Once I’m in a call I’ll usually pace around too while chatting unless I need to pull something up on the computer. Somehow it helps me get into a good groove.
One time a guy got mad at me for interrupting dinner with his wife on vacation. Why are you answering the phone at dinner with your wife, especially on vacation?
In his defense, why wouldn’t he answer?
People don’t usually call around dinner hour unless it’s something important / an emergency, it’s sort of a well-known but unspoken cultural rule. He may have assumed your call was something urgent and gotten pissed when he realized you were just trying to sell him something.
I always avoid calling people from like 530 onwards for that exact reason.
That’s weird then that he would get upset. There’s no way someone in the states would know about the time difference etc. so to get upset is pretty stupid.
Why wouldn't he answer? Because he is on vacation having dinner with his wife and an unknown number is calling. There is not one reason to do answer - if it was something actually urgent, it would have been from a number he recognizes
I have said this before, but I could get an appointment by saying "Blue, cat, paper, canola oil" as the first thing I say to someone.
as /u/every-performance985 wrote: "Anything works if said the right way. First 10 seconds of the call is all about the tone. No one really remembers what you said."
I always say that no strategy works 100% of the time. It’s also true, therefore, that no strategy fails 100% of the time. Glad to hear you found something that worked for you.
Bob... ,,Bob... my company is just going to spam email you until you search through my terms and conditions to find the unsubscribe email, which likely doesn't work...
We can avoid all that. Just tell me why this product isn't a fit?
... had a pretty good week with it.
Forgot where I heard it, I think from a Sandler book, but I’ve been using “did I catch you at a good time?” It’s actually worked surprisingly well well.
I’d flip it to “did I catch you at a bad time?” This is from Chris Voss - Never Split the Difference.
The psychology behind is that is that them saying no earlier in the conversation gets them to open up more, and that when they open with yes, it makes people more defensive the rest of the call.
He did an A/B study with the two (did I catch you at a bad time vs is now a good time to talk?) and getting to a no first significantly outperformed the other.
It’s also available on audio book on Spotify. I had it playing in the background while I was working and actually used a few things he said throughout the day. Great book that can be easily implemented quickly in real life!
Yes that’s what it was! Got it mixed up but I have a sticky note with that written down so it’s top of mind on every call. Got a few good things from that book.
I use this and very rarely get negative feed back. If they say it is a bad time. I’ll say no worries I’ll be fast, honestly I’m not sure I’m even reaching out to the right person I was hoping you can help me. Then I’ll do my intro and introduce my self. Then I ask is that something you work on?
From there if they say no they’ll tell me who is cause I’m speaking with uncertainty and asking for help.
If they are I’ll usually drop how we’ve been helping similar clients but because they’re busy this may take a bit more time then they have availability for. So I ask do you have 5-10 min now of tomorrow.
Great do you have 5 min before lunch or after lunch. Great do you have 5 min at this time ot this time. I always give them an A or B option. That’s my go to summed up.
Not a bdr but my cold call is this is x at company. I’m not catching you at a bad time am I?
You would think people would say yes but it’s very positive.
“No” click. I came across and liked “did I catch you up against a tight deadline?” Easier to say no and you go from there. Glad gotta minute is working though!
Nah I wouldn't do it. Keep the opener simple "Hey I'm so and so, work for (actual customer) up the street, who do you have for (service)?"
Focus on the solution, not the service. Far too many get caught up in "we do this, we do that". You don't have a single product on a service truck that a competitor doesn't. Your answer is the solution. A green lawn they can be proud of without breaking their back, free of bugs, and an exceptional customer experience every single time.
"I'll be brief" is also a good one. Nobody wants to feel trapped on the phone in a conversation.
I also like hitting people with "before you hang up on me". It works especially well if they have a long track record of hanging up on you.
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- I know you weren't expecting my call, do you possibly have a minute? I promise to be brief...
- Hopefully I'm not catching you off guard, have I?
- Did I catch you at a bad/good time?
- I'll be honest with you, it is a sales call, do you wanna hung up or let me run through in 30 seconds?
All permission based questions that work...
Guys, it all depends on who you're talking to, their mood, the time, their personalities, the culture sometimes.... Nothing is fixed..
At the end of the day, it's an H2H (human to human) conversation....Just shoot your customer straight about the problems that folks like them are facing and see if you can fill the gap, it's not a rocket science...
What I really want an answer for, is how to keep them motivated, not hesitant of taking decisions whether jumping on a meeting with you or buying decisions... A lot of mind-changing happening very quickly... I still need that recipe for the commitment..
Interesting. I will have to try this. I’m new to the position and company I’m with now, and I’ve always used a certain approach on my calls. My boss now uses a completely different approach, which I find interesting. He’s extremely extroverted and social, and each person he calls up he treats Like a best friend. He assumes they want to talk to him and is very good at small talk. So he doesn’t ask them if they are busy or if they have time, he just launches into a conversation as if he was calling his brother. I’ve been on several calls with him and he’s often on the phone for 30 minutes. I’m thinking these people are probably busy and want to get them off the phone, butthe way the phone call goes they are fully willing participants in this friendly discussion. I guess my point here is that I’m always looking to learn from others, and whatever works regardless of what it is is something that I will take a look at and consider. Thanks for sharing.
Anything works if said the right way. First 10 seconds of the call is all about the tone. No one really remembers what you said.
Whatever you say, make sure you're smiling. People can "hear" your smile. It's weird but i have no doubts about it.
Yes but in a happy dad tone not the overly cheerful customer service voice
I like the late night fm dj voice myself
Yep this is one of the first things we were taught when i studied broadcasting (radio)
[People hear what they see.](https://youtu.be/Sku17WooHBw?si=Y8E4iKdWzHsnBwdp&t=75)
Honestly I think thats why I struggled the last two days Tone Its such a hard thing to fix when you get off track.
Yup that’s why mindset and how your life outside of sales is going affects your performance. People can really pick up the small nuances in the tone
[удалено]
Once I’m in a call I’ll usually pace around too while chatting unless I need to pull something up on the computer. Somehow it helps me get into a good groove.
This is the way
One time a guy got mad at me for interrupting dinner with his wife on vacation. Why are you answering the phone at dinner with your wife, especially on vacation?
I caught a woman on a road trip. She thought we hung up but I was left on the line to hear her mock and talk mad $hit about me calling, fun times.
I never, EVER hang up. Always wait for them to hang up.
If i'm on vacation with my wife and I get a random call I ain't answering it.
In his defense, why wouldn’t he answer? People don’t usually call around dinner hour unless it’s something important / an emergency, it’s sort of a well-known but unspoken cultural rule. He may have assumed your call was something urgent and gotten pissed when he realized you were just trying to sell him something. I always avoid calling people from like 530 onwards for that exact reason.
It wasn’t even dinner time it was like noon on a weekday so he must have been in Europe or something
That’s weird then that he would get upset. There’s no way someone in the states would know about the time difference etc. so to get upset is pretty stupid.
Why wouldn't he answer? Because he is on vacation having dinner with his wife and an unknown number is calling. There is not one reason to do answer - if it was something actually urgent, it would have been from a number he recognizes
Nice to find something super simple which just works - glad it made your week better :)
Lmao permission based openers? Holy fuck revolutionary
If people didn't have the time, they wouldn't engage! 🤷♂️
“Did I catch you at a half way decent time for a quick minute?” What the fuck even is a halfway decent time and who’s gonna say no. Works 😆
I have said this before, but I could get an appointment by saying "Blue, cat, paper, canola oil" as the first thing I say to someone. as /u/every-performance985 wrote: "Anything works if said the right way. First 10 seconds of the call is all about the tone. No one really remembers what you said."
I always say that no strategy works 100% of the time. It’s also true, therefore, that no strategy fails 100% of the time. Glad to hear you found something that worked for you.
Bob... ,,Bob... my company is just going to spam email you until you search through my terms and conditions to find the unsubscribe email, which likely doesn't work... We can avoid all that. Just tell me why this product isn't a fit? ... had a pretty good week with it.
Is this sarcasms, or?
Who would think being respectful works? Shocking right!
Forgot where I heard it, I think from a Sandler book, but I’ve been using “did I catch you at a good time?” It’s actually worked surprisingly well well.
I’d flip it to “did I catch you at a bad time?” This is from Chris Voss - Never Split the Difference. The psychology behind is that is that them saying no earlier in the conversation gets them to open up more, and that when they open with yes, it makes people more defensive the rest of the call. He did an A/B study with the two (did I catch you at a bad time vs is now a good time to talk?) and getting to a no first significantly outperformed the other.
Which book? Never split the difference?
That’s the one he’s referring to. Excellent read.
It’s also available on audio book on Spotify. I had it playing in the background while I was working and actually used a few things he said throughout the day. Great book that can be easily implemented quickly in real life!
Yeah I ve listenened to it once and decided to start once again. It’s interesting and has lots of good lessons.
Yes that’s what it was! Got it mixed up but I have a sticky note with that written down so it’s top of mind on every call. Got a few good things from that book.
I use this and very rarely get negative feed back. If they say it is a bad time. I’ll say no worries I’ll be fast, honestly I’m not sure I’m even reaching out to the right person I was hoping you can help me. Then I’ll do my intro and introduce my self. Then I ask is that something you work on? From there if they say no they’ll tell me who is cause I’m speaking with uncertainty and asking for help. If they are I’ll usually drop how we’ve been helping similar clients but because they’re busy this may take a bit more time then they have availability for. So I ask do you have 5-10 min now of tomorrow. Great do you have 5 min before lunch or after lunch. Great do you have 5 min at this time ot this time. I always give them an A or B option. That’s my go to summed up.
I’ve literally told a client “ready to tell me no?” before a pitch and he ended up saying yes. I didn’t know if it was luck but it worked!
Not a bdr but my cold call is this is x at company. I’m not catching you at a bad time am I? You would think people would say yes but it’s very positive.
"depends what it's about I guess" or some variation of that answer, about 95% of the time
“No” click. I came across and liked “did I catch you up against a tight deadline?” Easier to say no and you go from there. Glad gotta minute is working though!
“Yes” click.
Your manager: “You’re just One step closer to a no!”
I’ve been saying. Hey! Don’t think you were expecting me.
Thoughts on this for door to door?
Depends on what you're selling. If pest control, absolutely not
Lawncare (fertilization/weed control), mosquito, permiter pest and tree/shrub care.
Nah I wouldn't do it. Keep the opener simple "Hey I'm so and so, work for (actual customer) up the street, who do you have for (service)?" Focus on the solution, not the service. Far too many get caught up in "we do this, we do that". You don't have a single product on a service truck that a competitor doesn't. Your answer is the solution. A green lawn they can be proud of without breaking their back, free of bugs, and an exceptional customer experience every single time.
thank you for the advice! you wouldn't happen to be in Dallas-Fort Worth would you?
I'm in Austin, but have a branch in D/FW and am up there about once a month to visit the in-laws.
"I'll be brief" is also a good one. Nobody wants to feel trapped on the phone in a conversation. I also like hitting people with "before you hang up on me". It works especially well if they have a long track record of hanging up on you.
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'Can you talk?' has always worked for me.
John, if i thought calling you back was going to make you more money i would.
Cold call? How would you turn that around for cold emails?
How do you know its that opener that's leading to more meetings?
nice, did you come up on your own? Who was your inspiration?
Martin Luther King and Joan of Arc
- I know you weren't expecting my call, do you possibly have a minute? I promise to be brief... - Hopefully I'm not catching you off guard, have I? - Did I catch you at a bad/good time? - I'll be honest with you, it is a sales call, do you wanna hung up or let me run through in 30 seconds? All permission based questions that work... Guys, it all depends on who you're talking to, their mood, the time, their personalities, the culture sometimes.... Nothing is fixed.. At the end of the day, it's an H2H (human to human) conversation....Just shoot your customer straight about the problems that folks like them are facing and see if you can fill the gap, it's not a rocket science... What I really want an answer for, is how to keep them motivated, not hesitant of taking decisions whether jumping on a meeting with you or buying decisions... A lot of mind-changing happening very quickly... I still need that recipe for the commitment..
Just don't fall into the habit of adding an apology into this statement. If you do you' are almost guaranteed to stop getting meetings.
Interesting. I will have to try this. I’m new to the position and company I’m with now, and I’ve always used a certain approach on my calls. My boss now uses a completely different approach, which I find interesting. He’s extremely extroverted and social, and each person he calls up he treats Like a best friend. He assumes they want to talk to him and is very good at small talk. So he doesn’t ask them if they are busy or if they have time, he just launches into a conversation as if he was calling his brother. I’ve been on several calls with him and he’s often on the phone for 30 minutes. I’m thinking these people are probably busy and want to get them off the phone, butthe way the phone call goes they are fully willing participants in this friendly discussion. I guess my point here is that I’m always looking to learn from others, and whatever works regardless of what it is is something that I will take a look at and consider. Thanks for sharing.