Hot Tips No 1

Greetings!

Heres a situation I see quite often with new or struggling salespeople.

They send out literature after a brief prospecting telephone call, and start out the follow-up call with the "postal inspector" opening:

"Hi, I was checking to make sure you received the literature I sent."

Then they follow with the equally ineffective,

"Uh, do you have any questions?"

After hearing "No, no questions," they end with,"Well, keep us in mind if you ever need anything."

The listener, trying to sound as sincere as he can while lying (or laughing) responds,

"Oh, OK, I will."

So why do most follow-up sales calls go nowhere?

Two reasons:

The initial call was ineffective, therefore the follow-up is not much warmer than the first cold call, and,the use of go-nowhere, rejection-inducing approaches and questions on the follow-up. Here are ways to correct both of these problems.

First, you need a good reason to follow up. Make your first call better. Be sure its even worth it for you to call back. These include,

1. the prospect will do something between the initial call and the scheduled follow-up that would make this call worthwhile, such as check your prices vs. what they pay, or use the sample you send, or,

2. a future event will take place that would make the follow-up more appropriate, such as a new budget year beginning.

Next, the opening of the call needs to bring them into a conversation that readdresses the hot points fueling their interest last call, and also serves to move the process closer to the ultimate action youre seeking (the sale or appointment) Heres a simple format for the opening.

1. Identification. The easy part. Name and company will do: "Hi Pat, this is Jan Stevens with Hi Tech Services."

2. Bridge. You need to bring them back to where they were emotionally when you ended the previous call. Remind them of their interest. "...Im calling to pick up where we left off two weeks ago, where we went through the savings youd show with the internal management of your . . ."

3. The Agenda for This Call. This part needs to be proactive:

"Id like to go through the material I sent you to point out the specific cost-cutting features that apply specifically . . ."

Other proactive words and phrases include,"discuss", "analyze," "cover," "review," and "walk through."

Also include some value-added reason for this call. This way, if their interest has waned since the last contact, and/or they didnt follow through with what they said theyd do (which happens quite often) you still have a basis for continuing this contact. For example,

"And I also did some research and came up with a few other examples of something you showed interest in the last time we spoke: how other engineering firms have used this process."

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"It may not be your fault for being down, but its got to be your fault for not getting up."
Steve Davis

Go and have your best week ever!

Reprinted with permission from Art Sobczak’s "TelE-Sales Hot Tips of the Week

About the Author
Art Sobczak.

arts@businessbyphone.com
http://www.businessbyphone.com