Sales Call Introduction

I agree with the group opinion, be brief, be bright, or be gone. There are many scripts that can be used for quick introductions. Some samples are:

“Mr. Prospect, just a quick call. In fact there may be no interest on your part. I’m calling because [insert quick reason].

“Ms. Prospect, when working with other companies in your industry we have increased the average productivity by 24%. Is this something that would be worth discussing for another 2 minutes?”

There are many other quick intros. The process is to get a quick pattern interrupt and then establish that you are not a time waster. “Glib-I’ve got all day to talk” openings scream desperate salesperson. The tone and modulation of voice is also important – practice by leaving voice mails for yourself. This is a good way to listen to yourself as someone else would hear your voice.

If you are unsuccessful with your calling take a break and call a trusted out-side person who can give feedback as to your delivery and tone. Sometimes you may think that you are sounding good when your tone has a negative sound.

The big question to ask is, “how is your team doing with the pleasant opening?” Is it working? There are definitely regional/geographic differences in the US that would dictate the proper call opening. I have always found that a quick, direct opening works the best.

In agreement with Wendy. A busy people who is interrupted by a stranger will not be interested in providing that person anything about her emotional status. Additionally, this information is of little value to the tele-prospector since he or she only cares to the point of it providing insight into how the call may go.

A greeting such as "good afternoon, my name is X, calling from Y.." followed immediately by why they are calling is the way to go, imho.

Before actually going for a Sales Call, I would prefer having Cold Calls to Build Relationship with the Client.So that the client understands we have their good in our approach, and we live upto our brand promise while connecting. This will improve credebility, and provide learning so that when the sales call happen, we solve the Client Problem with the best solution we have, which has a high chance of getting accepted.

Chris:

Partially i would accept with Wendy's note, in case of analysing the tone of a prospect we can use the above mentioned tip, say for example if i call a CIO of the company and he is so pleased in his tone, i will never get in to the point directly, i will start building a relationship with him and establish the contact for other services i would like to offer, in case of reaching a busy scheduled CIO, i will certainly say i am calling in reference to this and would you be interested for a short demo at any point of time...it depends on how to use the tip and where to use the tip in-order to not loose any of our potential prospects...My two cents for you..

I think Wendy's recommendation makes a good rule of thumb. However, like any general principle, I would adapt as relevant. Some prospects (after introducing your name & company) may immediately respond with positive signals (e.g., friendly tone), so sometimes exchanging pleasantries can be appropriate.

Besides making calls to new prospects, I've also been on the receiving end. I prefer that the sales person get straight to the point. Getting pleasantries from a total stranger whose real motive is to sell me a product seems insincere and not respectful of my time. I think that sales people can still give the impression of being friendly (warm voice, smile while talking) without asking "small talk" questions such as "How are you doing today?"

Wendy's point is dead-on. Exchanging pleasantries with somebody you don't know is as useless as discussing the weather. Neither party cares. You have approximately 11 seconds to get their attention... if you spend it asking how they're doing, you already lost.

Agreed and to be noted is that, COLD CALLS have always the problem of limited time duration. Hence you strictly cannot practice personal inquiry and in fact this will not appear honest while you do so. The impression should be made with the precise understanding of the situation prior to making that call and delivering that exact "KEY INTRO NOTE" what is required for the customer. PROBABLY TO MAKE IT SIMPLER WE CAN IMAGINE A SALES REP MEETING US FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH AN OBJECTIVE OF SELLING AN INSURANCE SCHEME( which quiet often we come across) WITH SUCH INTRO INLIEU OF INTRODUCING HIMSELF AS AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR.