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Smart Calling — Chapter-20: Smart Call Makeovers and Case Studies
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C H A P T E R 20 Smart Call Makeovers and Case Studies M y web sites always experience spikes in traffic when I post examples and recordings of calls I’ve received and those submitted by readers and customers. I attribute it to the American Idol phenomenon: In sort of a twisted way, people take some amount of joy in seeing and hearing others struggle and make fools of themselves. Nevertheless, these calls are great learning tools. (You can see examples of the calls we’ve already posted at various places on my main site, www.BusinessByPhone.com, and at my blog, www.TelesalesBlog.com. Plus, we will have opportunities to see and hear calls at www.Smart-Calling.com.) Here are just a few of them. Opening Statement Makeover One particular caller sounded quite distressed as he explained, “I’m an outside sales rep, and my teleprospector quit. So I have to do my own 224
Smart Call Makeovers and Case Studies 225 prospecting, and I hate it. I’m a good outside rep, but I’m freezing up when I have to call these people.” “What are you saying to them?” I asked. “I’m with . We are a freight shipper, and I’d like to come out and take some of your time to explain what we do.” Analysis and Recommendation No wonder he didn’t like prospecting. I would have been paranoid, too, with the resistance he was surely getting from that opening. But it was entirely unnecessary—because like most resistance we encounter, he was creating it himself. Because that opening was awful. To paraphrase, it said, “We’re one of the hundreds of companies in this business. I want to show up at your office and take your valuable time so I can blab about my company and why I think we’re good. It’s all about me, you know.” There is nothing of interest for the prospect here, no reason for him to even listen on that call, much less agree to an appointment. It puts the listener on the defensive, closes his mind to possibilities, and causes him to shift into his “Let’s get this guy off the phone” mode. This is a classic example of openings I often see and hear from sales reps who believe that they should get an appointment merely because they place a phone call. That’s why they also feel they need to place 100 calls to get one appointment. I guess if you went to the mall and asked 100 people if they were interested in buy- ing from you, you probably would bump into one who just might. That’s not a particularly smart tactic, though. Why someone would want to subject themselves to such a beating is beyond me. Do- ing and saying the right things minimizes resistance and reaps more success. First, I suggested that he study all of the steps we covered in this book, especially identifying his Possible Value Propositions, since that was absent in this approach. Once that was done, he needed to do some precall intelligence research and social engineering to see what useful information he might be able to uncover. Ideally, he’d like to find prospects with dissatisfaction issues with the carriers they were currently using. I gave him a simple suggestion for an opening
226 Smart Calling that could be modified and tailored with Smart information when it is collected: “I’m with . In speaking with Mike, your dock manager, I understand you’re anticipating a rush of scattered shipments over the next few months. We’ve worked with many traffic managers in the [fill in prospect’s industry], helping them get the best rates and on-time deliveries with no hassles. Depending on what you ship, and to where, it might be worth our time to talk.” He liked it but mentioned it doesn’t ask for the appointment right away. Precisely. That is one of the mistakes I suggest you avoid. I asked if he ever had situations where he visited a so-called prospect who was less than euphoric about the appointment, conducted a lobby inter- view where they spoke as the prospect walked to his next task, or met with someone who really wasn’t a prospect at all. Of course—many, he admitted. So why even visit these people? Why not conduct the prelimi- naries by phone? If you’re using the phone to prospect—regardless of whether your next step is to communicate in person—be certain you have something of interest in order to get them talking. Your results will be much more pleasurable and profitable. A Mistake-Filled Call Many sales reps look to ads, direct mailing pieces, catalogs, the Internet, or anywhere that advertising exists as sources of prospects. This is wise and a source of Smart Calling information. However, many of these reps stop there with their intelligence gathering. They do not effectively use what they learn and are therefore ill-prepared for what they inevitably hear on calls. Here’s an example of a call I received. Caller: “Hello, this is Bill Jones with Video Recorders. I saw the promotion for your Telesales Success DVD videos and wanted you to know that we do DVD duplication.” “Okay.”
Smart Call Makeovers and Case Studies 227 He became flustered at this point, probably because I didn’t say, “Oh, you do DVD 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.” “Oh, okay. Keep us in mind.” Yeah, sure I will. Analysis and Recommendations You might be thinking that I gave this guy an iron-clad objection that would eliminate me forever as a prospect for him. And maybe 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, were I in his situation: Call Strategy and Preparation If I were placing this call, my primary objective would be to get com- mitment that the prospect would use my service the next time they had a DVD project. Although I wouldn’t achieve this 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 a 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 backup supplier in case their existing duplicator for some reason no longer met their needs. A bigger-picture, more strategic objective would be to identify their marketing plans and initiatives for the future and if they had other future projects coming up. Preliminary Intelligence This salesperson knew nothing about me when he called, other than the fact that he saw a promotion for some DVDs. He very easily
228 Smart Calling could have seized the opportunity to ask the person who answered the phone here who we now use for duplication, how many we typically order, what we pay, what issues we run into, and any other qualifying information that would have better equipped him for the call. Plus, he would have learned that person—not me—is the one who actually deals with the duplicator regularly. 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 salesperson the right to take a prospect’s time; promising or hinting at some value they could get does. I would have listened to something like this: “I’m Bill Jones with Video Recorders. I see you are regularly producing training DVDs and understand that you feel you might be paying a premium for short runs. We specialize in top-quality DVD duplication and now work with quite a few training organizations, especially for smaller orders that require quick turnaround. 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 would have been more likely to answer questions at this point. However, even if I did retort with the same early-resistance 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 to accomplish the last chance objective would be “What plans do you have in place for a backup 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 any parts of your call process are similar to this one. Analyze every step of the process, home in on your strengths and enhance them, and shore up the weak areas.
Smart Call Makeovers and Case Studies 229 Beware of the Bad Information Floating Around Here’s an opening statement suggestion I read from a sales trainer and author in an online article. It’s no wonder so many people get beat up on the phone if they practice stuff like this that is from a supposed expert. While there is a lot of free sales tips and information online, in many cases, that’s exactly what it is worth. “Hello, this is with Reclamation Services. We specialize in com- mercial recycling services, and I’d like to ask you about your company’s recycling policy. Do you have just a moment for a couple of quick questions?” I’m sure you can see the one glaring, critical component that is missing: why the person should take a moment to answer a couple of quick questions. Most busy people who very well might be great prospects see nothing of value in the call, and quickly exit. Even if someone actually does answer the questions in response to an opener like this, consider their frame of mind: They probably are bracing themselves for the sales pitch. They’re tentative and skeptical as they answer the questions—not the desirable state of mind for people you’d like to persuade. You can fix all of that by using the Smart Calling process in this book. Your opening must make them think that you might be able to do something for them. This sparks their curiosity and interest, earns you the right to take some of their time, and puts them in a more favorable frame of mind to answer your questions—since you’ve already hinted at the payoff for them. This missing component can very easily be added, combined with even the slightest bit of Smart information, making the example much more effective: “Hello, this is with Reclamation Services. I saw the news on your company blog about your new Green initiative for next quarter. We specialize in commercial recycling services for the industry, by helping companies reduce their trash-hauling expenses, and also cutting their costs on everyday paper goods, in some cases as much as 37 percent. If I’ve caught you at a good time, I’d like to ask you about your new recycling policy to see if this would be worth your taking a look at.”
230 Smart Calling See and Hear More Call Examples I have many more call examples you can see and hear. Not only are they instructional, but some will cause you to cringe, and oth- ers will make you laugh out loud. Go to www.Smart-Calling.com/ examples.