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How To Prepare for Cold Calls When Resistance is Likely
By Art Sobczak
Many
sales reps look at ads, direct mailing pieces, catalogs, the Internet, anywhere
there's advertising as sources of prospects. This is wise. But I find so many of
these people ill-prepared for what they inevitably hear on calls. Here's an
example of what I received.
Caller: "Hello, this is Bill Jones with Video
Recorders. I saw the ad for your Getting Through to Buyers video program, and we
do video duplication."
"Uh-huh."
He became
flustered at this point, probably because I didn't say, "Oh, you do video
duplication? Where should I send my master copy; you can do
mine."
"Uh, I'd
like to talk to you about doing yours."
"Look
I'll save you some time. I selected my existing company after evaluating quite a
few. They have a very good price, quality is fine, and service is great. I have
no reason to even consider looking around. Even if I did, I ordered enough to
last me the rest of the year."
"Oh, OK.
Keep us in mind."
Yeah,
sure.
Analysis and Recommendations
So you
might be thinking that I gave this guy an iron-clad objection that was
impenetrable. And you're right for the most part—when it comes to getting a sale
on that call. However, he undoubtedly runs into that same objection quite a bit,
so I'm surprised he hasn't learned to use something that won't totally slam the
door so suddenly in his face. Here's what I would do in his
situation:
o
Call Strategy and Preparation: If I were placing this call, my Primary Objective
would be to get commitment that the prospect would use my service the next time
they duped tapes. Although that wouldn't be achieved on a majority of the calls,
it's always best to aim high. After realizing on the call this wouldn't be
reached, objectives in descending order would be: to get commitment that I could
at least bid on their next job, and if that wasn't met, to get agreement that
they would at least keep us on file as a back-up supplier in case their existing
duplicator for some reason no longer met their needs, or if they had other
future projects coming up.
o
Preliminary Information: He knew nothing about me when he called. He could
have asked the person who answered the phone here about who we now use, how many
we typically order, what we pay, and any other qualifying information which
would have better-equipped him for the call.
o
Opening Statement: He gave no reason for me to even listen. He may as
well just said. "Well, I've finally
called you, so I guess you can start using us
now."
Simply
dialing the phone does not give a person the right to take someone's time.
Promising or hinting at some value they could get
does.
I would
have listened to this: "I'm Bill Jones
with Video Recorders. We specialize in top quality video duplication, and now
work with quite a few training organizations. Depending on the price you're now
paying and your level of satisfaction with the quality and service you're
getting, it might be worth it for you to take a look at a bid we could do for
you. I'd like to ask a few questions to see if it would be worth your while to
talk about it."
I would
have been more likely to answer questions at this point. However, even if I did
retort with the same objection mentioned earlier, he could have picked up on it
and used it to ask more questions. For example, "I see. What price are you paying?" If
that resulted in a dead-end, a last resort question to at least try and
accomplish the last chance objective would be, "What plans do you have in place for a
back-up supplier, if for example, you needed a large quantity in a hurry and
your supplier wasn't able to accommodate you for some
reason?"
Determine
if parts of your call process are similar to this one. Analyze every step of the
process, determine your own strengths and enhance them, and shore up the weak
areas. About the Author Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone, provides proven
ideas, tips, and processes to help salespeople use the phone to
prospect, sell and service without morale-killing rejection. To
see word-for-word phrases you can use right now to get to and sell
more buyers, and other resources such as books, audios, and
seminars, and to get his FREE weekly TelE-Sales Tips, and access
to back issues, go to: http://www.BusinessByPhone.com
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