Cold Calling Is Like Chess: Think Strategically!
Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest entry from one of our BDRs, Abe Richardson.
All we have is our words to disarm a prospect. I am a firm believer that out of the millions of combinations of words that could qualify as a coherent response, there is at least one combination that will have positive results with your prospect. I am not going to argue that I have the magic retorts for all situations that you can plug into your specific situation. The point of these few paragraphs is to remind us to treat each conversation like a game of chess. When it comes to cold calling you must think ahead and you try to figure out what your opponent is thinking.
So with that said, as any of you who have had the luxery of cold calling know, sometimes you only get one shot to say the right thing. By empathizing with your prospect, you can respond in a more appropriate manner. Does he or she sound hurried? Do they sound hostile that you are taking up their time? Sound confused about what you are calling them about? Do they sound like they expected someone else to pick up the phone? You get the picture. Appeal to whatever the situation may be. Convey that you care about said situation and get something in return. Is this the right person to speak to? Can you get them to commit to a follow up when they are less busy? From their tone, decide if a little levity might be in order, etc. In short, don't be set on your heels. Be ready to respond in a personable manner and if they give you enough seconds they may actually mirror your tone. I equate this with thinking ahead and being ready for anything.
Getting into your prospect's head comes more into play with qualifying (or disqualifying) an account or prospect. If, for example, someone tells you that they "would not spend money on this", there should be some interest (from you) as to why. You could infer that they have already explored this type of solution. But perhaps it is that they were told they "can't spend money because their budget isfrozen". Or perhaps after further discussion you determine they heard this through the grapevine and they really don't have a whole lot of say or power. If you gave up on that first sign of resistance you would have never known. Your goal should be to determine this in the most concise manner possible to either, disqualify the account, disqualify the prospect, or even qualify them for later follow up.
It is very easy to get discouraged by a prospect, especially if they are rude or even hostile. Sometimes, these conversations can be recovered through clever word usage. So instead of giving up and retreating, try something new. Put yourself in their shoes; what would keep you on the phone?