Telephone Cold Calling: How to prevent common initial contact objections
Prevent & Preempt initial contact objections.
Tired of getting common initial contact objections such as, "Not interested, We already have someone, Just send me your literature, No time, Not a priority," and on and on.
90+% of cold call contacting is shut down immediately with these types of initial contact objections. That's extremely inefficient and, for many, a self-esteem damaging activity. It's time to reverse that number and make it 90+% getting to interview the prospect, and less than 10% rejection responses that will require a different approach.
I'm not too fond of these objections either, and I will do whatever I can to prevent them from entering my prospect's mind.
Recall from an earlier blog, "Why You Get the Objections You Get" that the core Buyer Beliefs have not yet been established. As such, the prospect doesn't recognize you're calling to help them with a need they may or may not be consciously aware of at the moment you call. So, you'll have to start the conversation triggering the first Buyer Belief that a Need Exists.
How? Start the conversation with your Unique Selling Points (USPs). These solve problems no one else can, or do so in a way no one else does (or they wouldn't be "Unique). If you don't know what your USPs are, then select this link "Blog List" or the tab on the home page to see the previous blogs on how to find them using a sales style Competitor Analysis.
Here's a basic telephone cold call structure for preventing initial contact objections.
Hi, I’m _____________ (state your name) with _______________ (name your company), good morning. Always put the greeting at the end and then wait for them to respond. Now you’ve got their attention.
The reason I'm calling is that I'd like to get you some information about how we're helping our clients/customers _____________ (state Unique Selling Point targeted to this decision-making role). Don't pause. Ask.
Is now a good time to verify some information quickly (slight pause), or would you rather set up a telephone appointment for later on today? Get permission.
For example:
Hi, I'm Bob DeGroot with Sales Training International; good morning.
The reason I'm calling is that I'd like to get you some information about how we're helping our clients' sales teams learn a few specialized skills needed to prospect and sell effectively over the phone. It's literally the difference between getting rejected 90% of the time versus 10% of the time.
Is now a good time to quickly verify some information . . . or would you rather set up a phone appointment for later on today?
Let's analyze a couple of crucial points in this script suggestion. First, notice I selected a need in my example that I know most sales executives are now struggling with in one of my target markets. With a few modifications, you can use this same process to establish the initial Buyer Beliefs in an email prospecting series.
Next, understand that when you present or threaten to present, you automatically elicit objections. When you offer value such as getting the prospect information about a challenge they're facing, then that changes the game.
When I said, "I want to get you some information about a real challenge you're now facing," what happened to those common initial contact objections? They never even entered the prospect's mind.
If you know they have the problem your Unique Selling Point solves, and if their decision-making role includes finding a solution for that problem, then you will get the opportunity to qualify the prospect, and perhaps continue with an interview-style sales model – if not now, set a telephone appointment to do it later.
Finally, as most salespeople know, you don't read a script over the phone. Rather, you learn the basic structure, and then, use a list of bullet points to plug-in the information.
Resources
Select this link to preview and buy the bestselling eBook: Telephone Cold Call with Voicemail Strategies
Select this link to the eLearning course: Telephone Cold Call with Voicemail Strategies
Select this link to connect and follow Dr. Robert "Bob" DeGroot, MEd, DCH on LinkedIn.
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