A major factor in the success of most sales roles involves calling on prospects and making appointments.
For many sales professionals, of which I’ve talked with hundreds about this subject, they have a disdain for cold calling, dialing, and going through a list to try and get appointments. Others think that calling for appointments on the telephone is too much like telemarketing.
When it is such a critical factor to their success, why don’t they focus more on this? Because it is potentially an uncomfortable situation due to the potential for rejection.
So what? The telephone is one of the best tools a salesman can have. You can call several hundred people in a day if you put the time and effort into it. Now I realize that making 300 calls in a day may not be practical based on the amount or clients/prospects you have or the complexity of your product. But the point is, you can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.
INFORMATION: You can obtain a lot of valuable information in a short unassuming phone call. One trick that I use when calling to speak with an executive to schedule an appointment is to get a few pieces of critical information that can help me make the sale. For example; I may want to verify the company size, banking relationship, competitive information, company outlook (upcoming projects, 6 month financial pipeline), or other information that I need to know. I write it down on a piece of paper. If the executive comes to the phone, I’ll ask him the information in a conversational manner. If he can’t take my call, I then use the “Colombo Close”; “So and so is not available, ok then I’ll leave a message on their voice mail, oh yeah I heard that you are involved in the new city hall project, how is that going to affect your company?” Or, “by the way, you still use ABC service company to service your software don’t you?” You will be amazed how easy it is to get little pieces of information that can help you sell more.
4 STEP APPOINTMENT SETTING:
1. Introduce yourself: Enthuastiacally introduce yourself. Your introduction should be brief, concise, and a quick mention of anyone else at the company that you may also know or a mutual acquaintance.
2. Why you are calling and why they should care: Quickly state your case, usually 3 or 4 bullet points relevant to their compact and their needs.
Example:
1 in 8 companies use us for servicing their computer network locally
We specifically help companies with system support and integration
Most have seen a 20% increase in network efficiency resulting increased productivity for all PC users
Push for an appointment: Suggest a couple of days and times that you will be able to meet them and ask which one will work the best for them.
Example: “I’m going to be in your area on Tuesday of next week, and I’d like to discuss how we have had success working with companies like yours. What time would be the best for you”
Shut up: After you ask for an appointment, shut up and listen for the response. This is their time to speak. You will be surprised how often, you will hear a pause and then, “aaaahhh, how about 10am?”
Most of the time I can do this in about a minute. The point is to get their attention quickly and boldly, tell them why they should be listening to you. If you lack confidence in yourself or your product customers will tell even if they can’t see your face. I would also recommend standing if you can and smiling, people on the other end of the phone can really tell.
Take these tips, be confident and set more appointments.
SalesTorch – Light your Passion
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