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12 Things you can do in 2010 to Grow Your Business
#3 – Call your prospects
In this day of Internet marketing, texting, IM, email marketing, and other ‘new’ technologies, one of the most effective ways to communicate with your prospects and move them through your sales cycle is (drumroll, please)…the telephone. No, it’s not terribly sexy, but when done correctly, it gets results. Here are 5 reasons I like talking with prospects on the phone: 1 - It’s quick. No back and forth on email or texting to decide what the next step will be or when & where we will meet. 2 - Fewer misunderstandings. Because we are having a live conversation, there is little room for misinterpretation. We can both hear the words and voice inflection that is invaluable in meaningful dialogue. 3 - I can ask permission to email them in the future. Of course I believe email marketing is key to successfully keeping prospects in your pipeline. But, if they have not opted in to your marketing database from your website, you can always ask them if it’s okay to occasionally send them info they would find valuable. Then, make sure you send valuable info – not just sales pitches! 4 - It’s personal. With so much automation in our lives, it’s nice to have that human connection 5 - Your competition probably isn't calling. Fewer companies are relying on phone sales these days. Yes, it's time consuming, but it works. Stand out from your competition and call your prospects. To make calls successfully, it’s important to have a plan. Know the answers to these 5 questions before you dial the first digit: 1 - Why are you calling this prospect? What do you want to learn from them or let them know about your business? What’s in it for them? Think about what would cause you to be interested enough to remain on the phone longer than 10 seconds. 2 - What is the purpose of your call? Is your goal to learn the decision maker’s name? Or, are you trying to schedule a future conference call or meeting? Are you following up after a presentation? What do you need to know to move the prospect to the next step in your sales process? 3 - Who are you calling? Yes, sales calls are time consuming. Make sure you are calling the prospects you want to work with or developing some sort of criteria for them to deserve a call from you. 4 - Will you leave a voicemail? If so, what will you say to increase the probability that your prospect will return your call? Again, what’s in it for them? Think about how many voicemails you get every day. How many do you return? Why? Know what you are going to say in your message. Be interesting and concise! There is nothing more annoying than a rambling voicemail with too many details! 5 - When will you call? Schedule your phone calls so you don’t miss a sales opportunity. Once a prospect has expressed a pre-determined level of interest in your products or services, make sure they get a phone call from you. Perhaps they have downloaded information from your website or received your newsletter for 4 months. Whatever your ‘trigger’ is, be sure a phone call is scheduled so you can connect with them on a new, different level and have a conversation that will help you both understand if there is any immediate or future need. As for the time of day or week, there is no ‘bad’ time to make a phone call. The only really bad phone call is the one that never gets dialed. |