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Do you have the skills to engage employers by phone?

The telephone offers you an excellent way of establishing and deepening good relationships with employers, which over time, will lead to business. But does your team really have the skills to engage employers by phone? And of they do are they using them to best advantage?

Providers are often encouraged to attract new businesses/employers, yet over the phone the word ‘engagement’ is overlooked.

When I say overlooked what I mean is I’m still surprised at the number of individuals who ring employers and fail to establish a need by aiming to have a two way conversation that uncovers real needs and wants.

When you fail to engage employers properly you lessen the chance of ‘standing out from the crowd’ and the employer then has difficulty in seeing the benefit of becoming a customer of your college.

Here are 3 tried and tested ideas of how you can improve engaging businesses over the phone

  1. Aim to follow the 75%/25% ratio. 75% of the time the employer should be talking the rest of the time it should be you. After you’ve introduced yourself start your next sentence to the employer ‘just out of interest, what do you do in terms of….’, or ‘I’m interested in finding out…, using this technique will encourage you to ask a question. Ideally an open ended one, which starts with What, Where, Who, When, How.
  2. Within 8-10 seconds, tell them who you are, the reason your calling and the benefit to them. If you don’t include a benefit you’ll lose their interest, they’ll switch off and before you know it you’ll hear the words ‘We’re not interested’…
  3. Be real. What I mean by this is sometimes it pays to be honest. ‘Mr Smith I’m aware we’ve not done business with you before/we’ve not started a relationship with you before and that’s more the reason I’m interested in finding out (ask your first question to start the engagement process)

Implementing just one of these steps will make a real difference to the quality of the conversations you’re having with employers over the phone.

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10 cold calling myths you should totally ignore!

It wouldn’t come as too much of a shock to know many individuals, new to cold calling, will probably start by hating it within the first few days.  They will fear prospecting by phone with the reason being that they actually believe the cold calling myths they keep hearing – without even giving it a second thought.

Most of the myths relating to Cold Calling are bogus and completely WRONG.

Myth # 1: Cold Calling is a Numbers Game

Reality:  Sales is only a numbers game when all you know is traditional cold calling. Yes, you can call people over and over; chase them until they listen to you so that you just go away. However there is a better – easier method of building trust and getting your product or service message across – all on one call. Think quality over quantity – simply by changing your sales approach you’ll make FEWER CALLS and MORE SALES.

 Myth # 2: With every ‘no’ you get, you are gettin closer to a ‘yes’

Reality: You will never be close to a yes unless you are doing the exact thing required and doing it right. The preceding ‘no’ can never guarantee you ‘yes’. Practice does make you better at what you are doing but only if you have the passion and willingness to learn. So remember you do not have to go through the ‘No’s’ before encountering a Yes.

Myth # 3: You have to be a great sales person to be able to get good results on cold calling.

Reality: Not at all. The best people are normally those who naturally are courteous, professional and strive to take an interest in the prospect. Prospects are now much more aware of the ‘sales tactics’ used by over polished sales people. So being yourself and remembering to focus on finding out about the prospect not flogging what you have will open doors for you!

Myth # 4: Underestimate the gatekeeper and do not give them any information

Reality:  Anyone you interact with over the phone may be a prospect or an influencer to the decision maker.  He may even be the decision maker in disguise trying to extract the truth; therefore, do not take the gatekeeper lightly. Treat them with respect but remember not to give too much away – save it for the right person.

Myth # 5: Give-up on a prospect after 4 attempts

Reality: The fact is that you should try a minimum of 8 times before giving up on a prospect as you need to tap in to them at least 7 times  before they register your message as a benefit to their business. Over one year it took me over 12 calls to make a contact with a key decision maker. I only spoke to him twice but two years on he’s now a customer of mine! Persistance with integrity pays off!

Myth # 6: Using scripts is efficient in grabbing prospects attention

Reality: People can tell when you’re reading from a script, even if you think you’re pretty good at it and getting away with it. There’s nothing personal about it and people can pick that up. Being artificial just puts you into the typical “Salesperson” category. If you can learn to get your message across in a different way, you’ll eliminate the negative triggers that can lose your sale within seconds

Myth # 7: Cold calling is just for the initial stages for the business

Reality: A business’s main purpose is to generate maximum profit. Why say no to a business opportunity when telesales is a guaranteed source for bringing in prospects. Cold calling should never be eliminated, it should form part of your strategic sales plan

Myth #8: Open the phone book, make calls…..

Reality: Random calls made to random companies will not result in business.  Research your calls, make sure you are talking to your target audience.  Understand your sector and how you can add value and benefit to whoever you are calling.

Myth #9: Closing the Sale Is the End Result

Reality: The goal of a sales person should not be just about closing a deal. Instead, you should focus on determining if you and your prospect are the right fit. By focusing on this, you can alleviate the problems and develop trust and natural dialogue.  Your prospect will develop confidence in you and a business relationship will start to emerge..

Myth #10: Cold Calling is Dead

Reality: Cold calling today is direct, targeted and above all it’s a communication skill. Those who disparage cold calling are totally missing the point. The bottom line is that no matter where you find a lead, whether from networking or a referral (or even if someone calls you) at some point you will need to speak with that prospect on the telephone and if you are not able to communicate the value of the product or service that you represent, you won’t get the customer.

 

Be clever – do not fall for the myths about telesales and cold calling.

Be a smart cold caller and pilot your own career; once you let go of these myths, you will eventually master the art of cold calling.  Within no time you will willingly want to use cold calling over other prospect methods.

After all, a cold call is equivalent to meeting a stranger in person or attending a networking meeting and developing a mutually beneficial relationship.