“Briiiing, briiiiing. Briiiing, briiiiing.” (Fine, you got me. It wasn’t THAT EXACT ringtone, but ring it did.) And since the missed call notifications piled up from the same number, I second-guessed myself, “Maybe it’s important and maybe I should pick up that phone.”
[Swipes the circle to answer]
Me: “Hello. Who’s this?” I asked with a slightly cautious tone.
Caller: “Hi Chi! Do you live at [so and so place]?” replied the other end enthusiastically.
Me: “I don’t think I know you. Is this a sales call? Because if it is, I’m not interested.” (Not only was I NOT interested now, but my mind was rewinding itself to discover the source of this — how did a complete stranger just call me by name AND try to confirm where I live with my FULL home address?)
Caller: “No sir, this is a savings call. I want to let you know that you can be saving a lot with solar and -”
[Taps on the end call circle before allowing that sentence finish]
“and” I didn’t want to hear no more. Goodbye.
[Added number to blocked caller list]
What was so wrong with this “savings call” ?
Good question. Well aside from it not sounding like a scam call and short of it scaring me into heart arrhythmia, there were three things wrong:
- First, the sales rep should’ve answered the first question by stating their name and who they were calling on behalf. By avoiding the question, I felt that they were trying to hide something.
- Second, they brought up my FULL address out of thin air too early in the call — no warm introductions whatsoever, who even does that? Oh wait…never mind, cold calling on leads bought from general online searches, that’s who.
- Third, not everyone can be Kenny. By saying it’s a savings call and not a sales call, they disagreed with me (the prospect). They thought word play will turn the situation around and make me laugh. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for them. But if that person said, “You’re right. Not going to lie, this is a sales call. This script right here instructs me to say it’s a savings call. Like hell are you going to believe that. You know better than I do. Even the savings call from God came at a price on the cross.” That would have opened a whole different story line.
So for now, I remain unimpressed with the cold calls we all continue to receive.
But can’t this be fixed? Possibly, but mileage may vary.
If you can’t even talk to a prospect, there’s no way you can demonstrate value over the phone. You need some time to gain the customer’s buy in, yet it would be less stressful if you can decrease the negative effects of repeated hangups. So consider the format below. Notice it’s like you’re giving the prospect the permission to hang up, instead of being hung up on? That line elevates you to the chooser role, which in turn will make you more resilient to overcoming objections in your discussion.
“My name is _____ and I am calling from [so and so company]. Before you can hang up, may I have just 10 seconds? And if you don’t like what you’re hearing, you can hang up anytime.”
But what if the prospect feels a sticker shock? Well, the good thing about solar is that they come in different quantity and quality. High ticket items are also easier to sell than low ticket items, because for low ticket items, they can only be modified so much. Try phrasing like this:
“Hey, I know it looks pretty expensive and out of reach, but we’ve come a long way. Improved manufacturing technology and higher sale volumes have brought solar panel prices down a lot. Let’s find out what works for you and get you some quotes. There’s no obligation to commit.”
But what if the customer still wants to take some time? Given that it’s a cold sales call, you must open the pipeline for a non-immediate sale. For big purchases, you can’t expect prospects to commit. You have to do what are called micro commits. If you look at Hermès, they do high ticket sales with a slightly less competitive model by restricting supply, but still employ micro commits: in order to buy select handbags, you have to buy accessories first and work your way up to that level. In the case of solar, your company should have the prospect on an email list. If the customer opens, reads those emails, and share it on their social media, then consider rewarding them with a bigger discount on their purchase. The interaction the customer places towards the product is their micro commit.
“Hey, I know you can’t make a decision right now and it’s definitely a lot to digest, so why don’t I email you some information, and you can make a decision later?”
But some companies forget that they have sales teams and not individual closers that fight over commissions. If you find yourself in that type of company, one that allows one person’s success at the expense of the other team members, then consider switching to a better work environment.
Management should not be “Always Be Closing”
A good company will value nurturing sales pipelines. That’s what CRM software help sales team do. If software isn’t available, there’s always the old fashion way, set up personal calendar reminders to wish prospects well during the holidays (without mentioning about sales).
“Hi, I just wanted to call and wish y’all a Happy Thanksgiving. This is _______ from [company name] and I remembered we talked about [some memorable story] last time. Stay in touch.”
Then sure enough, you’ll be their first ones to call when they are ready to make that purchase.
