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Part 2 of 2
6. Manage Your Intent
People are very good at reading other people. Studies have shown that two of the most prominent members of the natural world that share this talent are human beings and dogs. Humans are so good at it that they can do it over the phone! So try to manage your intent before making calls. If you are thinking “I’ve got to make a sale at any cost” or “I’ve got to schedule a demo today no matter what”, the prospect will hear that and they will recognize that you are putting your interests before your own. They won’t trust you and they will not buy or advance. Try thinking “I’m reaching out to prospects today to help them and if I can’t it’s okay. I’ll be direct and tell them so.”
It also has the secondary benefit of pulling back slightly from the prospect, allowing them to feel in control. Some of the best cold callers liberally sprinkle “I’m not really sure if we can help you” or “Now that you’ve heard why I’m calling, do you think there’s a fit?”
7. Best Day/Time to Call
Below is an overview of a study done by MIT. Download the entire study (15 pages) by clicking below.
INSIDESALES.COM/M.I.T LEAD RESPONSE MANAGEMENT STUDY
"Overview
The behavioral study revealed when sales representatives had success around calling web-generated leads. To find these facts, we looked at leads that were captured through a web form, and attempted or called at least one time. Summarized below are some of the more interesting findings related to speed and timing when responding to web-generated leads:
1. Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to call in order to contact (by 49.7% over the worst day) and qualify (by 24.9% over the worst day) leads. Thursday is the best day to contact a lead in order to qualify that lead (by 19.1% better than the worst day).
2. 4–6pm is the best time to call to make contact with a lead (by 114% over the worst time block). 8–9am and 4–5pm are the best times to call to qualify a lead (by 164% better 1–2pm, the worst time of the day). 4–5pm is the best time to contact a lead to qualify over 11–12am by 109%).
3. The odds of calling to contact a lead decrease by over 10 times in the 1st hour. The odds of calling to qualify a lead decrease by over 6 times in the 1st hour. After 20 hours every additional dial your salespeople make actually hurts your ability to make contact to qualify a lead.
4. The odds of contacting a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100 times. The odds of qualifying a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 21 times."
This study refers to web leads but I think its major points are relevant. Your business may certainly be different but these were the findings after millions of calls over a broad range of businesses were analyzed. One important take away from this study is that even more important than day of week or time of day is how quickly leads are called back (which is technically not a cold call but there it is).
8. Close
When I first started my career in professional selling, I was like most people, reading books on sales and trying to learn the “art of the close”. After being in sales for a small number of decades, here are a few valuable lessons I’ve learned about closing:
Closing is asking to go to the next step in the sales process, nothing more. So in a cold call, you might close for a follow up meeting. In the second meeting you close for a demonstration. After the demonstration, you close for a product trial/proof of concept or pilot program. At the end of the pilot, you close for the sale. We used to say you close when the prospect is ready. How do you know? Well the reality is that there are sometimes signs but sometimes not. So the answer is ABC, “Always Be Closing”. Here are some simple examples I like:
“Now that you’ve heard what we do it sounds like there might be some interest in taking a closer look. (no pause) When would you have to time to see a demonstration of our capabilities?”
“Now that you’ve seen a demonstration of our capabilities, are you ready to move forward with a pilot program or do you need more information?”
In a cold call, you may be closing for different things and everyone has their own style. You should feel comfortable with whatever you’re saying. Be aware of the situation, be alert and don’t be afraid to try to close multiple times.
When training phone agents, I like to use the following analogy. When we were kids we had birds, either parakeets or canaries, which would occasionally escape from their cage. The younger kids would start screaming, my parents would start yelling and the escapee would be fluttering and flapping all over the house. Exciting times! The challenge was to catch the bird without hurting it and put it back in its cage before it found an open window and flew away for good. Let me tell you, my family was rarely that focused, determined or CAREFUL! Amazingly, 9 times out of 10 the bird was back in the cage unharmed within a fairly short time (which felt like an hour).
I like the analogy because good salespeople want to help their prospects but must overcome similar challenges. So close gently, matter-of-factly and warmly. Anyone can frighten off a prospect by being overly aggressive or rude so don’t do it. The skill is moving the sales process along with the prospect hardly feeling it. And once you ask a closing question, for goodness sake be quiet. You know that right?
9. Manage Objections
Every business hears different objections so your preparation might need to vary from what I’m outlining here. The operative word is preparation, as in to “prepare”. You should prepare your responses to common objections and have them ready when you start calling. Here’s a good example. Let’s say you make your call, get to the point, be a human, have control of your intent and they say “We’re all set.”
Here’s how our agents respond “John, are you all set because you’re not really the right person for me to speak with, do you already have a supplier or is the timing not right?”
Here’s how we respond to their answers:
Not correct person - "Who handles this in your company? Would you have their phone number handy? How about their e-mail address?"
Timing - "When would be a good time to speak again? Can we pencil in some time to talk then? (no pause) What works better for you, mornings or afternoons?"
Supplier - "How do you get involved with selecting suppliers in this area? Would you be interested in receiving a quote from us so that you could compare our pricing, value and customer service with your current supplier? Great, when would you have some time to…..[close for appointment]."
10. Thank Them and Get a Referral
Whether the call concludes the way you wanted it to or not, thank them for their time and smoothly ask for a referral. Try to help them focus on a particular source to make it easier for them to think of one. Here’s an example: “Mary, thank you for speaking with me. I’m looking forward to demonstrating our capabilities next week as discussed. By the way, are you aware of any other department or division within your organization that might be interested in our services?” Jot down the name and let Mary go.
Bonus Tip: Confirm the Sale or Advance
Please confirm all appointments when you make them, via email. People forget things all the time and you don’t want to work this hard to get an appointment and have the prospect forget about it as soon as you hang up. On the day before the appointment, email or call them as a reminder. Oh, and write it down in your book so you don’t forget it either!