your Eqyptian background will help.
 
queenjude said:
If you are from Egypt (and have a Muslim background), try targeting Muslim businesses. Your accent wouldn't matter. In fact, your Eqyptian background will help.
Click to expand...
You mixing religion/nation here.
 
I am called by Indians offering me worthless website development services... I hung up as soon as I realize what its about.

In short.... Don't.
 
I get called by Indian companies all the time. It's annoying!! I just hang up. I have an agency in Los Angeles and we have only received 2 clients from "cold-calls" ( we're not really cold, they were lukewarm ). If it rarely works in the US nowadays, what kind of results do you think an Egyptian foreigner will get?
 
Hey OP, I have to be blunt and say don't bother. You will probably spend way too much time trying to convert people. If you are targeting the US then your chances are slim to none. Just being realistic here. I'm not trying to put anyone down or anything but the accent thing is a real killer on the phone. In person it's not as bad but over the phone it's the biggest hurdle to overcome. Especially if dealing with westerners.

The vast majority of foreign people who call me seem like they are from India, that's an assumption of course but probably a safe one. Half the time it does get difficult to understand what is being said and it's easy to get inpatient and frustrated with the person on the other end. I would take the advice of others here and potentially find someone to do that part for you. You will save a lot of time and money. Why do you think companies in India try and tutor their employees to talk with an English accent or give a fake English sounding name? It's because they have spent millions of dollars finding out what doesn't work.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck.
 
You must have a local number to each city you work with. I know when I get a 800 number calling me I hate it. I strongly hate it when a heavy accent calls me. Lol. I tell them that the person is no longer with the company and we will not be needing anyone.
 
Advertise on BHW
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sign up now!

Main Menu

Home Main Forum List Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO BHW Newbie Guide Blogging Black Hat Tools Social Media Downloads

Marketplace

Account Selling Content / Copywriting EBooks / Methods Hosting Misc Proxies For Sale SEO - Link building SEO - Packages Social Media Social Media - Panels Web Design More

Making Money

Affiliate Programs Hire a Freelancer IM Journeys Making Money Pay Per Click Site Flipping Want to Buy

BlackHat World

Dispute Resolution Forum Suggestions & Feedback Introductions Lounge
Back
Top