3 Tips to Gain Your Prospect’s Attention

The first 15 seconds of a phone call can make or break how successful it is. This time period is your only opportunity to grab their attention, making it even more daunting.

Since their time is valuable, represent yourself and the company in a concise, yet unique, manner. Differentiate your company in order to create a lasting first impression through an intriguing conversation. Be sure you are interesting to talk with by using vocal variety in your tone.

Follow these tips to help capture your prospect’s attention on a cold introductory call, and secure more time with decision-makers!

Take Their Guard Down

Before making a prospecting call, always be sure to do some research on the company to better prepare yourself for that first call. Do some online research to grab some information that can be useful to have during the conversation. Properly qualify and ask the right questions to the receptionist, first.  This will show you to the prospect as well-researched, which will make them feel like you purposely called them, as opposed to being just one of hundreds on a list.  Their website will be rich with information; check out the About Us page or the Leadership page if one exists.

The prospect also likely has a LinkedIn profile, which again will demonstrate more knowledge going in. Now, the prospect will be pleasantly surprised by how much information you already know about their company, and this may buy you an extra 30 seconds on the phone. For example, “Bob, I understand you are the Facilities Manager there, you’ve been there for a while right, around 12 years?”  Even if you only confirm two pieces of information, it is a step in the right direction.

Be Energetic

Your prospect is not going to want to speak with a salesperson that seems unhappy to be on the call with him.  You will lose their attention immediately and, most likely, receive the same energy right back. Set the tone of the conversation by showing your enthusiasm. Work on your vocal variety if this is an area of improvement for you. If this is in your nature, emoting laughter from a prospect is the surest way to get the conversation off on the right foot.

Ask Smart Questions

Too often, a prospect call sounds like this: “Hi, my name is __ from <company>, I was looking to get on your calendar for 15 minutes this week or next to talk to you about <service>, can we look at a date next week?”

This intro-to-close approach does not score any points with your prospects, nor does it position you as a trusted advisor or someone looking to provide solutions to actual identified needs. Ask questions to uncover opportunities to gain attention and prove yourself as a caring salesperson. Engaging your prospect in an authentic way by genuinely showing that you care about their situation will win you points towards setting a sales appointment.

In conclusion, a bit of pre-call preparation and research, along with a solid needs analysis and a friendly personality, will make grabbing the prospect’s attention as easy as 1 – 2 – 3!

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