Whether you start out by direct mailing your prospects or not, you will need to follow up with a telephone call. The following are a few tips on using the telephone to gain quality appointments. The key to success is to generate enough interest from a potential customer to be able to get that appointment to sell your product or service.
1. There are four key factors of verbal communication and you should consider them all - voice quality, choice of words, attitude and organisation.
2. There are several stages you can go through in appointment making to ensure you create the best selling opportunity:
a) Introduce yourself and your company.
Always use your full name and company name, and use your customer’s full name until you have been invited to be on first name terms.
b) Contact the M.A.N (the person with Money, Authority and Need).
You will be supplied the name of the senior decision maker in your data. However, you should ensure that this person is the most appropriate decision maker for your product - unless you clarify this up froc)
c) Instil urgency.
You need to create urgency to try and encourage your potential customers to buy from you. An offer closing date or incentive may be useful.
d) Arouse interest.
At this early stage it will help if you can make a statement which will disturb complacency and arouse interest. People buy either from fear of loss or the opportunity of gain. If you can appeal to both either of these motives then an appointment should follow.
e) Signpost.
In business, it is essential to let your customer know what format any meeting will take. This is called signposting, and is also a helpful tool to apply to a telephone call (e.g. What I would like to do is find out what type of services your company requires, tell you about our company, explain what we could do for you and how we have helped other companies like yours. Then I will give you a suitable quote and we can start ‘supplying’ if you are happy with what we have discussed).
f) Mini need-find.
You may want to ask a few direct ‘open ended’ questions – those which begin with Who? What? Why? Where? When? or How? By asking these type of questions you will get your potential customer talking openly about his or her business needs. If you establish needs up front, this will help you plan your sales call better to maximise on the possible result.
g) Qualify and consolidate.
Check that you have secured a quality appointment, by asking the customer to diarise your visit. You can ask for directions and nearby parking which helps to build a rapport. Remind the customer just how important and valuable time is for both of you. Leave a contact number in case the arrangements need to change in the meantime and ask if there is anything in particular he or she would like you to bring.
3. Make sure you personalise your information to ensure that you don’t sound scripted; the customer’s phone rings hundreds of times a day – why should he or she listen to you? Sell your company with relevant features and benefits and listen to your customer’s needs - approximately 45% of our waking time is spent listening, so by practising active listening, you will be able to increase your selling potential.
4. 87% of your message on the telephone is conveyed through your tone and only 13% through words, so SMILE as you DIAL! Your potential customer can sense if you are relaxed and positive.
5. Don’t get disheartened if someone appears rude. There may be many reasons for their reaction or simply for saying NO. Remember, it is not personal. Prospecting is a numbers game so don’t let the bad experiences deter you.
