Making sales calls is a job not many people enjoy
Most small business owners, coaches and consultants hate being sold to and that feeling can stop us from making sales calls.
And that’s a big problem.
Without sales there is no business so we all have to sell something, somehow.
The big question is …
Is it possible to sell without annoying people?
Tania is one of the few people we know who likes picking up the phone and calling people she doesn’t know. She believes that selling is just a way of helping people find a solution to their problem. If they don’t have a problem or a need they’re not going to be interested, so the first step in this process is to find the right people to call.
Here’s a wonderful summary of Tania’s talk by another Drive member, Anne Marie Miller of Carbon Orange.
Do your research – get curious.
Time spent making sure the people on your list REALLY have a need for your services is the key to making this work. If you don’t have a list it’s possible to buy one that matches your target market but make sure it is GDPR compliant and that people haven’t been added to a list without their permission – we all know how annoying that is.
Get clear about what you’re going to say.
Writing a script can be a comfort but it should be used as a guide, not a rote, and should evolve as you use it.
Here’s an example
“Good morning / afternoon is it possible to speak to ………………..?”
(Note: Gatekeepers are human – BE POLITE, BE SPECIFIC and sound as though you’ve done your research!)
“This is (your name) from (your company name) in LOCATION. (This let’s them know you’re a real human being not a call centre.) Have you heard of us before?” (This sentence builds rapport.)
“Okay, well as you may be aware we help businesses like yourself to PAIN POINT 1 and PAIN POINT 2 by providing YOUR CORE SERVICE. Example: We help businesses like yours have complete peace of mind and spend a lot less time on bookkeeping by providing an efficient and affordable accountancy service that helps you be more profitable.”
BIG NOTE:
If you don’t know the pain points / needs of your target market and the problem you’re solving, take some time to test this out with people who know your business.
Questions for flow
- What do you currently have in place?
- How can we work together?
- When would you be reviewing your current contract / supplier?
- What don’t you like about your current system / provider?
- When would you like to see a demonstration of the system?
- I would love to meet you and see what you currently have and explore how we might be able to work together.
- Would you be available on date & time or date & time ? – *choose a morning appointment and an afternoon appointment*
*If they’re not interested, try and establish why*
- I understand that you might not be interested at the moment but would it be possible to perhaps send you some information in case things change in the future?
Here is another script to catch up with lapsed clients / enquiries.
Be prepared:
Have their details to hand (including previous proposal, contact details and any other details of your contact at the time that you can glean from CRM / Notes etc) – This will make the call warm.
Pen and paper
SMILE – very very important – that is why I have a mirror, to remind me.
SCRIPT
“Hi can I speak to …
My name is Tania Verdonk and I’m calling from Spirus Marketing in Burwell, near Cambridge. We did a proposal for you in September for a telemarketing campaign. Can you recall this? Do you remember?”
It doesn’t really matter what they say, just move on to next part.
“Okay, well, we provide marketing, business development and PR services and I just wanted to catch up with you since our last conversation and hear how you are getting on.”
You can stay quiet at this point and see if they volunteer info.
Questions for flow of conversation
(open questions to let them speak)
- What did you decide to do after you got our proposal
- What services do you currently outsource?
- Do you have anything coming up for which you might need additional support?
- How can we be considered?
- Who did you choose to go with in the end?
- Can I send you some information regarding our services?
- We have a special offer / course starting. May I tell you abut it?
The golden rules of telemarketing
1) Necessities on desk
2) Close all unnecessary computer tabs
3) Chain yourself to your desk
4) Don’t put the phone down between calls, leave no longer than 60 seconds between your calls
5) DO NOT DISTURB ON YOUR OFFICE DOOR
6) Mirror to remind you to SMILE.
7) Do what you said you were going to do… Trust the process!
Note from Ann Hawkins: Don’t set yourself the goal of making a set number of sales – that’s not in your control.
Do set yourself the goal of having a set number of conversations. A call without a conversation doesn’t count!
If you have any questions about this process, do get in touch!
