How to Easily Create Telephone Call Openings That Stimulate Interest, And Avoid Resistance TeleSeminar By Art Sobczak Art Sobczak Business By Phone Inc. www.businessbyphone.com (402)895-9399
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 1 Exercise Listen to the statements made by Art. Write out the emotions you feel after hearing each one: Statement 1: Statement 2: The First Step To Creating Great Openings 1. As it relates to your product/service, what do you help your buyers gain? 2. What do you help them avoid? 3. What other results do you deliver?
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 2 Before the Call Information Gathering Your notes, database Their website Search engines Other info services (Hoovers.com, etc.) Set Call Objectives Primary Objective Defined as, What specifically do I want this person to DO as a result of this call, and what do I want to DO as a result of this call? Secondary Objective At minimum, what do you desire to accomplish on this call? (You can and should always accomplish something on each call. This ensures you are never rejected. ) Pre-Buyer Conversations Ask for HELP in Identifying the Buyer I hope you can help me... I need your help... Ask for the NAME of the decision maker Gather Information get as much as you can from whomever you are able
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 3 The Purpose of the Opening Put them in a positive, receptive frame of mind to participate Move them to the questioning Creating Your Opening 1. Who are you? 2. Why are you calling? 3. What's in it for them? Opening TeleTips Your opening statement is like the foundation of a building. If it s weak, the remainder will crumble. Edit your opening statement by asking, Is there anything here someone could potentially object to? After writing out your opening statement, set it aside for a while. Then come back and be merciless in your editing. Repeat the process until you have one that sings. Don t ask for a decision in the opening statement, such as, Calling today to set up a time for an appointment. They aren t ready yet. Open with a benefit, moving them into a receptive mindset. Your customers are someone else s prospects. Be sure that you have something of value every time you call. Never take them for granted, or they might just listen to the overtures of your competition.
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 4 The Initial Call Opening (Prospecting Call) A. Identify yourself and organization, mentioning a connection or reference. Hi, I'm Pat Seller with Products R Us a mutual acquaintance, Bill Jones, suggested I contact you. He felt I might have something that could help you with I saw an article about your I noticed the recent news about your I had the opportunity to work with Dale Lewinsky in your Maryland office B. Give the reason for calling, hinting at the results you might be able to offer. I specialize in working with, in helping them to. The reason I'm calling, is that depending on...... how you're now handling...... the method you use to I might have a few ways to help... we might have a few option that could help to (fill in with results you can deliver, make the process a little easier, and less costly, etc.)... C. Get them involved If I ve caught you at a good time, I d like to ask a few questions about to see if it would be worth our while to talk further... see if what we have would be worth taking a look at... see if you'd like more information on what we do
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 5 Key Point Weasel Words are OK might maybe perhaps possibly depending on could Another Idea We specialize in working with (fill in with a type of company, or title of a decision maker) in helping them to (fill in with something they want to get or avoid) so that they can (fill in with another desired result). I'd like to ask a few questions to see if this might be of some value to you. Modified Ending to Make it a Voice Mail Message Depending on how much of an issue this is at your company, it might be worth our while to talk. I'd like to ask you a few questions to see if you'd like more information... Full Example of An Opening: "Hi Pat, I'm Dale Speaker with Presentation Pros. I'm calling because your National Sales Managers in Boston, Todd Dimwit, was in a seminar I delivered and thought the material might be a good fit for what you're looking to do. He told me you recently introduced a new strategic selling model for your sales reps, but are facing a challenge finding qualified prospects. I specialize in giving reps the tools and confidence to place more prospecting calls, and turn more of them into solid, qualified appointments. If I've caught you at a good time, I'd like to ask a few questions and see if this is something you'd like more information on."
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 6 More Examples I was speaking with and I understand that you re now experiencing. We might have a few ways to and I d like to ask a few questions to see if we d have the basis for further discussions I know that you re now in the process of, and I have a couple of other ideas that might be able to help you to The last time we talked you mentioned, and I came up with a few thoughts to run by you that just might Depending on what you re doing/using in the area of, I think I have something here that might be worth taking a look at. I ve got an idea here that you might want more information on, depending on what your plans are regarding... Ms., I understand you re now in the process of (whatever change you know they might be going through/project they re working on), and I might have something here that might make that process easier as it relates to the (pick an area) If I ve caught you at a good time I d like to discuss a couple of ideas to determine if you d like more information.
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 7 More Examples Hello, Mike, this is with. (If referral, insert: John Doe suggested I call you. ) We work with, helping them to. This results in (fill in with the ultimate benefit or result to them). I m calling today to introduce myself and ask a few questions to see if this would have value for you and if we should speak further regarding... Ms. Prospect, I m with. We specialize in working with, to help them address the issue of. The purpose of my call is to find out how much of a concern this is to your company, and determine if it would be worth for you to take a look at some of our material. Some of my other clients have told me about a problem they ve been having that has caused them to, and if you re seeing any of this too, I ve got something that might be of some value to you. Opening TeleTips For every word and idea in your opening statement, ask yourself, Is this adding to what I m trying to accomplish? If it s not, edit it out. If someone answers the phone and sounds rushed, don t let that scare you into rushing your opening or questioning. Some people naturally sound fastpaced... others do it with salespeople until the rep builds rapport. On a follow-up call, don t ask if they received your material-assume it. You don t want to make your literature the basis for this call. Be certain you deliver your opening in a calm, confident, crisp and articulate fashion. Rushing and mumbling creates an undesirable impression. You could hardly go wrong by using Thank you, Congratulations, or I was thinking of you, as part of your opening, and reason for calling. If you feel you must ask for someone s time at the beginning of a call, ONLY do it after mentioning the value you can offer, and then say,... and if I ve caught you at a good time, I d like to...
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 8 Follow-Up Call Opening Statement Formula 1. Identify Yourself and Your Organization. This is Pat Smith with... 2. Remind Them You Spoke Before Whenever you place an outbound call, your customer is engaged in some other activity. Therefore you need to say something that will instantly remind them who you are, so that they can recall the last conversation. These statements do this. The reason for the call is to pick up on our last conversation... I m following up on the last time we spoke a couple of months ago... I m calling to continue our conversation of last week... 3. Mention Their Need/Interest and or the ACTION They Were Taking As part of the previous point, you are rekindling their interest. Remember, they are not sitting there thinking about you, or their need/interest at that point in time. Therefore it is your job to help them revisit their interest,...where we had discussed and you were going to recommend to your partner that she take a look at... 4. Give the Purpose for this Call I d like to go through the information I sent you... If I caught you at a good time, I d like to go through some additional information with you I think you ll find useful... I d like to go over the results of the discussions with your partners...
Telephone Openings that Stimulate Interest, and Avoid Resistance 9 Write Out Your Own Opening