Very often when I am a guest speaker at events I am asked ”what are the magic words, or the hooks” that will instantly engage a senior decision-maker on the phone? Let’s be clear the words are important when you are “starting a conversation from cold”; which must be about them and their business not you and your product/service. How ever if there is any “magic” in this process, it is about building awareness of other person’s world. Are they ready or indeed receptive to any call at this particular moment in time? Remember every call is an interruption, even if the person knows you.The clues are all in their voice tone when they pick up the phone. This tone will tell you “where they are” in their world at that specific moment in time and how likely they are to engage with you.
Acknowledging this is probably the most powerful thing you can do, as you are “meeting them in their world” and they will respond positively to you, even if they do not wish to speak to you at that moment in time.Knowing when to back off if they sound stressed or preoccupied is key to this magic. However, there will always be a very strong temptation to try and hold them longer on the call and go through your pitch! I always liken this to a skid in a car, again the temptation is to try to steer out of the skid rather than steer into it. Not trying to engage them when they do not want to speak, will make you very different from your competitors and make you stand out from the crowd. Moreover how you sound will effect the instant impact of the call. Have a relaxed, confident tone and this alone will take you far along your call route . The next time you call them, they will remember this and there is a good chance of you getting your telephone or face to face meeting!
Finally record your calls and listen to that point of instant impact and constantly perfect it!
Top Tips to make instant impact with a decision-maker:
1. Plan and mentally rehearse your call before you make it so you are focused and confident in what outcomes you want to achieve.
2 Listen to the texture of the voice tone when the prospective client picks up the phone
3.Acknowledge it immediately in your introduction e.g Good morning it’s David Festenstein here, I can hear I have caught you at a bad time…!
4.If they ask what the call is about, present your “valid business reason” for the call, otherwise ask for a more convenient time to call back.
5. If they said they are interested, ask for a brief telephone meeting of 15-20mins to discuss further at a later date.
6. Whatever you do, do not try and engage their in a conversation, if their tone is telling you they are busy or preoccupied with something else!
7. If for any reason the conversation does progress naturally, keep focused on their voice tone throughout the conversation as that will tell you what they are really thinking and feeling about your value proposition.