By Jack Warkenthien, CEO of NextStep Solutions
You Never Get a Second Chance at a First Impression
Whether it’s the first thirty seconds of your telephone sales call or the first five seconds of your face-to-face sales meeting, you have already sent a compelling “message” to the other party. That’s either good news or bad news for you. Just know that for the remainder of your engagement your customer will be constantly justifying their initial opinion of you. Does this scare you or does this excite you?
Sun Tzu, in his book, “The Art of War”, states, “Every battle is won before it’s ever fought”. Said another way, by virtue of you making cold calls at all–learning from my last month’s article that 80% of B2B decision-makers will never buy as a result of one–you’re sending a power signal. Cold calls communicate the following:
- You have nothing else to do.
- No qualified candidates want to do business with you.
- You’re desperate.
Alas, there’s an antidote to this perception and it totally “melts” a cold call.
Have a Purpose for Every “Touch”
Put yourself in the shoes of your target. How do you feel when the other party calls you at your residence or your place of business and invites you to a “Launch Party” where you’ll meet dozens of stimulating, successful business professionals? Makes you feel good to get invited, yes? What are your thoughts about a person who walks into your office with a plate of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and invites you to an “Office Lunch” in the first floor Conference Room?
In both scenarios, there was a crystal-clear purpose of each touch and you chose to accept or decline the invitation. Both the phone call and office visit were cold calls, per se, since you had no prior relationship with either party. The difference: PURPOSE. Invest (don’t spend) your time in advance by crafting a meaningful purpose for each of your touches and your effectiveness will soar in terms of getting to the next step in your selling process.
There’s one strategy today that brings purpose to your calls, leverages your precious sales minutes, and compresses the selling process more than most anything at all. Want to know what it is? I’ll give you a hint: ONE-ON-MANY. If you’re trying to recruit new insurance agents for New York Life, you have two alternatives:
!. Find a list of qualified Producers and start smilin’ and dialin’. How many calls will you have to make before one of them says, “Yeah, I’d like to hear the New York Life story. Please book an interview for me”. The answer: Very likely hundreds!
- Now, contrast this to a different campaign, the New York Life “Path to Partnership” lunch. At this event, a Partner from the local agency will share the explosive growth in the Houston area, and he’s seeking the BEST Producers in the industry to qualify for their expedited Path to Partnership to keep up with the leadership demands of their office. If you were a Producer, working for an Independent Insurance Agency with no chance of a Partnership, would you be enticed with the offer for a free lunch, AND a chance to see if this career path is for you? If you’re smart you would. Now, back to you on the phone, when you call with an offer for a lunch, is this an easier “sell” for you? I hope so. New York Life likes the fact that there are a dozen recruiting Candidates in the room at the same time, and they need make only one pitch for many. Get it?
I Have an Idea
These are Four KEY WORDS that precede many meaningful conversations. I’m talking about the approach that allows you to fly by “The Gatekeeper” and land on the desk of “Mr(s) Decision-Maker”. Why? Because you’re not selling anything! No, no, no. You’re merely stating, “I have an idea for Mrs. Big, and I’d like to get her feedback on it”. “Whew”, says the gatekeeper. “For a minute there, I thought they were trying to sell something!” Do you see the difference?
Who would turn down the opportunity to receive an idea with no cost or obligation that may help me grow my business or improve my life? Of course, in order to enjoy the benefits of YOUR idea, she’ll have to buy your product, service, solution, or opinion. Try this in your sales efforts. Next time you meet someone at a networking event, try this – Have an Idea Exchange, your idea for theirs. Regardless of what happens, two new ideas were introduced into the Universe and who knows what can happen from here?
Next month, in Part 3 of our series of “Taking the CHILL out of Cold Calls”, I’ll introduce you to a strategy that rewards persistence, perseverance, and tenacity. In fact, we’ll call upon a baseball axiom that’s as true in sales as it is in business. Stay tuned.
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Jack Warkenthien, CEO, NextStep Solutions, can be contacted by email at
www.jwarkenthien@nextstep-solutions.com or call him at 832-344-6998. You can also visit his website at www.nextstep-solutions.com.
