From Call to Close: 6 Principles
"How do you convince a prospect on the phone without non-verbal communication? Learn the 6 essential principles of the Match-day conversation strategy."
Non-verbal communication contributes to empathy and trust during a conversation, but what if you cannot apply this type of communication? This is what most <a href="/nl/wiki/sdr" class="text-[#4368b0] hover: text-[#ed6e1c] underline">Sales Development Representatives</a> (SDR) deal with daily.
The Match-Day conversation strategy is a good way to optimally prepare your conversation. This process consists of twelve steps in which we apply six principles.
The prospect you call does not know you. That is logical. Therefore it is important that you know your prospect well and gather as much information as possible before starting the conversation.
1. Connect
For example, look at LinkedIn profiles to see what experiences they have gained and where they have worked. This way you can make the conversation more personal and connect with your prospect.
Make sure you do not become too exaggerated, your prospect will notice this immediately. Look for authentic topics that you can use to show that you have done your research.
2. Find Problem
After the reason for your call, ask the prospect a question. This way you hand over the word to the other person. The art is to ask a question that is not difficult to answer, but does arouse interest.
3. Understand Problems
During the conversation it is important to write everything down and listen carefully. Write about pain points and needs. Show interest with questions like: What makes it so important that you want to achieve this?
4. Teach
The most important thing during your pitch is to make clear that you are not calling to immediately take concrete steps. Answer the question Why? What can you do for them?
5. Summarize
If there is interest from your prospect, check whether the company and person qualify and summarize the conversation.
6. Close
Always ask a negative question: I am not sure if it is something that fits, but would it perhaps be a bad idea to...?
Conclusion
Research from Harvard Business Review shows that 63% of salespeople drive prospects away instead of bringing them closer to a purchase. This is largely due to unnecessary mistakes in the opening conversation.
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