After you have collected relevant information about your prospect, it is time
to craft an attention-grabbing opening,
which also can serve as a voicemail
message with just a little tweaking at
the end. Follow the steps in the Smart
Call™ interest-creating opening statement process:
1. Introduce yourself and the
organization.
2. Use your Smart Call™ intelligence.
Employ information that implies you
are not the typical cold caller—the
more tailored and on-target, the better.
3. Hint at your possible value proposition. Tailor your value to their
world. Refer to the results you have
delivered to others and might be
able to provide them. Do not talk
about speeches, programs, training,
or anything that suggests an expense
without the accompanying return.
4. Suggest more possible value, contingent
on moving to questioning. Build upon
your possible value, and ask questions
specifically tailored to your contact’s
responses, situations and questions.
Now, apply the Smart Calling
process and techniques to the caller
identified at the beginning of this
article. This is the new Smart Call:
“Hi Mary, I’m Pat Speeker with
Productive Presentations. I was talking
with Dale in your eastern office, and I
understand that a major initiative for
2011 is strengthening the communication
and collaboration between your account
management and production departments, so you can increase your customer
retention rate and order frequency.
“We were able to help another components manufacturer implement a
system to do exactly that. We increased
retention by 55 percent in six months,
and the reorder rate by 34 percent.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions
to see if I could provide you with some
information.”
Pat piqued Dale’s interest by engag-
ing him in a conversation about the
initiative, using some smart intelligence
she gleaned from a variety of sources:
By doing a blog search, she was able
to comment on an article Dale wrote
for a trade publication.
From social engineering, she asked
HOW TO HANDLE
REJECTION
The;fear;of;rejection;deters;people;from
picking up the phone to drum up new
business. Here are ways to handle it:
•;Control;the;emotion;associ-
ated;with;rejection.;Change;the
meaning;of;the;experience.
•;If;you;get;a;“no,”;don’t;beat
yourself up. Attach a different
definition to the outcome.
•;Seek;out;a;“win”;from;every
call,;even;if;it’s;minor.
•;Be;proactive;in;staying;positive.
questions to which she already knew
the answers.
She used Dale’s LinkedIn profile to
inquire about his experience with his
previous employer.
From a Twitter post, Pat learned that
she and Dale both were involved in
girls’ club volleyball.
People who can and will hire you do
not have time or tolerance for cold calls
that are “cold.” They expect anyone
who calls them to do their homework.
“Cold” calling is dead, but prospecting
is alive and profitable when conducted
in a smart way.
For more than 27 years, Art
Sobczak has helped salespeo-
ple, and anyone who needs
new business, get sales results
by using the phone. His latest
book, Smart Calling-Eliminate the Fear,
Failure, and rejection from Cold Calling,
hit No. 1 on Amazon’s Sales and Marketing
categories in its very first day. Check out his
website at www.SmartCalling.com or
contact him at ArtS@BusinessByPhone.com.
