How do you make sure that you win the trust of your prospect in the first half minute? For many account managers, freelancers and entrepreneurs, it is extremely difficult to start a conversation with prospects. Don't worry. You do not yet have the methods that will help you to have the perfect conversation.
"We are not interested"
"We have already taken care of that"
"When it comes to acquisition."
These are reactions that you often get from the prospect when they sense that you want to sell them something. It is very important to remember that the first 10 seconds make or break your conversation. If the prospect does not trust you after 30 seconds, they will not stay in the conversation.
So should you start your pitch right away?
No, from that moment on you are already 5-0 down. You can't blame them either. They don't know you or your solution. That day, you will not be the first to call them, nor will you be the last.
Research has shown that 10% of prospects are in buying mode. He or she is aware that they want to change something about the current situation. That is why it is important to adapt your message.
To trigger the 90% who are not in buying mode, you need to use methods that build trust. This trust can be gained by applying these five steps:
Step 1: The reason
The first step to gaining trust is to have a logical reason. Before you begin, it is important to tackle the biggest objection. He does not know you.
So start your conversation with: "We don't know each other yet". By naming it, you will notice that resistance is much lower. Then you can continue with a logical reason.
Colleague: You are referring to a colleague you have spoken to before. Preferably this is a manager or a colleague with a similar function. You can do this as follows:
You: Pieter I got talking to your colleague Gert a few days ago about...
Sorry, by the way, am I calling you at a bad time?
The power of this trigger is that you don't finish the sentence. You gain a bit of confidence that you have spoken to someone he knows. You also make him curious, because you don't tell him what it is about. It is human to want to know what it is about, even your prospect.
Social proof: What if you haven't spoken to anyone? If this happens, we use the social proof method. You don't use a colleague, but a reference as reason. The structure remains the same, but this can look like this:
You: Pieter, we don't know each other yet, but the reason I'm looking for contact with you is because I'm together
work with a number of organisations from (industry), such as X and Y...
By the way, sorry am I not calling you at a bad time?
Step 2: Making a click
"How are you, are you still running?
Many sales managers advise you never to open your conversation like this. We do this whenever possible ALWAYS.
Why? Research has shown that by asking this, the conversion rate increases from 18 to 32 percent. The sympathy factor grows. When you feel sympathy for a person, you are much more open to hearing what they have to say. This can be done simply by starting over something topical. My favourite is:
How are you doing at the moment (personal)
How are you, is everything still running smoothly (organisation)
When the prospects confirm that things are going well, they also enter the conversation with a positive attitude.
However, there is one exception where you should absolutely NOT apply this rule. If you notice that the prospect is very busy or you sense that he is not waiting for Chit Chat, skip it immediately. This only leads to detriment.
Step 3: Personalising
Why do you approach them? The prospect is not number 32 on the call list, but you find it extremely important to know their view on a certain issue. Make the prospect feel special and not just a number. This step is based on the social exchange theory. An example of this is:
You: I saw on LinkedIn that X is really something that concerns you and that you have set up yourself. Also saw
I that you at company Y and Z and carried out Z.
People crave appreciation and prefer to talk about their own achievements. Put the prospect centre stage and show interest and appreciation.
PLEASE NOTE: it must not become flattery. Your prospect will immediately see through transparent or sought-after compliments. You make a difference by delving into the details: search his LinkedIn, his personal bio, Google him. Be authentic.
Step 4: Open loop
You want to create the click-bite effect with the open loop. You want the prospect to hang on your every word. Therefore, use an unfinished sentence that is about him personally. You can do this as follows:
"What we see a lot of now in the market and where actually every (function) is working on, and you may also recognise this (silence)...".
Ready? Start with your proposition now!
STAP 5: Proposition
Before I explain the method of the proposition, it is important to know that only 3 to 10 percent of your target audience is in the exploratory stage. Count on it that when you exercise your buying message on the other 90 percent, the response will be "not interested".
You will have to transform your message into a learning message. You are going to trigger the prospect with ways that he can use and show why it is interesting to have a conversation with you.
End the proposition with an open question. Make sure that you directly address a subject that you want to talk about with him and that the meeting will eventually be about. You are not asking the prospect to buy something from you, but to get his view on an issue. See the example below of how you can set up your proposition to have a substantive conversation with your prospect:
What we notice and what you may recognise...
Is that a lot (FUNCTION) within the (BRANCH) are busy with the (PURPOSE). But that it is difficult to (GREAT CHALLENGE), without being (NEGATIVE IMPACT).
And we have teamed up with X partners we have developed a solution whereby (positive result)
Given your experience with (subject), I am also very curious as to what it is that concerns you most?
Every step is about the prospect and not about you. You gain the prospect's trust and put him at the centre of the entire conversation. It is good to realise that this blog is structured in steps, but that in a conversation you are dealing with a prospect, a human being. It is therefore possible that you will sometimes skip a step or that there will be some shifting between the steps. Try to stick to this structure as much as possible and you will see that you will really benefit from the conversations with the prospects.
GO GET THEM!
