Telephone Prospecting: What You Should and Should NOT Say
If you’re like most sales professionals, you start by selling on the telephone, and your first sale is to get the appointment. Here are some guidelines to be successful when you prospect on the phone:
Avoid phrases that detract from your credibility.
I just finished reviewing an appointment setting telephone script for a client. I looked for a common question that I often find in telephone scripts, and then I immediately crossed it out. What was the question? It’s “How are you today?”
Truthfully, do you really care how someone you don’t know and doesn’t know you is feeling today? I suspect you really don’t care. So why would you ask that question?
You have limited time to build rapport when you’re selling on the telephone. Everything you say either contributes to building rapport — and spending more time with a prospect on the telephone — or takes away from it and ends the phone call. Asking someone a question that detracts from your credibility and brands you as an insincere salesperson is something you want to avoid.
Avoid phrases that waste time.
Even worse, if the prospect answers the question with, “I’m fine, and how are you today?” you end up having a conversation about your health. How does that discussion move your sales process along? I don’t see how it does. It simply wastes everyone’s time.
Another phrase that’s a time waster is “I know you’re busy so I want to keep this brief.” You keep a phone call brief by being brief, not by telling the listener that you’re going to be brief.
Be clear about who you are and what you do.
Your job when you’re on the phone is to quickly and clearly communicate who you are and what you might be able to do for the prospect. You get more of the listener’s time if what you say is interesting and compelling.
I like the formula of “Hi, (Customer Name), this is (Your Name) with (Your Company). I suggest using your company name if it communicates what your business is or establishes credibility. If not, you can save a few seconds and not say your company name. Instead, say, “I work with (type of companies, job titles or general description) to (what you accomplish for your prospects.)
Here’s an example: "I work with growing small businesses to quickly drive more purchasing customers to their website. A recent client increased web sales by 25 percent."
Do you think a prospect would want to hear more? I do. That’s why you have to prepare what you’re going to say and be ready to state the results you’ve already produced for others.
The value of telephone selling is that you quickly get feedback. You’re saying the right thing when you get appointments. Either you’re calling the wrong people or saying the wrong things when prospects hang up on you. That’s when you know it’s time to work on your prospecting and what you say on the telephone.
