Nonverbal Communications and...Teleprospecting!?
Everyone has their own unique personality and we all communicate very differently. It's interesting when we think about people in our lives that we look up to on a day to day basis. I personally tend to gravitate to more distinct, unique, and spontaneous communicators; always positive thinkers. I find these people inspiring and interesting to watch and listen to, and maybe that is because there is no telling what they will say or do next. The bottom line here is that there is something that intrigued me enough to make me want to listen.
Anyways, I heard on the radio this morning that 90% of effective communication is non-verbal. I found this very interesting because that would mean, being in the teleprospecting industry, that this would make my job 90%...ineffective!? In teleprospecting we don't have the advantage of seeing someone's body language or seeing their facial expressions that tell us to let up or keep going. Being in B2B outbound lead generation, we have learned how and taught ourselves how to be effective communicators by crafting a clever message, getting our message across, and grabbing a prospect's attention over the phone.
Here at AG, we make the most out of every call we make, regardless of who picks up the phone on the other end. We take the time to research the most important asset that each particular company has to offer. One of the most important questions I ask myself when learning about new prospects is, "do I know enough about them to convey my understanding of their space in the market, so much so that they'll entertain a discussion with me?" Another question I ask myself is, "do I understand enough about the solution or service that I'm calling on that my prospect will want to talk with me?"
For example: a good question to ask the prospect is, "What I am hearing in XYZ industry is that there has been an interest/need for (_fill in the blank_). Mr. /Ms. Prospect, do you also find that this is an area of concern or something that has been talked about within your organization?"
Some other questions to keep in mind (while recognizing that 90% of communication is nonverbal!):
How do you differentiate yourself in the space and why?
How can we make the most out of our message?
Are we listening and asking them the right questions?
What can I say that will make a prospect want to talk with me?
The most effective questions for our teleprospectors to keep in mind is, are we really understanding our clients' key targets and environment, and are we extracting the pains that seem to be associated with those situations, and are we determining if they happen to experience them too?