Yesterday, I posted about my negative experience as the recipient of a cold call, and the 3 big mistakes this caller made. So now the question is:
“How can you proactively engage in an interactive call to get the desired outcome?
1. Read From a Script But…I like scripts. They create clarity for me and my team. I create them mainly to find the best way to explain our client’s services, their company and the value proposition they offer to potential clients. With a script we have a crystal clear way of communicating what they do and the problems they solve, and we’re in a better position to help the prospects we are calling understand too.
But…
A script is merely the launching pad for a business relationship. When the team interacts with clients (i.e. answers questions) they don’t use scripts. They set it aside and listen and…
2. …Ask questions. You’ve got to ask questions like, ‘Are you having challenges with x?’ ‘How important is it to you to overcome this challenge?’ ‘Who else within your company is impacted by this?’ ??How can you expect to help someone if you know nothing about them or their challenges?
Prospecting is really about finding that 10-15% who are willing to talk/buy and figuring out what companies not to waste your time on. You do that by asking questions.
3. Quit pushing. Pushing people for commitments before they’re ready means lost sales. I give my team a list and tell them that 15-20% of these people want and need the services of GE, for example. It’s our job to find them. The other 80-85% don’t and that’s fine. There’s no need to push. There’s just as much value in knowing who doesn’t want your services as knowing who does. ??(By the way, quit pushing does not mean giving up or not following up! It simply means that we can’t control our prospects willingness or timing to buy.)
Sometimes all you have to do is show someone you understand them and care about helping them solve their problems to move to the next step in the process on the spot.
