Preparing an Opening Statement for your Introduction (Cold) Call will let you organize your thoughts and have a smooth flow when beginning the call. Over time, it will flow naturally.
Here are the 5 components to your opening script:
- Find the “bridge” – what is your point of connection.
- Personal Introduction – including a greeting and the reason for your call
- Company Introduction (Benefit Statement) – what does your company help increase or reduce and why would you be worth talking to
- Qualify – are you talking to the right person? Is this company a good fit for you?
- Transition – Add a transition to a question to generate dialogue.
Let’s begin to break these components down.
Find the “Bridge”
Before picking up the phone, use online research, LinkedIn (or other sources) to find a common point of connection between you and the person you are about to call. The connection could be similar industry experience, people you both know (business or personal), competitors you have worked with? Etc… The stronger the connection, the faster your audience will trust you.
Personal Introduction
Let’s start here. A simple little change we suggest is to say “Hello, it’s _________ calling from _________ ” instead of “Hello, my name is _________ and I am calling from __________ ”.
While this may not appear to be a significant change, using this introduction can help put the prospect at ease since it’s more causal and almost appears as though you know him/her. The traditional introduction is very formal and immediately denotes to the receiver that you are a stranger which often leads to a defense response.
From here, try use the “bridge” to find common ground quickly.
Lastly, in terms of style, honesty is the best policy … so be up front in announcing you don’t formally know each other. They know that, you know that, so just say it. This approach quickly illustrates vulnerability that often triggers people to be less defensive and more empathetic.
Here are some examples:
Example 1:
“Hello, it’s Joe Smith from Focus America.
Since we haven’t met before I wanted to call you to make a simple introduction. From what I have read, I understand your organization ______________ (state simply and concisely what you know about them) and based on that, I think our 2 companies may be a good fit because we help companies _________”.
Example 2:
“Hello, it’s Joe Smith from Focus America.
The reason I am calling is because recently we have __________ (state a recent milestone or success your company has had that you feel would be important, relevant and relatable to them) and while I don’t know if you have a need for what we do, given you are/do __________ (state why you thought that the milestones or successes would be relevant/relatable to them – for example, they are in the same industry or use the same technology/equipment), I thought it was important enough to reach out to you to make an introduction”.
Company Introduction (Benefit Statement)
Most important: This is NOT a pitch. You are not trying to sell your products, services or solutions yet. You are trying to find a business connection, generate curiosity and drive a further conversation.
Before you begin asking questions, give a quick snapshot of who you are by telling your contact what you do to help improve or reduce. This statement serves to pique your customer’s interest and desire to listen to more. Here are some tips:
- Keep it brief. Nobody wants or has the time to listen to you go on and on about your company.
- While your product/service would have dozens of benefits, select the (1) one benefit you feel will register/resonate with that prospect the most – not what you do. Tell them the “what” and the “why” – not the how. For example:
- “We help companies __________ ” OR “We save our clients __________ ”;
- “We increase productivity by __________ ”;
- “We are the largest company for and that means our customers enjoy __________ ”.
- Be direct. People are busy. Most will appreciate a more direct approach.
Example 1:”I know you get dozens of calls from companies like mine so I am sure you are wondering how are we different. We are different because __________ ”.
Example 2: We specialize in working with companies to reduce their overall web design expenses while generating more traffic to their website.
Example 3: The reason I am calling is that we may be able to help you cut down on your shipping expenses.
The challenge most sales reps have however, is a lack of understanding of what benefits their product or service truly offer. Therefore, to uncover the benefit, start by answering the following questions:
- What problems do your products/services solve for customers?
- How do these products/services solve the problems?
- What impacts/symptoms of these problems would your customers experience?
- What result should your customer expect from your product/service as it pertains to their problems?
- Why would a customer be better off with your product/service vs. the competitors?
- Why would a potential customer not want your service?
Before moving on to the third component (Qualify), you need to get them involved in the conversation now that you have introduced yourself, your company, and outlined what you can help them improve and/or reduce. The objective here is to tell them, in order to deliver the potential benefit, you need to get information.
Example 1: I have a few ideas that I would like to discuss to see if this would be of any value to you and your company.
Example 2: To determine this, I’d like to find out what you are using for…
Remember: avoid questions like, “Is now a good time to talk?”
Qualify
The next step is to qualify. This is an important step for both you and your prospect to ensure you don’t waste each other’s time.
Qualify the Company: If you have not been able to get answers to your qualifiers via your research before you call, now is the time to ask your remaining qualifying questions to ensure this company is a fit for you.
Example: For us at Focus, our criteria are:
- B2B company
- Preferably within the Greater Toronto Area
- Owner operated
- Between $2M-$30M in sales
- Less than 10 people in sales
- No one dedicated as the Sales Manager (often President or best sales person is assuming that responsibility as part of their role)
REMEMBER: Need or interest at that moment is NOT a qualifier.
Qualify the Person: To find out if they are the right person, simply ask them … “what role they play in making decisions regarding your product/service?”. You can also ask them “how are decisions made in their organization regarding your product/service?”.
NOTE: Avoid asking them if they are the decision maker. It will often result in a defensive response (see Questioning Skills module).
Transition Questions and Next Action
If you have done your introductions and qualification well, the transition will feel very natural. During this phase, you are simply trying to learn more about them by asking lots of open-ended questions about their current business situation as it pertains to the relevance/appropriateness of your products/services (see the Questioning Skills module on page 34 for more information on Open Questions). Again, leverage off of any information you have researched (I understand you do xyz. Given that, how do you ….”).
Unless the prospect wants to have a more in-depth conversation, this is also a point to begin to exit your conversation.
To exit, ALWAYS start by recapping what your customer just said – especially what is most important to them. Then, introduce a “next action” (something you are going to do next) but be very clear in describing what it is. Are you going to send them something? If so, what are you going to send them, how (email/mail) and when? If you are going to follow up with them, again be very specific about when (see “Scheduling Phone Appointments Instead of Playing Phone Tag” module).
General Tips
- Ask lots of “open” questions – ask 2x’s more questions than they do.
- Don’t try to sell – just try to “get to know them”
- Be vulnerable: Be upfront that you don’t know them but you felt it was worthwhile to call to introduce yourself for “x” reason. Be clear on what “x” reason is before you call.
- Match their style: are they short and direct? Don’t talk about fluffy stuff. Are they social? Listen, share, and note. Do they ask lots of questions? Engage them.
- Show empathy: Show you understand what is truly happening in their business.
- Never close the call without a next action that you commit to facilitate, no matter how simple it may be. “I will call you soon”, is not a specific-enough next action.
- Remember, your main goal is to simply build some basic trust and rapport that you can build upon during your next call. Anything more than that is a bonus.