Building Initial Rapport and Questions to Qualify

Building Initial Rapport and Questions to Qualify

Not all prospects are created equal. In B2B, staff size minimums, decision-maker titles and names can be a baseline of data points that require confirmation to determine if the company is worth pursuing. The goal is to confirm and validate information on that first call.

The ability to quickly develop initial rapport during a qualification call can lead to more successful sales opportunities as the process moves along. Being able to create a comfortable environment for conversation, where the guard goes down, will allow for results to be achieved. Finding out information about a potential target before they answer the phone, is vital. It determines whether or not a company is eligible to pursue, resulting in the proper allocation of sales team labor. It is very expensive for marketing to produce unqualified prospects, and then for the sales team to not recognize this until weeks of time and energy were expended chasing the wrong people or companies! Let’s take a look into how to identify a pursuable prospect, and then how rapport is built throughout the interaction.

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How Companies Can Use Social Media to Increase Sales

How Companies Can Use Social Media to Increase Sales

Now is the perfect time to think about how your company can use social media as a tool to increase sales. Whether your company has been experimenting with social media for years, or is more recently diving in, a few things are for sure – social media can help you reach the prospects you are looking for, drive web traffic and, ultimately, generate more sales. Consider using these tips to improve your social media marketing strategy:   (more…)

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A woman making sales appointments.

How to Set Sales Appointments using B2B Telemarketing

Key Takeaways:

  • Find a telemarketing agency with a proven track record. Avoid off-shore telemarketing agencies.
  • Focus on lead gen, make sure to implement a lead qualification process so you don’t waste time on low-quality leads.
  • Don’t be pushy when calling your pre-qualified leads.
  • After you close a sale, deliver exceptional service. This leads to word-of-mouth referrals which makes more inbound leads for your business.

When you run a B2B business, your telemarketing can (and should) look different from other run-of-the-mill telemarketing operations. 

You need every call to drive a deeper relationship with your prospects. You need your leads to not just agree to set a sales appointment – but you need them to WANT to set up a sales appointment. 

Sales appointment setting through telemarketing can be a daunting task, so we’ve compiled a how-to guide to help you get started! 

Let’s dive in- 

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3 Tips to Gain Your Prospect’s Attention

How To Capture and Hold Your Prospect’s Attention | 3 Tactics

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!

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What To Do When Prospects Ghost You

What To Do When Prospects Ghosts You

Have you ever made it far along in the sales cycle with a prospect and then, just when you are about to close the deal, all communication stops? When a prospect ghosts you, it can be frustrating, leaving you wondering what you did wrong and what you could’ve done differently. However, just because communication has stopped doesn’t mean that you won’t ever hear from them again – there can be many reasons for the “ghosting,” and if you had a good feeling about an ultimate sale, the ghosting could simply be due to bad timing. Consider these suggestions for what to do when a prospect ghosts you:

Key Takeaways

When a prospect ghosts you, you should:

  • Follow up. Avoid being overbearing when following up, being too pushy will drive them away.
  • Send more personalized messages with very specific questions.
  • Remind the prospect of their desired outcomes, then remind them how you’ll help them achieve their desired outcomes.
  • If nothing else works, keep them in your database to revisit another time.
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What B2B Sales Activity Will Look Like in 2022 and Beyond

What B2B Sales Activity Will Look Like in 2022 and Beyond

The last few years haven’t been easy for those working in the B2B sales industry due to many barriers, including working from home, the difficulty of meeting in person, and the obvious non-sales related priorities that have taken over the psyche of buyers.  At the beginning of the year, like any year, we were all optimistic about what 2021 would bring, but now we must figure out how to pick up the pieces that the pandemic has left behind.    (more…)

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Prospect Qualification for Breakroom Suppliers

Prospect Qualification for Breakroom Suppliers

One of the most important topics you can cover with your sales reps: the effect that a successful qualification call can have on the sales process. The impact is inimitable. Proper qualification saves the sales team time, so that labor that can be properly allocated to pursuable opportunities. This process prevents pipelines from getting filled with an abundance of unqualified, or more so underqualified, prospects that drain your sales rep’s time and energy. Imagine dialing in multiple times over to the same prospect that is estimated to have 120 employees, only to reach them and find out they actually have 22 on-site! Or making 6 calls over 3 months to Suzie, who turns out to be a “coordinator” – hardly a decision-maker.

Although certain criteria requirements vary from Operator to Operator, the importance of an effective qualification call remains constant.

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Uncover Your Agency’s Value Proposition

Uncover Your Agency’s Value Proposition

—Reprinted with permission from Professional Insurance Agent Management Services Inc.—

In addition to a reliable prospect list, your agency’s value proposition is arguably the most vital element of your overall marketing messaging. A value proposition explains how your product solves customers’ problems or improves their situations. Let’s face it, it’s not always easy to differentiate in the insurance industry. From our work helping insurance agencies get sales appointments with their prospects, differentiating (on paper) has proven to be the most challenging piece of the sales process—but it is the most important first step toward an effective sales strategy.

It’s easy for an insurance agent to be a quote shop, but in an effort to not become commodity-based, let’s explore how to uncover the value proposition to get the insurance buyer’s mind away from just thinking about the price of a policy. That is not to say that the cost shouldn’t be part of the prospects’ mindset, as saving money often is the first consideration. However, how you save them money is part of your value proposition. A solid value proposition demonstrates credibility and expertise while developing trust.

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The End of Summer: A Strong Finish to 2019

The End of Summer: A Strong Finish to 2019

By Jessie Geevers

 

Back in the beginning of the summer, we provided tips to keep your sales pipeline flowing through the summer months. Now let’s keep the momentum going as the decision makers return from their summer vacations, eager to finish out the last quarter strong.

Track your efforts and strategize.

Identify the prospects you contacted these last few months via phone or email, and ask yourself the following questions: Aside from traditional forms of outreach, did you utilize any direct mail campaigns or email newsletters and track clicks? Did you host or attend any summer networking events or conferences? Did you enter new business cards and contact information into your CRM? Did you get your foot in the door when business was slower in the summer? If you engaged in any of the above, hopefully you were recognized for your efforts to distinguish your company among the competition. Your summer efforts can push you forward in the line of competitors vying for the same business now that fall is around the corner.

There is no time like the present to follow up. Find out if there were any holes in your lines of communication. Who did you meet with this summer that should hear from you again? Identify these opportunities and strategize by assigning priorities to each task.  (more…)

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The Consultative Sell on an Introductory Sales Call

The Consultative Sell on an Introductory Sales Call

Ask Questions To Learn About Your Prospects’ Wants And Needs

It is easy to fall into the trap of “I’m calling to give you a quote” rather than engaging in a meaningful dialogue. Asking good questions is the best way to learn more about your prospect’s needs and desires while, at the same time, building rapport. Rather than being viewed as “another Insurance agent”, you will become a valued advisor. This technique is referred to as consultative selling.

It would be easy if there was one right set of questions to ask that would always guarantee responses that we want. The best approach is to create a mix of open-ended questions that get your prospect talking, along with questions that easily yield a “yes” response or get the prospect thinking of what their current broker is NOT doing for them. (more…)

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