Let's look at the structure of this cold, over-the-phone approach, assembled in 7 sentences:
- Hi Roberto, how are you?
- My name is Luiz Gustavo and I work for ACME.
- ACME is a company specialized in preventive maintenance of agricultural machinery.
- I am calling you, but I know you are a very busy person. I will be brief.
- Do you have a problem with your machinery that we can solve quickly?
- Our technicians are covering your area, so there is no charge for the visit and you can see us without any commitment.
- Can I send someone there tomorrow morning?
Let's dissect this bug.
1. Greeting by name.
It is very important that your prospecting list contains the names and that you can call people friendly by their first name.
2. Introducing yourself.
You say your full name and the name of your company. Calmly, without haste. No nicknames and run-ins here and in every approach.
3. Briefly speaking about the company.
Very succinctly, in one sentence, talk about your company, or your department, and what it provides to the market.
4. Position yourself humbly.
Say it will be brief and acknowledge that the person is busy.
5. Ask a question.
Ask something that touches on some sensitive point or potential need of your interlocutor.
6. Amend by explaining why you are interested.
State how you can help, should the need exist. This sentence should contain an explicit benefit.
7. Make your offer.
Make your proposition, very clear and defined, and wait for the answer.
For cases where you are unable to reach Roberto, due to absence or busy extension, please write the following e-mail.
Subject: Technical maintenance visit to LUXTOR
- Hi Roberto, how are you?
- My name is Luiz Gustavo and I work for ACME.
- ACME is a company specialized in preventive maintenance of agricultural machinery.
- I tried to call you today to see if you have any problems on your machines that we can quickly resolve.
- Our technicians are covering your area, so there is no charge for the visit and you can see us without any commitment.
- Just reply to this e-mail or call me directly at 11 1234-5678 and we will schedule this visit.
- Thank you
The e-mail has almost the same structure as the call with the following differences
- E-mail subject: Action that generates benefit + Company name.
- Reference to attempted call: Here you mention that you have attempted telephone contact.
- Offer: What you are offering and what the next step is for your prospect to take advantage of this offer.
This approach is based on a simple input product, in this case, preventive maintenance.
An entry product is the product/service chosen to offer to prospects. The simpler and more value-added it is, the better.
In prospecting, the choice of the input product is crucial to be firstly understood and secondly to get a clear response:
- Interested in
- Whatever
- Send us material for evaluation
Submitting a good inbound product through the 7 sentence approach (spoken and written) to at least 50 prospects will give you a grid of responses with that particular market's interest in your solution.
Work to "sweep up" 50 companies in one week.
Numbers for you to have as a reference:
To cover 50 companies you will need 200-250 calls, an average of 40-50 per day, to cover everything in one week.
Between 2 and 8 companies should give a positive signal, wanting to move forward. If it is less, the entry product is perceived as complex and therefore high friction. results will come, but it will take longer.
Disinterested companies: Put them in an automatic relationship funnel, to make themselves present when the window of opportunity opens.
