Everyone in sales knows that sometimes you have to bite the bullet and make a few calls to boost business. That phone is heavy, though, right?
Iconic Partners is a marketing firm in Indianapolis that books leads for insurance agents through advanced telemarketing tactics and cutting edge custom website design and lead generation. Our clients use us to find exclusive leads for B2B insurance so that they can stay in front of clients closing business. Our clients realize the only way to build the book of business is to employ outsourced telemarketing services or advanced web marketing tactics that their competitors are missing the boat on. Many agents and brokers develop telemarketing activities in-house. For you, here are some tips to make phone time more efficient.
We can’t always rely on our channel partners and referral sources to achieve our goals. We have to own our business as sales reps. Appointments are critical. Failing at setting appointments is not an option. Most telemarketing attempts by a sales rep fail for a few reasons that can be rectified rather quickly. Next time you are struggling on the phone to set up your schedule for the upcoming week or you’re pushing for Gold Club, a raise, or just trying to keep your job and hit quota, try the following process and use these helpful hints to become more successful on the phones.
What is the point of the call? Say THAT! Most calls are either booked or lost in the first 20 seconds of your prospect saying hello. Remember, you interrupted what they are doing.
Three Rules for the opening
- Tell them who you are – Sorry, we had to throw this in there… it happens
- Make a simple compelling statement – compelling to them, not your manager
- End with an open ended question – NEVER use yes or no questions to open
Try this:“Hello, Bob. This is Joe from ABS insurance. Sorry to interrupt you, but I was calling to try and get on your schedule to talk about how I was able to save competitors in your industry 20% on their business insurance with our service. I was hoping we could have a conversation about whether we can do the same for you. How’s that sound?
Don’t talk at length to open. You want to simply engage the prospect in a conversation. You want them to ask “how” or form some type of response. Ideally they’ll tell you it’s very important. Awesome, so what’s the best day to meet? Believe us, nobody is interested in meeting with someone that opens a phone call with a 7 minute soliloquy on the features and benefits and history of your firm.
This is NOT a call to sell your product!!!! Let’s repeat: this is NOT a call to sell your product. Know what you are selling. You are selling an APPOINTMENT. Until you get that sold, you cannot sell your product. Do not make the mistake of going to deep into the conversation until you have secured an appointment sale. In business, nothing happens until something is sold. In sales, nothing is sold until you have somebody to sell to. Get the point.
Once they agree to meet, set the meeting and clarify pertinent info: address, phone, e-mail, whatever.
Next step, qualify the appointment. You’ve hit on something that they are interested in (in the example saving money). Now it’s time to find out if it’s worth YOUR time to meet. Great sales reps value their time. They do not beg for appointments or take appointments where decision makers are not present. They don’t waste time with meetings that are not likely to lead to a sale. However, remember, you can’t qualify until you get the appointment.
Try This
“So while I have you, I want to make sure I am prepared to use our time wisely. Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions? Great, {qualifying question}. {Qualifying questions}.
Final question: “well hey Bob, I look forward to meeting you. Is there anyone else that you rely on to help you make this decision that will be involved in our meeting?”
This is a nonthreatening attempt to find out if you have ALL of the decision makers in the room. As you know, we can sometimes get surprised by not having all of the decision makers. Even though we are meeting with the business owner, he/she may rely on someone else in the organization to help make this decision.
If their response is: “No, I’ll need to get Cheryl on board”. Your response: “great, I look forward to meeting her at our meeting… she’ll be there correct?”
Prospect: “No Cheryl will be busy”
You: “Okay. Is there a better time for us all to get together?”
Prospect: “No you’ll need to just meet with me and then I’ll fill her in.”
You: “Okay. Fair enough. Well, if you and I agree that this is a good fit, maybe you could pull her in for a few minutes at the end and make sure she doesn’t have any questions. Sound good?”
Final Points:
Slow Down.
Take a breath, relax, and calm down. Ask yourself would I want to pull out my calendar and meet with someone that sounds like they just drank a Redbull with a 5 Hour Energy chaser? Probably not.
Listening is your best weapon.
It’s pretty obvious that if you’re not a good listener you’re probably not very successful in sales. This is true with telemarketing, if you are not listening to the prospect tell you why, or indicate hot buttons you won’t book at a high rate. Take notes on what they are saying, why they chose your competitor, why they can’t meet, etc. This will also help you when you meet with them to key in on selling points. Qualifying is critical. Listening is critical.
Script Reading.
Most telemarketing campaigns start with a script. Iconic Partners always starts with them when we are learning a new client’s value proposition during our outsourced telemarketing campaigns to find exclusive leads for insurance agents. However, you have to get off the script quickly. Otherwise you will sound unnatural. Keep a list of bullet points instead. Something like:
• State the purpose of the call
• Make a compelling statement
• Solidify and clarify details
• Qualify – make sure it’s worth your time
• Get the decision makers together
SELL APPOINTMENTS, NOT PRODUCTS OVER THE PHONE. This is capitalized so you know it’s important. The most common failure sales reps run into are they forget they are selling an appointment and not their product. Stick to the objective which is to generate enough interest to get you in the door for a face to face. Close on the appointment and the appointment only!
SELL APPOINTMENTS, NOT PRODUCTS OVER THE PHONE. This is capitalized so you know it’s important. The most common failure sales reps run into are they forget they are selling an appointment and not their product. Stick to the objective which is to generate enough interest to get you in the door for a face to face. Close on the appointment and the appointment only!
We hope this helps. We’re big fans of helping insurance agents and brokers succeed. Want our free e-mail? Never forget: Stop Competing. Start Dominating. Be Iconic!
It’s true, most callers take at least 30 seconds to just introduce themselves, it’s really annoying. It’s really important to get straight to the point and tell them what you’re about. It’ll ease the tension of the first few seconds.