I hear salespeople say all the time
that the phone is dead in selling.
And the reality is that couldn't be further from the truth.
Now, I'm not here to say that the traditional, old school
cold call is still effective.
It's not, let's be frank.
But there is still a number of ways
that we can use the phone
to effectively generate more opportunities.
We just simply have to follow what the data is telling us.
So in this video, I'm going to show you
five easy phone sales tips based on the data.
Check it out.
Number one- lead with cold email.
There is no need nowadays to make a true cold call.
It's just unnecessary.
If you are making your first contact with a prospect
a cold call, you're making life much more difficult.
Because if that prospect for some reason
actually answers that phone, they have no idea who you are.
And so you're starting at zero.
And nowadays we have this incredible tool called email
where you can get in front of prospects
through multiple outreaches
before you are getting on the phone with them.
So that way, by the time they actually answer your call,
they're starting to know who you are.
And, of course, you can also use other mediums
like LinkedIn or other social platforms,
but lead with something besides the call.
Think of it like in a football game.
You don't want to be the running back who's out in the front
with no blocker.
Make sure you've got a blocker.
And, in this case, that is the cold email.
Lead with the cold email, and then follow up on the emails
with the phone call.
It is so much more effective.
And we found making a phone call after an email
can double the likelihood of actually setting a meeting
as a result of those cold emails.
Number two- have a great script.
Salespeople who are simply just winging it
once they get a prospect on the phone
are shooting themselves in the foot.
And the data is unequivocal about this.
We see that reps who are not using the script
are ultimately way less likely
to actually schedule appointments
as a result of those calls.
Have a script.
Now that doesn't mean that every single word
has to be typed on that piece of paper or on your computer,
but at least have a clear process that you're following.
Because what the data shows us
is that salespeople that meander through a call
are far less likely to schedule appointments.
So make sure that you have something
that is keeping you on track,
and is making sure
that you are taking a prospect through a process.
Number three- break the pattern.
We want prospects to be woken up.
Now, just for a second, put yourself in the shoes
of a prospect that you're calling.
And let's just say for a second
that you actually get them on the phone,
and they answer the phone.
What are they likely doing when they answer that phone?
Chances are they're doing a number of other things
at the same time as talking to you.
They're finishing that email that they were just drafting,
or they've got someone else in the room.
And so you don't have all of their focus.
So when you go into a predictable approach
to start that call,
they continue on doing what they were doing.
Instead, what we want to do is (finger snaps)
break the pattern.
We want to wake them up from whatever it was
that they were doing and get them focused on the call.
So, use an opening in your call
that's going to be unexpected,
that's going to catch them a little off guard.
Start with something that maybe flips the script
a little bit.
And what I recommend
is you test a number of different openings
that are different than just the standard, "How are you?"
And by simply changing how you're starting the call,
you're going to be much more likely
to ultimately set an appointment as a result
of that prospecting call.
Number four- get them talking.
The data is unequivocal.
When prospects are talking a lot on prospecting calls,
they are more likely to schedule a next-step.
Now, on the very high end, it starts to curve down.
If a prospect is talking too much,
it can become problematic.
But you do want to get the prospect engaged early on
by getting them talking and having a two-way dialogue.
Ideally in prospecting calls, the data shows
that typically you want to see about a 50/50 back-and-forth
between the prospect and the salesperson.
So you don't want to be doing an 80/20
where they're doing 80% of the talking
and you're doing 20%.
And you don't want the alternative, where you're doing 80%
of the talking and they're doing 20%,
because they're obviously not engaged.
Instead, you want to be around that 50/50.
That's, the data shows, the sweet spot.
So get them talking and engaged in a two-way conversation.
Number five- have contingencies.
Let's face it, prospecting calls can be tough.
And prospects are typically trying to get off the phone,
particularly early on when they're talking to a sales rep.
So expect that they're going to try to get off the phone.
Expect that when you ask them if they've got a minute
that they're likely to say, "Actually I don't."
Or that they're going to tell you that they're really busy
or, "Could you call me back later?"
Have contingencies in place to make sure
that you are prepared for what you're going to say
when they push back.
When you say, "Would it make sense to set a meeting
"right now?" And they say, "Nah, actually I'm really busy,
"can we revisit this in a month?"
You want to have a contingency in place to make sure
that you could ultimately get that meeting scheduled now.
Have your contingencies typed up, ready to go,
so that way you're not caught off guard.
So, there are five easy phone sales tips based on the data.
And if you enjoyed this video,
then I have an awesome free training
on the data-driven approach
to help you crush your sales calls.
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Seriously, just click right here.
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