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We gather our lists of leads. We set aside time to prospect. We have all our materials ready. We’re all ready to go, but we have that little uneasy feeling in our stomach because we’re going to have to actually start talking to prospects, people that may not like us calling them. During these times we can lose our confidence a bit, the very thing we need in order to more effectively prospect. Here’s a list of five things that you want to include in your first conversation with a prospect. The list is simple, disarming to prospects and confidence building for you. It can be a road map when you feel lost.

Who? Always start out prospect calls by telling them your name, title and company. Doing this slowly and deliberately can make prospects less defensive.

What? Provide a very brief overview of your company so the prospect can put you in perspective. There are two very common mistakes made here; avoid them both. First, don’t assume that everyone knows who your company is and what they do. The public is much less informed about your company than you think. I’m including Fortune 500 companies here too. Second, don’t go too long. Have a one or two sentence presentation ready and keep it to about five seconds.

Whole Story. This is my favorite part. Next tell them that the reason you are calling is that you are trying to build your business further and your research indicates (you did do some research, right?) that there might be a good fit between your companies. Why do this? It will make the prospect less defensive, more responsive and appreciative of your honesty (they already knew that you were calling to sell them something anyway).

When? Ask them if they can talk now or if another time would be better. I can’t tell you how often prospects complain about salespeople that have absolutely no courtesy here. When you show this modest amount of decorum you will get one of three types of responses. “Sure, now is a good time.” “Not now, can you call me tomorrow morning?” “Never is a good time; go away and don’t call me back or I’ll get a restraining order.” Two out of three isn’t bad and fortunately you almost never get one exactly like the third.

Why? We saved the hardest for last. This is where you tell them the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). You’ve got to give the prospect some kind of warm fuzzy as to why they should be investing time in you and how it will benefit them. Prospects want to feel like they are investing time in something that might pay off. They’re selfish like that.

And the most important part of the five W’s is that you don’t sound like the other dozen sales calls your prospect has heard that day. You want to sound different and stand out. Most importantly, be yourself.

Tags: Prospecting

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