| How often have you started a call to a
friend, family member or business associate with the phrase, "How are you?" I'm
willing to bet the answer is a lot. I know I say it frequently. It's commonly used as a
greeting, as a "hello."
Because "How are you?" is so commonly used, how
often have you started your introductory calls with this phrase? If you do use this phrase
as an opening for your introductory call, please stop immediately. It's an introductory
call-killer, and this is why:
1. If you ask this question, you must be prepared for the
answer. What if your prospect answers, "I'm having a lousy day. My back hurts, I have
a cold, I hate my job and my wife left me yesterday"? Do you really care? Is this the
reason for your phone call?
2. You lose control of the call. (This is probably the most
important reason.) If your prospect does respond, "I'm having a lousy day. My back
hurts, I have a cold, I hate my job and my wife left me yesterday," how are you going
to get the call back on track?
3. It's a set up, a tip off to your prospect that you are
making a s.ales call. It gives your prospect the opportunity to say, "I'm busy. What
do you want?" (See number 2 above.)
Similar issues apply with the introductory call-killing
phrases, "May I have a moment of your time?" and/or "Is this a good time to
talk?"
With both of these phrases, you lose control of the call
right at the beginning, before you've had a chance to say anything at all. If the prospect
answers, "no," the call is over. These are also both tip off phrases. Friends,
family and important business colleagues would probably not say, "May I have a moment
of your time?" or "Is this a good time to talk?" Only someone making a
s.ales call would use this language, and it's all too easy for your prospect to respond
negatively.
I know that many of you reading this will argue,
"Wendy, it's polite. It's polite to say, 'How are you?' as a greeting and it's polite
to ask permission to speak." There are, however, many ways to greet a prospect -
saying "hello" works just fine. It is also equally polite to simply introduce
yourself and get to the point. This is not only polite, it's respectful of your prospect's
time, it's more effective and it allows you to retain control of the conversation.
In order to be truly effective prospecting or selling by
phone, it is imperative to control the conversations you have with prospects. You want to
set yourself up to have the best possible conversation that you can have with any given
prospect. While it is true that not all prospects will respond badly to the above phrases,
why take the chance? Why risk blowing a lead at the beginning of the call if something as
simple as not starting out with, "How are you?" can totally eliminate that
possibility?
Say hello. Introduce yourself. Get to the point and say
what you have to say. Then ask for what you want. This is the formula for a successful
introductory call. Save the "How are you?" question for those whose answers
really interest you. |
