Cold Calling - Why You Should Listen Before You Talk
How many times have you heard that old saying about salespeople
having one mouth and two ears, and that the correct proportion we should
use them in? I know, too many times, right. It's funny then, that in
the majority of sales industry survey's conducted, the number one
complaint people report about salespeople is that they talk too much.
Sales people, talk too much? You never would have guessed it!
It's true that in the modern world of selling, skills such as listening,
and asking skilled questions have been given more importance, however,
salespeople still have a habit of not just talking too much, but also at the wrong time.
An example of this is when a salesperson makes a call to a prospect, and assumes that because the prospect has picked up the phone, he's been given the green light to jump straight into his or her speech, suffocating their prospect with a bombardment of information. In person, it should be relatively straightforward to tell if you've caught your prospect in a positive, receptive state. Over the phone, however, it can be a little trickier. But, my friends, all hope is not lost!
After you've finally gotten through to your prospect, introduced yourself and your company, and provided your benefit statement, pause, and give your prospect a moment to speak. Listen carefully and from the tone of their voice you should be able to tell whether or not they seem busy or pre-occupied. You can listen to background noise for hints too; if it sounds loud and hectic in the background, the chances are it's not a good time to speak to your prospect. You can often tell this by listening carefully as soon as your prospect answers the phone. The next time your prospect answers the phone and seems distracted or tells you that it's not the best of times for him to talk, respond with something like:
'It sounds like I've caught you at a busy time Mr. Prospect. I'll give you a call back later on at a time more convenient for you. When would be good for you?'
Then, when you call back at the time they recommended you could open with:
'Hi Mr. Prospect. It's Sebastian Constantinou again, from XYZ Company. I spoke to you briefly yesterday morning but you were tied up with work so we arranged for me to call you back now.'
This is powerful for several reasons. Firstly, your prospect will be impressed that instead of being pushy and trying to keep him on the phone when it's obvious he was busy at the time, you recognised his situation, showing him respect by not pushing him to stay on the phone. Already, this will set you apart from the majority of salespeople. Secondly, when you call back the second time you're prospect will most likely think more highly of you and will give you more time to talk this time round, because of how you dealt with them the last time. Thirdly, talking to your prospect when they are preoccupied is a waste of time. It's a waste of your time and their time. If their not in a receptive state to listen and take in what you're saying you're just wasting your breath. Its better you save it for a time when they can actually listen to you properly.
An example of this is when a salesperson makes a call to a prospect, and assumes that because the prospect has picked up the phone, he's been given the green light to jump straight into his or her speech, suffocating their prospect with a bombardment of information. In person, it should be relatively straightforward to tell if you've caught your prospect in a positive, receptive state. Over the phone, however, it can be a little trickier. But, my friends, all hope is not lost!
After you've finally gotten through to your prospect, introduced yourself and your company, and provided your benefit statement, pause, and give your prospect a moment to speak. Listen carefully and from the tone of their voice you should be able to tell whether or not they seem busy or pre-occupied. You can listen to background noise for hints too; if it sounds loud and hectic in the background, the chances are it's not a good time to speak to your prospect. You can often tell this by listening carefully as soon as your prospect answers the phone. The next time your prospect answers the phone and seems distracted or tells you that it's not the best of times for him to talk, respond with something like:
'It sounds like I've caught you at a busy time Mr. Prospect. I'll give you a call back later on at a time more convenient for you. When would be good for you?'
Then, when you call back at the time they recommended you could open with:
'Hi Mr. Prospect. It's Sebastian Constantinou again, from XYZ Company. I spoke to you briefly yesterday morning but you were tied up with work so we arranged for me to call you back now.'
This is powerful for several reasons. Firstly, your prospect will be impressed that instead of being pushy and trying to keep him on the phone when it's obvious he was busy at the time, you recognised his situation, showing him respect by not pushing him to stay on the phone. Already, this will set you apart from the majority of salespeople. Secondly, when you call back the second time you're prospect will most likely think more highly of you and will give you more time to talk this time round, because of how you dealt with them the last time. Thirdly, talking to your prospect when they are preoccupied is a waste of time. It's a waste of your time and their time. If their not in a receptive state to listen and take in what you're saying you're just wasting your breath. Its better you save it for a time when they can actually listen to you properly.
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