Cold sales calls are one of the most dreaded activities for most salespeople. 9 out of 10 times you are going to get a quick “no” or your prospect will “hang up”.
In our experience, it takes less than 10 seconds for a prospect to make up his mind about you when you call him.
Remember that your prospect is bombarded with tens of such calls and even follow-up text messages every day.
For you, however, making the most of these first 10 seconds is critical to get some initial conversation going. This can also give a boost to your self-confidence and engagement while calling.
How can you increase the chances of getting the prospect to speak in the first 10 seconds of your cold call?
Step 1: Explore the profile of the prospect on LinkedIn or Facebook or any other social platform depending upon the product or service you are promoting.
Let us assume that you are calling a Technology or Engineering Leader.
Step 2: Now imagine for a second – What job does that person want to get done? Save technology overheads. Reduce the time wasted in meetings. Improve the project management in his division. Increase the productivity of his team.
Step 3: Now think of what may be bothering him the most? Technology overheads increasing 12-15% every year!
Step 4: Now try to see through his eyes: What could he do with the money he can save by reducing the technology overheads? Is it just the money saved or can he use it for something else bringing a bigger impact?
Step 5: Ask a “needle mover” question that makes the Engineering leader experience a lightbulb moment and think, “That can be interesting!”
How will this 5 step process work in your cold sales calls?
You: “Hello, is this Abhay?” (Let us avoid using a typical formal opening by saying: Am I speaking with Mr. Abhay Rai?” He can think of it being a cold call in no time.)
Abhay: “Who is this?”
You: “Hi, I’m John with XYZ. I just came across your profile on LinkedIn and had a quick question for you?”
Abhay: “What is this about? Have we connected before?”
You: “Actually this is just out of curiosity, how are you dealing with software overheads costs increasing 12-15% every year? Are you doing x or y or z?” – This is your Needle Mover question.
If you give him choices to think about, it becomes easier for him to answer.
Josh Braun came up with this one.
“Needle mover questions make prospects think – “Are they getting their deliverables done currently? ”
Needle mover questions are neutral. They make the prospect imagine – how can they improve how they get their critical things done better in near future.”
Creating a dialogues is critical in first 10 seconds.
Most important thing to remember is : Avoid starting your sales script!
So what’s your Needle mover question to get your prospects talking in first 10 seconds?
How will it set you apart from other cold callers?
