Whether it’s an outbound lead that has been tossed your way, or someone you believe is a potential prospect, there will come a time when you have to make your first phone call. When it comes to new prospects, remember, you will only get one chance to make that first impression. The very first interaction is the thing that is either going to make the sale, or break it. During this time, you will need to provide value, establish trust, and secure a follow-up call. Below, we are going to introduce you to some brief rules to go by when reaching out to a prospect …
The Initial Contact Will Need to be Beneficial to the Prospect
When you first speak with your prospects, you need to make sure it is all about them and not about what you are selling. On a typical note, most prospects will want to know about the cost and benefits. They don’t have time to waste and wish for a short, yet productive call and that’s the same thing you want.
During the conversation, don’t beat around the bush. Explain to them how your solution can help the prospect and list the benefits of it. If you’re able to give them a special offer, go ahead and do that as well.
Avoid Data Dumping
Sure, you may be able to explain all 200 features of your services/products, but now is not the time to do so. During the first conversation, avoid data dumping at all costs. This consists of using trial closes such as “how useful would that be for you?” getting information before you give it and asking questions so that you can check the prospects level of interest.
Stay Accountable with CRM
Organic searches, word of mouth referrals and PPC advertising just so happens to be the top sources of new business. What we’re saying is that close to eighty percent of your business is going to be depending on the ability of your sales reps’ to connect with your prospects. In order to improve the accountability of your sales team, you can make it so that CRM reports track all interactions – this includes the amount of times the prospects have been contacted, the message, the number of sales opportunities that have been generated, and even the channel used.
On an additional note, you can take the sales call channel and integrate it into the CRM in order to help trigger caalls automatically each time a prospect visits your site.
Conclusion
Point blank, the very first time your company contacts a potential prospect, you need to make it count, otherwise, you’re going to lose business. By following the rules that we outlined above, your chances of really connecting with the potential prospect and making a sell will increase. In the end, don’t forget to follow-up with the prospect.