Developing an effective call-back technique
I have received quite a number of emails
over the Christmas period covering a huge variety of issues and topics.
I always welcome any contact from readers and I try to reply personally
to these enquiries whenever possible.
A common topic seems to be about the
effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the call-back to follow up on a
prospect . Thought I would take the opportunity to respond through
E-Phone
Contact in the hope that other readers may find
some value in establishing a firm call-back technique.
We all have to call back prospects during
our business by phone activities. Sometimes it's to follow up a
mail-out, check on partnership/management positions or to seek a
potential buyer's decision.
Whatever the reason, many business by
phone professionals seem to shoot themselves in the foot here. There was no
agreed time to re-call the prospect, therefore no call to action. I often
hear things like:
TSR:
Oh, hello John, it's Wendy from XYZ company, we spoke last week.
I sent you some info and I wondered if you'd read it yet?
I guarantee that at least 50% of
call-backs handled this way will NOT have read your
literature, another 40% will give an excuse or an objection around time and
how busy they are, and the remaining 10% might, just might, engage you in a
conversation about the main thing and the original point of the call.
Here are a few ideas and proven ways to
develop an effective call-back that at least opens the door to meaningful
discussion with your prospect and will give you greater opportunity to
present your product or service with an eye to gaining new business.
The thing to get sorted in your mind about
this technique, is to recognise the call-back commitment begins at the close
of the first call! It sets the scene for further discussion
and relies on helping your prospect keep their side of the bargain and
actually read the blooming material they have requested during your call.
Prospect:
Umm, sounds good, can you email me something?
Of course it's important to ascertain and
qualify why the prospect wants the mail-out in the first place, a technique
I covered in an earlier issue of E-Phone
Contact. Once you've done that and accepted they are a
genuine case and deserve your info pack try this:
TSR: OK John,
I'll get this off to you today and ... you should have all the information
you've asked for by tomorrow.
What I'll do, John, is give you a quick call back around 10am on
Thursday to make sure everything has arrived with you safely and in case you
have any questions. Will you be at your phone for around (xxx) minutes at
10am on Thursday John?
That's great thanks for taking a moment to read through our
info pack and I look forward to speaking with you again on Thursday ... OK?
What
do most people reply when you say "OK?"
... Exactly!
Now you have a time and a purpose for the
call. Good prospects will bookmark either mentally or in their diary that
you'll be calling back to talk about their information request. See this as
a call to action.
Now, the call-back itself.
TSR:
Hello, John, it's Wendy calling (as
promised) from XYZ company. I sent you through the information on
(product/service) you requested and I just wanted to make sure that
everything has arrived safely and see if you have any questions I can help
you with ... (into a hot-button question of your own.)
Sometimes it's of real value to add a
benefit right here, something you "forgot to
mention" on the first call. This should be a
hot-button statement about your
product or service you know will appeal to the prospect.
Even if you just use the call-back
technique above you will show your prospect that:
-
You keep your promises - always good to know in
business.
-
You're not looking for a straight
yes or
no,
you're calling to be of assistance.
People buy from people - sure, prospects will buy perceived value
and they are more likely to respond positively to your call if they
feel you are customer and service orientated and not just ringing to
close a sale.
-
By seeking to answer questions, there is no pressure,
only assistance.
-
You're not just ringing to close another deal. You're
seeking their input and ready to offer any assistance, advice or
information a genuine prospect may have.
One other point. I'm a great believer in
closing on as few calls as possible, however some prospects need to be
nurtured along. Over the years, I and others I work with have earned
thousands of dollars in commissions and product sales by using an effective
call-back technique.
Whatever you do, try not to make this the
last call to the prospect. Look to keep the door open and remember ... send
info out on request ONLY if
you have made a full presentation to your prospect. Establish the reason why
they want it in the first place, close a time and day to call back and seek
the prospect's commitment to actually read through the written material you
send. Try and explore your product/service further and seek to find a
hot-button benefit statement
that you can use to stimulate further interest in your prospect when you
call back. And last, but certainly not least, make sure you keep to the
agreed time to call back. Even if your prospect is absent, log the call or
leave a message.
There are some excellent, successful ways
you can phrase a message on an answerphone or leave with reception. You're
seeking to leave a footprint in your prospect's mind that you kept to your
side of the arrangement and called "as
promised". This will often prompt the prospect to read
through your stuff and get positioned ahead of when you call back again.
We'll leave the details and techniques
around "positive message leaving" to another issue but if you are getting
more flat no's than
responses of interest on your call-backs, you're definitely losing income,
missing opportunities and often having the door shut to you for future
contact. Your main presentation is great on the first call, doesn't it make
sense to develop an effective call-back so you can reap the benefits of the
earlier call?
Talking of calls to action and information
mail-outs, I have been lucky enough to work with an excellent communications
specialist over the years and I have to say that the difference good, clear
and effective written material can make to future sales is massive. The
thing that constantly astounds me is the number of organisations who send
out all sorts of stuff without a thought to the continuity of the initial
phone call, no attempt to personalise for the prospect and little thought
about what it feels like to receive your literature.
Is it any wonder that most of the requests
for information end up either in the bin or unread near the bottom of the
stacker trays? I agree that written material is not going to be anywhere
near as effective as a quality, trained TSR but lack of thought and content
can definitely hamstring the very best of callers. With this in mind I have
begged and cajoled my communications specialist Lynnaire to share her skills
with E-Phone Contact
readers in the hope that a quick review of the phone-to-mail process can
help you secure more "Yeses" (see below).
Wishing you all a great start to the year
and if you haven't reached target yet: get ready, you're starting today!
Matthew Mewse -
the telephone man
Tips
and ways to make effective introductions and openings on every call
The
telephone man
produces a series of Telephone Tips
that many callers and managers find of practical use in their business
by phone operations. The tips cover a variety of subjects and the
initial series is about the three main elements that compose a
successful telephone script and presentation.
Ground rules,
hot-button ideas for introductions, sales delivery and
closing components are highlighted in an easy-to-read and apply format
that fits into most selling situations and call centre training
resources. Many managers, TSRs and callers of all types have benefited
from these simple tips and they are often used as part of a business by
phone sales team's prospecting resource and business by phone
activities.
If you would like to receive
Telephone Tips the Professionals Use
from the telephone
man's library,
SEMINARS