How Conscious Are You Of Your Prospects Time?
When you’re cold calling into a prospect, do you take into account how much time they have to speak with you?
Those of us who know how much effort goes into actually get someone live recognize we need to make the most out of every conversation. Problem is we get into the unconscious mindset of extracting as much information as we can without taking a breath. From what I’ve seen, all too often it can work against you. Bottom line is you need be cognizant of their time before you begin even asking questions.
So let’s assume you get your prospect live- How many of us actually ask our prospect “Do you have a minute?”, or “Did I catch you at a good time?”
We often debate asking that question here at AG. For some of us the feared response would be- “no, not really.” Believe me it’s the typical response we field whether they want to hear from us or not. Let’s face it- EVERYONE we speak with has to deal with time constraints from the admin all the way up to a CEO. They’re certainly not sitting by their phone waiting for you to call. So no matter what, the chances are very high that “now” is not good for an in-depth discussion.
A big thing we stress at AG is to be continually conscious of your prospect's time. We recognize that it isn’t easy to get someone live, but from our perspective it just doesn’t make sense to launch into a qualification call/product overview with out getting their permission. Don’t put yourself at a disadvantage by acting like any other sales donkey out there trying cram a robotic sales pitch down your prospect’s throat.
It may sound like sales 101, but we’ve found that being conversational and humanizing your messaging makes a difference. The average sales guy will bypass asking the “have I caught you at a good time” question. That may buy them 30 seconds to do their thing, but at the end of the day that call will blend with every other vendor call they receive. Surprise your audience a bit by sounding like a human and not sales-bot.
Since I’m a firm believer in making sure you ask for their permission, what should the response be if they do indeed say that now is not a good time? Simple- “When would be a better time to follow up back up with you?” Get them to commit to couple of open minutes on their calendar. Consider sending an outlook invite in order to hold them to a time. It may seem strange to set a 5 minute meeting, but it typically works.
Now when you re-connect at the agreed upon time, you’ll have their undivided attention. Since they have agreed to meet when it works for them they’ll also have a better sense of control over the situation, versus the traditional cold call which most likely will be perceived as interruption to their busy day. As a result you’ll end up getting quality responses to your qualifying questions and can get a better determination if their organization would be a good fit for your services.