Blog Layout
Following-up sales leads in today’s world has changed. Once again – the phone is key to reaching potential customers.
Naomi Campbell • Jul 03, 2020
The thing that makes customers listen when you call. And the formula that can change sales results starting tomorrow …
What to say and how to say it?
Prospects may have visited your website and downloaded content that looked interesting but eventually, you need to engage in conversation to see if there is a mutual fit and desire to proceed to the next step (think online dating).
What you say and what you do in this first interaction will either start or end the relationship – and make or break the sale.
Here are the four tactics in our formula for a first customer call - the start of a lasting relationship.
• The First Impression is Everything
• You Have to Start the Relationship by Showing Interest
• Leave Them Wanting More
• Make the Conversation About Them, Not You
This blog highlights a skill to make outbound lead generation calls stand-out in today’s world.
1) The First Impression
Translating your on-line and printed messaging into simple, easy to grasp, conversational language is key – with no industry jargon or empty buzzwords.
Buyers get inundated with offers and they all sound the same after a while. Put a conversation guide together that highlights what makes you different and worth a few minutes of their time. The 3 second elevator pitch.
2) You Have to Start the Relationship by Showing an Interest
The initial conversation is designed to filter and segment potential buyers and unqualified marketing leads. We reserve discussions around technical specifications, demonstrations, etc. to a more specialised sales resource who follows on with a subsequent call/zoom meeting.
The first call acts as an additional filtering layer to gather more information on the prospect and build rapport as you work towards a committed relationship.
Prepare a few short questions (not a survey) to tease out information whilst demonstrating how much you already know about their company and role.
Your use of language and tone should show that you’re sensitive to their environment and understanding of their work/home pressures.
3) Leave Them Wanting More
Like a first date, you don’t want to tell someone your whole life story off the bat.
We don’t want to get hung-up on pitching a product or in too deep on features because busy buyers are looking for ways to rule you out vs. rule you in. Change is risky and typically requires more work on their part, therefore, protecting the status quo is just often easier.
So you want to provide just enough information to leave them wanting to learn more about you — but not so much they might get “cold feet” after
that initial encounter.
4) Make the Conversation About Them, Not You
The goal is not to talk about you. Get them talking about themselves. The majority of our conversations are about the buyer’s needs and circumstances, not our client’s offering.
Prospects talk much more readily when the conversation is about them and get disinterested quickly when the call starts off talking about our client’s long list of accolades and unique selling propositions.
Once we’ve established their needs (this may not be on the first call) and get them thinking about potential solutions to address their issues, we then determine a good next step
(another conversation, an email with more information, a demo, etc.) and when that next step is convenient for them — not convenient for our client.
Follow-up timing is another critical part of the sales development process — get the follow-up and the hand-off dates right, for that hard-won first date.
The Takeaway
Many of the supporting 1st touch tools that we used to rely on for sales lead generation have disappeared since Covid-19 took hold.
No longer can we ping an email to arrange a face-to-face meeting. No longer can we send a text to meet at booth 50 of the exhibition hall. No longer can we mail a pack of personalised goodies to the office with info and samples.
If you’re re-skilling and re-equipping your sales development team to be ‘tele-sales experts’ you’ll want someone capable of tailoring messaging for this stage and monitoring it’s use and effectiveness.
If you’re partnering with a sales agency, ensure they have the process, experience, and expertise to understand your solutions well enough to “work the call” and get you the first virtual date with a prospect.
Put a managed service of; Lead follow-up, lead nurturing and lead generation in place
We address a number of strategic sales development challenges. Our work with senior executives to deliver lead generation programmes not only contributes significantly to team pipelines but also enhances the sales & marketing workflow for sustained revenue generation.
Take the ‘ouch’ out of an ‘outsourced’ sales service. Get more advice
on optimised lead generation for corporate brands.
Book a call-back
Share this blog
Finding ways to improve your sales pitch is always worth the time.
Here’s our winning formula – perfected after analysing 500+ sales calls.
Learn the 6 Essential Elements of a Winning Sales Pitch.
B2B chat is the easiest tool to get wrong - according to corporate marketers - whether used on websites, webinars, social forums or a sales persons WhatsApp account. As you equip your sales teams for the new on-line journey, this blog introduces the importance of empathy in B2B chat etiquette.
Sales Enablement for B2B Lead Generation
When your company re-introduces face-to-face services, how will you inspire customer confidence? Read how companies chatting on-line experience dual benefits – not only does website chat re-assure customers, but it helps drive sales too.
More often than not, calls and posts coming-in to your business originate on a mobile phone. But what if that user wants to reach you instantly without making a call? This article shares 5 tips to maximise instant engagement opportunities through: text, email, live chat, call-me buttons and social sites.
If we're cautioned about putting live chat on every page of our websites - where should it go? This article highlights four types of web page where chat services work well. Whether you're setting-up a new online attendant service or tweaking an existing one, it's worth mapping your objectives with the page recommendations here to see if you're aligned.
This year '000s of companies have deployed live website chat on their corporate sites. Should you add advisers and chat bots to yours? This blog discusses the business benefits of B2B live chat engagement. Read 5 best practice steps to start, run and optimise a live chat service on your website. Consider the option of outsourcing to a chat services agency who knows your industry.