Phone Prospecting Tips
George ClayAll too common and probably what you are used to hearing when you get calls from people trying to sell you something are fast talkers and fine talkers.
When you make those all important first call intros — slow down and try your best to be yourself without all the trappings of sales pitches that make you sound like just another peddler trying to get through the day and make a sale.
Your pace and tone will have more to do with your success than anything else when it comes to getting your prospect to listen to what you are saying than anything else.
Outreach phone prospecting has always worked and always will.
But there’s a right way and a wrong way.
Outsourcing to “Telemarketers”
They tell you their “dials per hour” and appointments per day.
But leads that go nowhere is what you usually end up getting.
Are you OK having just any telemarketer represent you and your brand?
The Problem with Sales Reps
You leave it to them for reaching out to your prospects and to your customers.
But they tell you the same story
how they want to make those calls…but never get around to actually doing it (even your best reps are too busy handling their own customers to develop new ones).
Voice-Mail or E-mail?
Too easily ignored and left unanswered.
The Solution (maybe!)
new client list-building…intro discovery calls…the 27 second pitch…building-out your database…getting prospects interested in meeting you…appointments that lead to sales…lead tracking and follow-up…avoiding costly mistakes when buying any list…what sales people are too busy doing to prospect effectively.
Test if my new client outreach can work for you
New client outreach
Hunting, prospecting for new business development, interest validation & qualification
Lead follow up from Trade Shows and other marketing initiatives
Lead Management – Manage & nurture leads through handover to Sales, once there is an opportunity
Market Research – Uncover projects that exist today that your sales group is not currently involved in, such as what your competitors are working on
Identify specific contacts involved in purchasing process, such as the CIO…CFO..CEO
Identify Sales Opportunities
Database management – work within existing database to clean and qualify leads so that accurate data is in place
Track all work so each lead gets followed up.
Participate in early stages of the sales process, but will not close the sale
Also, worth a look…
my newsletter.
Forbes: New Rules for Prospecting In The Age of The Customer
Harvard Business Review reports on benefits of cold call lead development.