Today's post is a special guest post by one of our BDR's, Dan Marx.
Sales can be tough. Prospecting may be even tougher at times. We sometimes deal with rejection on a minute-by-minute basis and are expected to forget about each occurrence and move on. Oftentimes, we set ourselves up for rejection by starting with a poor introduction or by focusing our attention on what our company does, instead of what the person on the other end of the phone needs.
Decision-makers receive dozens, if not hundreds of cold calls each day. Unfortunately, there are still many prospectors who are only interested in pitching their products and services. They spend countless hours writing scripts, not taking into consideration the prospect's actual pain points. Product dumping is obviously not the most effective method for grabbing the attention of today's busy executive. Others try to grab the attention of prospects using an engaging opening question. After reading an article last week, I began considering another prospecting method.
Back in 2008, Peter Belanger wrote an article entitled "The Best Cold Call Approach Ever." The story starts out with Peter hiring a gentleman named Frank for a telesales position with the company. On Frank's first day, he called a major restaurant chain in California and was able to sell them fifty laptops for a total of $250,000 in the same afternoon.
Here is the greeting and headline Frank used:
"Jack, this is Frank Jordan with Microline in Santa Ana; we're a cost-plus hardware reseller, and I wanted to see what procedure you'd like me to follow to compete for some of your business..."
Peter goes on to analyze the headline and discuss why it is so effective. I think it's easy to see why this headline worked for Frank. He could not be more direct with his purpose, shows respect for the prospect's schedule, and sets reasonable expectations. Wouldn't you appreciate this approach more if you were the decision-maker getting a cold call? Knowing this, why don't more teleprospectors use a similar direct approach?
I think most of us would agree that we respond better to people who are honest and upfront with us. It sure would save both you and the prospect on the other side of the phone a lot of time, right? My point is that most teleprospectors spend so much time critiquing their introduction and messaging to appeal to prospects that they don't consider the option of having an open and direct conversation.
What do you think?
We, at Sales Prospecting Perspectives, thought it would benefit our readers to also hear from the folks who are in the trenches of teleprospecting, making dials every day to find sales qualified opportunities for our clients. Today's post is a special guest post by one of our BDR's, Dan Marx. Thanks Dan!
A few weeks ago, the VP of Marketing for one of my clients visited our office for the first time. While listening in on calls with me, she noticed that I was sending an Outlook Meeting Request to a prospect for five minutes of their time later in the week. She explained, as a VP, she often receives meeting requests, some polite and others just plain rude. Never having teleprospected, she was interested in learning why I send Outlook Invites. Her question got me thinking. Sure, sending an Outlook Invite is a component of AG's call process, but what do I really hope to accomplish and how is my initiative perceived by prospects?
I think it's easy to understand why some may consider this practice a bit intrusive. It's enough that I've left someone two or three messages, but now I'm trying to put myself on their calendar? I doubt I would be happy either. Those outside of the sales world argue that this method cannot possibly be effective in securing meetings. Sometimes this is true, but this isn't why I send Invite requests.
It would be nice to say that every Invite turns into an accepted meeting, but that's not reality. However, I have found that Invites have a much better response rate than standard emails. Think about how many emails end up in your inbox each day. Wouldn't a five-minute meeting request grab your attention? If the prospect isn't interested, they usually give me a reason why - budget, heavily invested in another project, or they will not be looking at this type of solution until later in the year. If this is not their area of responsibility, they usually refer me to the appropriate contact. Invites give both sides the opportunity to save each other time and headache.
It's easy to question the effectiveness of Outlook Invites as part of a methodical prospecting process. When I set out to write this entry, I looked at all of the leads I passed last month and found that eight of my twenty leads (40%) were a direct result of the Invites I had sent to prospects.
The important thing to remember is that the people you are reaching out to are busy. If someone is not replying to your emails, it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't interested; oftentimes they just have a ton of work and are in and out of meetings all day. While some may view sending Outlook Meeting Requests as intrusive, I think it's just the opposite. Invites give both sides the opportunity to either move forward in the sales process or close the loop altogether.
What do you think: are sending calendar invites too forward for teleprospecting purposes?