Cold Calling Pro Suggests Asking: "Hello, Bill?"
By Dr. Gary S. Goodman
I used to compare cold calling to ice fishing, but then I learned a little about ice fishing, and it isn’t that tough.
But there is one similarity: To get a positive result, you need to break the ice.
Prospects who come to the line and who don’t recognize your voice or your name can be very frosty and forbidding and it is our job to warm them up, and fast.
I’ve found one of the best ways is to ASK their name instead of STATING it.
So, let’s say you have called Bill Smith, and he answers the line with a suspicious, downbeat, “Hello.”
How can you perk him up and thaw him out, instantly?
By all means do not echo his down-sloping tone, which is our natural tendency.
Instead, deliberately sound more upbeat than he does by ASKING his name.
Say: “Hello, Bill?” or “Hello, Mr. Smith?”
I assure you his voice will rise in pitch, instantly making him sound as if he’s in a better mood.
Why do you want him to sound more cheerful, especially as a call begins?
(1) The initial tone of the call informs the overall receptivity to your message. If you leave a prospect down in the tonal dumps, he’ll tend to stay there.
(2) By elevating his tone you unconsciously make him more cheerful. We monitor our own emotional states and we tend to perpetuate them. If we’re whistling and we notice it, we convince ourselves that “I must be happy!” If Bill sounds receptive to you, he’ll convince himself he is.
(3) It is much more agreeable for you to proceed with someone who sounds warm than cold.
Try this technique, knowing from the get-go that more cheerful sounding prospects reject you less and buy more!
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 900 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered "The Gold Standard"--the foremost expert in sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
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