Prospecting Script
Relax for a moment and imagine you are the buyer...
Take a look at this real voice mail Jill Konrath received and see which parts you like and which parts you don't.
"Hi Jill. This is Tom Smith. I'm a senior consultant with Intergalactic Services. We are the world's largest provider for audio, web and video conferencing. And I have a few ideas I wanted to run by you related to your current teleseminars.
And just basically, I wanted to introduce myself. So when you have an opportunity, please return my call. My number is .... Once again, this is Tom Smith with Intergalactic at www.intergalacticservices.com and the number once again is .... Thanks. I hope to hear from you soon."
If you are like me, I actually had some interest in the end of the first paragraph, where the sales person said he has some ideas on how to improve my (Jill's) business. It was also somewhat interesting that he knew that I (Jill) have been running some teleseminars - it showed he had done a little homework. I did not find anything particularly interesting in anything else he said (because it was about him not me).
Jill goes on to reformat the seller's voicemail into one that is spot on from my experience...
"Hi Jill. Tom Smith with Intergalactic Services. I know you've been doing a lot of teleseminars lately on selling to the corporate market. I have some ideas about how you can (insert valuable business reason). We've done this for (insert person/firm in my industry who I might know) and they've achieved (insert results). Let's talk. My number is ... (repeat number). I'll try getting back to you as well."
The format is:
- Very brief intro of who you are
- Mention what you know about the prospect and the issues they face (based on your pre-call research - note: you may want to dig deeper into the prospect's issues than this seller did - but that's for another post)
- State you have ideas on how to improve these issues/prospect's business (and do come up with some before making the call)
- Put some proof behind your ideas by saying who you have helped solve similar issues
This format works for all prospecting calls (not just for voice mail) and will help you stand out from the crowd. Yes, it does require pre-call planning and research but from my experience it will be time well-invested.
