Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters isn’t the answer!
In an increasingly digital world there’s an awful temptation to hide behind email, messaging and social media when it comes to selling.
And while all those mechanisms have their place when reaching out, ultimately nothing beats actually picking up the phone and speaking with prospects.
That’s especially true if you’re selling higher priced products or services where building up a relationship is key.
But picking up the phone and speaking with a stranger can be daunting.
We all fear rejection. So we make up excuses in our minds as to why we shouldn’t call.
“I have nothing to say” or “I’m going to waste their time” or “I’ll only get their voicemail” or “They’ll be rude and hang up”. And that’s just for starters.
So the phone becomes a pretty heavy weight, almost impossible to pick up, let alone dial.
If this is you, relax. The vast majority of people are friendly. Even if you catch them on the hop.
You just need to know what to say when they answer.
Have something written down in front of you. Not a script per se, but a guide so you don’t fumble.
Before calling find something in common. I generally call people I’m connected to on LinkedIn. I’ve already sent them a couple of messages and interesting articles, of more often than not there’s some familiarity.
So I start with, “My name’s Rashid Kotwal. We’re connected on LinkedIn and I thought I’d reach out and connect on the phone rather than messaging back and forth. Are you open to having a quick conversation?”
99% of the time we have a good conversation. I find out more about them and vice versa. See if they have issues around growth we could help with and if not, how we could cross refer.
Depending on how the conversation goes, I might offer them an article which helps them bring in more clients.
Then make a note in my CRM to follow up in a few days.
Prospecting doesn’t have to be difficult. It does take a mindset that you have to pick up the phone, but once you start, it’s really quite enjoyable. You make connections and friends. Business then follows.
Speaking of articles, I have a set of qualification questions you can use when speaking with a lead to qualify them further. It’s called the DICTATE process.
If you’d like a copy, reply to this email and I’ll send it over.
And of course, if you’d like help improving your lead generation and sales conversion rate, give me a call on 0414 913 334 and ask about our SalesAccelerator™ program.
