(Note About Author: Don't miss Jim's teleseminar next week, 10 Ways To Increase Sales Fast. If you can't make the seminar, pre-order the cd.)

Are your calls to top decision makers stopped dead in their tracks thanks to a skilled gatekeeper?
 
Reaching top decision makers is a mammoth task these days. Everyone covets their time and high level executives usually have an executive assistant, secretary or aid to screen your calls. If you can't get past the gatekeeper you're not going to reach the boss. Here is a technique that can help you get to the executive more often.
 
Tennis Finesse
 
Getting past gatekeepers is like tennis: they like to lob questions into your court to keep you moving and off guard. Most tele-sales reps lose the game because they fail to volley back. You need to learn to return the "ball" back to their court and catch them off guard. Here's what I mean:
 
 When they ask who is calling, give your name and nothing else and then ask, "Is she available?" Most gatekeepers are not use to a question rebound. They are used to a sales rep who gives them everything they need to screen the call.
 
But gatekeepers can backhand a reply too. When they ask where you're calling from, give the name of your company and no more, and then go to your forehand responses and say,  "Can you put me through please?" This is assertive but polite and it will catch most of them off guard.
 
Though reeling by clever shot along the line, they might manage "what's this in regard to?" Make sure you have a two handed smash ready to go.  For instance, an answer like "Improving margin strategy; can I speak to him please?" will befuddle the most avid gatekeeper. Improving margin strategy is vague but it sounds highly strategic and very important. Not your usual run of the mill reply from a sales rep. You need to prepare this ahead of time and keep it locked away until you need it.
 
Most gatekeepers will have never seen these kinds of 'shots' before.  It's called finesse. They're left with a degree of uncertainty. They put your call through. Point and match.
 
The Perfect Serve
 
If you want to knock the gatekeeper out of the game with an ace, here's another technique for your opening statement:
 
"Roger Smith for Jill Laver. I'm calling long distance. Can you put me through please?"
 
Delivered with firm authority in your voice, you sound like a colleague, like someone who isn't to be trifled with. It is less a request and more of a command. These are approaches that executives use daily. Ergo...you sound like an equal, a friend, a colleague, a buddy, an authority.  Ace.
 
As with the real game of tennis, the only way you'll get better is with practice. Master these techniques and watch your contact rate soar.

About The Author:

Teleconcepts Consulting works with companies and individuals who struggle to use the telephone more effectively to sell and market their products and services. For more information on consulting services and training programs, articles, and other resources visit  www.teleconceptsconsulting.com   or call 613 591 1998.

 

 

Greetings!

The caller greeted me with, "Mr. Soba-E-zack?"

ME: "It's pronounced Sub-check. What do you need?"

"Oh, uh, sorry. I'm Pat Jones with Trojan Golf. You're still a golfer, aren't you?"

(I'll normally listen to ANYTHING golf-related, even if it is a telemarketer reading from a script, as this person was. At least their target marketing was good.)

ME: "Yeah, I golf quite a bit."

"Well, good news! As an avid golf fanatic, you've been selected to try out our new titanium irons. We're looking for feedback from golfers on these revolutionary new irons. These new irons ..."

ME: "Stop. I know the routine. You send out the clubs, and then I get an invoice after a trial period. You're not looking for feedback on your clubs--this is how you sell them, right?"

"Uh, sure we offer the opportunity to buy them after a free trial period. But there's no obligation."

ME: "I understand, but again, the purpose of this call is to sell golf clubs, not get feedback on them, right?"

"Welllll, again, you are under no obligation, and even if you nicked or scuffed them, you wouldn't have to pay for them."

Lucky me. How kind of them.

I had enough and ended the call.
-------------------------------------------------

DON'T MISREPRESENT SALES CALLS TO TRY AND GET IN
This is the problem with some sales calls, both to consumers and businesses. Callers misrepresent themselves to get and keep someone on the phone. They use such guises as,

... we're taking a survey ...
... we want to update our information ...
... we're doing an opinion study ...
... we're updating our records ...
... we're conducting some marketing research ...

... and then later in the call, they inform the person about their "offer," or that they'd like a salesperson to visit.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying surveys and marketing research do not have a useful function-- they do. Just don't mask a lead generation or sales call as something that it's not. After all, if a company must use less-than-upfront tactics to get you to buy, wouldn't it justifiably make someone leery about its product and character?

OK, so what is the suggested alternative?

It's no different than what I always suggest:

Have a good opening, generate interest, ask questions, make a recommendation, then ask for commitment.

For example, the golf club salesperson could have said,

"Art, the reason for the call is that we have introduced a line of irons that have been designed to help high handicappers eliminate hooks and slices, and help better golfers shave those last few strokes off their scores. You still golf, right?

Great! Because we don't spend millions on advertising, and market these directly to golfers on a free trial, no-risk basis, we're able to give wholesale prices for custom-fitted clubs as good as what the pros use. I'd simply like to ask a few questions about your game, and your satisfaction with the equipment you use to see if you'd like more information on these clubs."

Granted, that might seem a bit long when you read it on a computer screen. But, delivered in a conversational way, to the right audience, (as all openings should be anyway) most people would be at least interested enough to continue, and not be skeptical about the call. With well-planned and executed questions based upon the prospect's answers, reps could make persuasive, tailored recommendations and then ask for commitment.

Bottom line, if someone has to hide the reason they're calling, they either don't have anything worth buying or they don't have a sound strategy, tactics, and the skill to execute them. The good news is, the latter problem is fixable.

 
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Chance never helps those who do not help themselves."
Sophocles

Continue having your best week ever!

Art

About the author:
Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople--both inside and outside--designing and delivering content-rich programs that participants begin showing results from the very next time they get on the phone. Audiences love his "down-to-earth,"entertaining style, and low-pressure, easy-to-use, customer oriented ideas and techniques. He works with thousands of sales reps each year helping them get more businesses by phone. Art provides real world, how-to ideas and techniques that help salespeople use the phone more effectively to prospect, sell, and service, without morale-killing "rejection." Using the phone in sales is only difficult for people who use outdated, salesy, manipulative tactics, or for those who aren't quite sure what to do, or aren't confident in their abilities. Art's audiences always comment how he simplifies the telesales process, making it easily adaptable for anyone with the right attitude.

Contact Info
Art Sobczak
Business By Phone Inc.
13254 Stevens St.
Omaha, NE, 68137
402-895-9399
ArtS@BusinessByPhone.com
www.businessbyphone.com