Hey everyone, Priya N. here from Chicago. Been doing cold calls for 3 weeks now and getting destroyed. Yesterday a facility manager hung up on me mid-sentence when I mentioned utility audit. Today someone asked if I was selling solar panels and wouldn't let me explain the difference. Anyone else have brutal cold calling stories to share? Maybe we can laugh about it together and learn what NOT to do.
Cold calling horror stories - share yours!
Greg L. from Atlanta here. Oh man, I remember my first month of cold calling back in 2019. Called a manufacturing plant in Marietta and the guy goes "Son, I've been managing utilities for 30 years, you think some audit is gonna find something I missed?" Turns out he was paying Schedule GS-1 rate when he should've been on Schedule TOU-GSA with Georgia Power. Found $18,000 annual savings. He hired me for three more facilities after that.
Mark S. in Raleigh. Worst cold call ever was this hotel owner who screamed at me about "scammers calling about utility bills" and threatened to report me to the attorney general. Six months later his property manager called ME asking for an audit. Same hotel, found $12,400 in demand charge errors on their Duke Energy bill. Sometimes persistence pays off in weird ways.
Randy Dawson here. Great thread Priya - cold calling rejection is part of the learning process. Few tips for everyone: always lead with a specific pain point like "I help hotels reduce demand charges" rather than generic "utility audit." Have your elevator pitch down to 15 seconds. And remember, you're not selling audits, you're selling money back in their pocket. The audit is just how you deliver it. Mark's story is perfect example - sometimes the no today becomes yes tomorrow.
Ray C. from Louisville here. My favorite cold call disaster was calling a restaurant thinking I'd reached the owner. Turns out I was talking to a teenage hostess who had no idea what a kilowatt was. She kept asking if I was with the electric company trying to shut off their power. Took 10 minutes to realize my mistake. Always verify you're talking to decision makers folks!
Brenda T. in Tallahassee. Cold called a medical office last month, got transferred 4 times, finally reached the office manager who said "we already had an energy audit done." I asked when - turns out it was 2018 and they never implemented any recommendations. Audited them anyway, found $8,200 in savings including a rate schedule change to Tallahassee Utilities GSD-2. Sometimes "no" just means "not yet."
Kira J. from Portland checking in. Question for the veterans - how do you handle the "send me information" brush-off? I keep getting that and then my emails go into the void. Should I push harder on the phone or just add them to a follow-up sequence?
Kira, I used to fall for the "send me info" line constantly. Now I say "I could send you our standard brochure, but let me ask you this - what's your biggest frustration with your current electric bill?" Forces them to engage or admit they're not interested. If they won't answer that, they're not a prospect anyway.
Thanks for all these stories! Makes me feel better about my disasters. Greg, did you end up changing your pitch after that first guy challenged your credibility? I'm wondering if I should lead with a question instead of a statement.
Priya, absolutely changed my approach. Now I start with "How long has it been since someone reviewed your electric rate schedule?" Most people don't even know what that means, which opens the door to education. Way better than claiming I can save them money when they haven't even told me their situation yet.
Wanda K. from Greenville SC. Cold called a textile plant here thinking I'd get the facilities manager. Got the CEO instead who grilled me for 20 minutes about my qualifications. Intimidating at the time but he ended up becoming my biggest client. Sometimes those scary calls turn into gold. Found $34,000 annual savings on their Duke Energy account - mostly demand charge optimization.
Gordon C. in Santa Clarita. Here's a weird one - cold called a shopping center, property manager said they "don't believe in utility audits." Like it was a religion or something. Still scratching my head over that one. Anyone else get philosophical objections?