5 Steps to A Conversation (As it Pertains to a Cold Call)
For those of you who never got the experience to door-to-door sales under the Smart Circle umbrella- I’d like to shed light on one of the most important lessons learned during my time spent with the organization and how it has helped me in my inside sales career.
The lesson that was taught to me on my first day, and to every sales rep on their first day with the company, and it has been one of the best lessons for all relationship building in my life. This lesson is called "THE FIVE STEPS TO A CONVERSATION!"
Of course I had rough days walking up and down the Pittsburgh, PA mountains in 6 inches of snow 8 hours a day, 6 days a week but the better days of building life-long relationships, being a high roller at “bell party” the next day, and the lessons that sky rocketed my sales career were worth every single hard day faced in the field and I wouldn’t change it for a thing!
For all of the inside sales representatives, here is my take on the “5 steps to a conversation” and how to apply it to an effective cold call:
1) Intro: “Hi _________. Its Jeanne Ball. (Take your pick to enter some of the popular choices for ice breakers.)
Do you have a minute to talk?
Did I catch you at a good/bad time?
I'm following up on a conference /webinar/email I sent you…
2) Short Story: “Who are you & why are you here!” It is important you jump right in because you have confirmed they haven’t hung up on you yet. So get to it! You’ve got 15 seconds to get them interested.
Who are you? Why are you calling & WIIFM (what’s in it for me)? Aim to keep it catered to their title, industry, and challenges they face each day by using structure similar to below:
“My name is Jeanne Ball and my company specializes in helping (title) leaders like you…
A) CXO: reduce costs & increase revenue spent through (what you do different & best; but more so, the challenge you fix).
B) Influencer: reduce challenges in _______ and increase productivity through______.
C) End User: streamline the process for (mundane annoying task that disturbs their daily work; ideally, two or three options so you have a better chance of resonating.)
Always be sure to leave the ball in the prospects court to ensure they are engaged with the conversation and can be responsive to you. This is best done by finishing with a question to allow the prospect to start opening up. Here a few ways to do that:
Use a transition word like "right now," and then ask your first qualifying question (keep reading to learn more about these).
Upfront Contract- “If it makes sense, I’d like to see if we can help you and find a better time for us to have a more detailed discussion. Sound fair?”
Confirm their hand in the project/ space with knowledge of their expertise. It is 2016- if you’re cold calling them, they expect you to know what they do. This will also help build more trust and the prospect will feel comfortable giving you information. An example of this would be: “I saw from your LinkedIn profile that you are in charge of solving these challenges currently, what does your strategy look like today?”
3) Qualifying Questions: The ideal # of questions is 3! Any less, there won't be enough value for the sale cycle to continue. Any more, the prospect will feel like they are a part of a survey they never signed up for!
Start with "a la carte" pain questions to give your prospect open ended response options. A La Carte means you are giving them multiple choice topics that fit your target audience. An example would look like “Typically, when I speak to (title) leaders, they are experiencing challenges with A, B, and C. Do any of these resonate with what you are experience?”
TEDW questions- Tell me, Explain, Describe, Why! These 4 words will allow your prospect to give creative answers unrestricted by your qualification criteria and will lead to more information being revealed
I highly suggest reading Neil Rackman’s book “SPIN Selling” for the most proven question process. Remember, to use their language when phrasing your #2 or #3 questions in your conversation flow. Talking in language that resonates with the prospect will create trust and credibility.
4) Close: Solidify your Value Proposition & MIMS (make it make sense). REAFFIRM the existence of the WIIFM for the prospect that you addressed during your original short story.
Everyone has their own close (and certain closes are best for certain situations) but it is critical both parties see a follow up as a good use of time. It is critical to remember you are still a stranger at this point in time so having credibility and building trust with clear communication on next steps is key.
Most importantly, you want to be sure you are delivering you message succinctly with a tone that shows confidence, clarity, & control.
5) Rehash: First impressions matter; but what you leave someone with stays longer.
The rehash may take time to sync calendars, gain more info like direct lines & emails, and any final qualifying information you need. If it gets awkwardly long, use FORDS (family, occupation, recreation, dreams, sports) to build CPR (close personal relationship).
Confirm date/time with calendar invite. “Im going to be bringing my boss/more technical senior/advisor on to so if it’s not a good time, please let me know so I can make sure we make the most of everyone’s Tuesday.” This will decreases the likelihood that the prospect does not show.
“What is the best email address for you?” Their reply to this is a great way to know the trust has been built and they plan to be in attendance for your next meeting.
Sign off with a friendly good bye & reaffirm your name to solidify the relationship. It would look something like this. “Great John, and my name was Jeanne Ball again so keep an eye out for that email! Talk soon.”
These 5 steps seem quite simple but are very effective at keeping structure around our interactions, conversations, and especially sales calls. Hopefully, you have taken away one tip you can apply in your day to day phone calls that increase your success! Remember to not over think it and keep it simple. Happy Hunting friends! :)
If my short terms were not familiar to you, follow this link to learn more about my sales glossary of acronyms (coming soon)!
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