Last week I had a cold call from a corporate hospitality supplier. It was possibly the worst cold call I have ever experienced. The person’s opening line was
“I’ve just had a cancellation for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and I’m just trying to recoup the difference.”
This statement is all about them. There were no pleasantries, attempt to engage with me or even ask if it was convenient to talk to me. Just straight into their pitch. They then proceeded to tell me all about the facilities in the resort which provided the accommodation. This is just a list of features and functions and is never the way to sell anything.
At this point, I had barely said a word. I tried a few times to say that I was not interested and when it eventually got through to them that I was not interested, they immediately hung up.
Even now, looking back, I am staggered at the abysmal effort to do this well. It really does not take much to make this call well such that both sides are happy with the result. This is how I would have constructed the call:
“Hi Tim, this is John from Acme events, we provide corporate hospitality for companies. Do you have a minute?”
“Do you ever do any corporate hospitality?”
“Do you enjoy Formula One?”
If the answer to both of these is yes, then you have an option to talk about the opportunity.
If either answer is no, then you can end the call politely and move on. This is a good experience for the potential customer and a quick qualification for the caller.
If you ask the right questions at the start of a cold call, you can very quickly qualify potential customers in an agreeable way that works for both of. Listing a series of features of something that your potential customer is not interested in is highly unlikely to get you anywhere other than blocked.
Find out more at https://www.hoolock-consulting.com/cold-calling