This document provides a summary of a presentation by Amanda Puppo, CEO of MarketReach Inc., about best practices for introductory phone calls to top prospects. The presentation covers developing a targeted prospect list, asking engaging questions, emphasizing benefits over features, and using a structured 8-step process for introductory calls that focuses on qualifying prospects, asking questions, presenting benefits, closing for appointments, and following up. The goal is to turn more cold calls into warm conversations and appointments.
Bob London of Chief Listening Officers presents these tips on how to have more strategic, revealing and insightful conversations with customers. Great for customer success, sales, product and marketing teams who need to get customers to open up and reveal their TRUE problems, priorities and perceptions.
You Had Me At Hello: Secrets of Apple's Customer Experience ExposedMike Wittenstein
Apple makes sure that each positive effect customers perceive front-of-house (FOH) is supported by solid back-of-house (BOH) operations. It’s just like a restaurant where the maitre d’ handles the dining room, wait staff, and experience delivery while the chef takes care of food preparation, kitchen staff, purchasing, etc. Apple integrates Front of House (FOH) and Back of House (BOH) strategically, elegantly, and profitably. (That’s the first secret by the way.)
8 B2B customer confessions. Understanding them can boost your acquisition & r...Chief Listening Officers
In case you're wondering what B2B decision-makers are thinking and saying to each other, but not to you, check this out.
These are 8 of the most frequent "confessions" or rants I've uncovered in conducting nearly 2,500 discovery conversations with my clients' customers and former customers:
1 “I wish you’d understand my goals—or at least ask me about them.”
2 “I hate when you say, ‘This isn’t a pitch,’ then launch into a 30-slide deck.”
3 “I ignore your laundry list of features and capabilities. Just tell me what you do best.”
4 “I dread talking to someone who is trying to answer detailed questions but can’t.”
5 “I’d love you to stop trying to upsell us before you’ve solved one problem really well.”
6 “I’m dying to know how your other customers solve this problem. I need context!”
7 “I hate when you say you’re our ‘partner. Just find ways to align with my interests.”
8 “I wish you’d be in touch when you don’t need anything.”
To read more about what each confession means and to see my disruptive questions that will get your customers and prospects to open up, check out these slides.
Bob London Master Class - Aligning voice of your customer with voice of your ...Chief Listening Officers
HOW TO GROW BY TEARING DOWN THE VENDOR-CUSTOMER WALL
A master class on aligning the voice of your customer with the voice of your company
In this two-part master class, "B2B marketing Jedi" (per Forbes.com) and customer discovery expert Bob London will deliver actionable tips for how to
Uncover your customers' Elevator Rant - what they're really saying when vendors aren't around; and
Craft an authentic, customer-first messaging strategy that will increase your marketing and sales traction.
Bob has conducted over 2,300 conversations with his clients' customers and used the resulting insights to develop their go-to-market messaging - as well as build a compelling Strategic Narrative that creates excitement and buy-in from employees, customers and investors alike.
Session I: Uncovering Your Customer's Elevator Rant
Bob's disruptive customer discovery questions that yield candid responses
How to frame conversations, ask questions and follow up
Tips on "listening between the lines" to maximize insights
Session II: (to follow) Crafting a Customer-First Messaging Strategy
Positioning your company in the marketplace
Developing a crisp, winning value proposition
Creating sales messages that start with the customer
These sessions are designed to give Founders, business owners and senior B2B executives - CEOs, CMOs, Chief Revenue Officers and Chief Customer Officers - immediate and actionable takeaways.
Bob London of Chief Listening Officers presents these tips on how to have more strategic, revealing and insightful conversations with customers. Great for customer success, sales, product and marketing teams who need to get customers to open up and reveal their TRUE problems, priorities and perceptions.
You Had Me At Hello: Secrets of Apple's Customer Experience ExposedMike Wittenstein
Apple makes sure that each positive effect customers perceive front-of-house (FOH) is supported by solid back-of-house (BOH) operations. It’s just like a restaurant where the maitre d’ handles the dining room, wait staff, and experience delivery while the chef takes care of food preparation, kitchen staff, purchasing, etc. Apple integrates Front of House (FOH) and Back of House (BOH) strategically, elegantly, and profitably. (That’s the first secret by the way.)
8 B2B customer confessions. Understanding them can boost your acquisition & r...Chief Listening Officers
In case you're wondering what B2B decision-makers are thinking and saying to each other, but not to you, check this out.
These are 8 of the most frequent "confessions" or rants I've uncovered in conducting nearly 2,500 discovery conversations with my clients' customers and former customers:
1 “I wish you’d understand my goals—or at least ask me about them.”
2 “I hate when you say, ‘This isn’t a pitch,’ then launch into a 30-slide deck.”
3 “I ignore your laundry list of features and capabilities. Just tell me what you do best.”
4 “I dread talking to someone who is trying to answer detailed questions but can’t.”
5 “I’d love you to stop trying to upsell us before you’ve solved one problem really well.”
6 “I’m dying to know how your other customers solve this problem. I need context!”
7 “I hate when you say you’re our ‘partner. Just find ways to align with my interests.”
8 “I wish you’d be in touch when you don’t need anything.”
To read more about what each confession means and to see my disruptive questions that will get your customers and prospects to open up, check out these slides.
Bob London Master Class - Aligning voice of your customer with voice of your ...Chief Listening Officers
HOW TO GROW BY TEARING DOWN THE VENDOR-CUSTOMER WALL
A master class on aligning the voice of your customer with the voice of your company
In this two-part master class, "B2B marketing Jedi" (per Forbes.com) and customer discovery expert Bob London will deliver actionable tips for how to
Uncover your customers' Elevator Rant - what they're really saying when vendors aren't around; and
Craft an authentic, customer-first messaging strategy that will increase your marketing and sales traction.
Bob has conducted over 2,300 conversations with his clients' customers and used the resulting insights to develop their go-to-market messaging - as well as build a compelling Strategic Narrative that creates excitement and buy-in from employees, customers and investors alike.
Session I: Uncovering Your Customer's Elevator Rant
Bob's disruptive customer discovery questions that yield candid responses
How to frame conversations, ask questions and follow up
Tips on "listening between the lines" to maximize insights
Session II: (to follow) Crafting a Customer-First Messaging Strategy
Positioning your company in the marketplace
Developing a crisp, winning value proposition
Creating sales messages that start with the customer
These sessions are designed to give Founders, business owners and senior B2B executives - CEOs, CMOs, Chief Revenue Officers and Chief Customer Officers - immediate and actionable takeaways.
Agenda-Less Listening: How to Discover & Leverage What Your Target Audience R...Chief Listening Officers
I had a wonderful experience doing a talk/workshop with a group of CEOs, courtesy of Lee Self's Renaissance Executive Forum. We discussed the importance of discovering your customers' Elevator Rant (every customer has one!) and the method for doing this, Agenda-Less Listening.
The group was incredibly interactive and creative in their understanding and interpretations of the content. These are the best workshops--when the teacher learns something new to make the next workshop better.
Thanks all!
The X Factor Firm, Hiring for Law Practice SuccessChelsey Lambert
Hiring for your law practice shouldn’t be taken lightly. The people you add to your team are not only a reflection of your business, but can affect a client relationship or a case outcome. Good hires can mean the difference between making money or losing it. Join us as we share a proven strategy for recruiting, hiring, training, and most importantly retaining the right people so you can quit worrying about your practice and start growing it.
Maximise Your Reputation in the Marketplace Jason KingMAXfocus
One of the biggest factors in determining how your target market perceives your business relates to the performance of your salespeople.
In this session we will discuss:
How to maintain existing business relationships so that your clients ignore approaches from your competitors
How to effectively prospect for new business without having to cold call
How to prepare and present compelling business proposals (not quotes)
Improvements in these key areas will significantly improve your reputation in the marketplace.
Bob London of Chief Listening Officers on "How to Have More Strategic Custome...Chief Listening Officers
This webinar, originally hosted by ChurnZero on 9/16/2020, is full of actionable tips for customer success teams.
Description:
"That's enough about me, let's talk about you. What do you think of me?" This great movie quote describes how customers often perceive their vendor interactions.
So ask yourself, are your customer conversations and QBRs really about them - or are you focused on asking what they think about your product? Do you understand the "why" that drives their day to day priorities? Are they giving you their unvarnished perspective in a way that can help your company learn and grow?
Bob London of Chief Listening Officers has conducted over 2,000 interviews with B2B customers and other decision-makers. In this presentation, he covers:
- Bob's go-to questions that yield candid responses
- How to frame conversations, ask questions and follow up
- Tips on "listening between the lines" to maximize insights
Agenda-Less Listening: How to Discover & Leverage What Your Target Audience R...Chief Listening Officers
I had a wonderful experience doing a talk/workshop with a group of CEOs, courtesy of Lee Self's Renaissance Executive Forum. We discussed the importance of discovering your customers' Elevator Rant (every customer has one!) and the method for doing this, Agenda-Less Listening.
The group was incredibly interactive and creative in their understanding and interpretations of the content. These are the best workshops--when the teacher learns something new to make the next workshop better.
Thanks all!
The X Factor Firm, Hiring for Law Practice SuccessChelsey Lambert
Hiring for your law practice shouldn’t be taken lightly. The people you add to your team are not only a reflection of your business, but can affect a client relationship or a case outcome. Good hires can mean the difference between making money or losing it. Join us as we share a proven strategy for recruiting, hiring, training, and most importantly retaining the right people so you can quit worrying about your practice and start growing it.
Maximise Your Reputation in the Marketplace Jason KingMAXfocus
One of the biggest factors in determining how your target market perceives your business relates to the performance of your salespeople.
In this session we will discuss:
How to maintain existing business relationships so that your clients ignore approaches from your competitors
How to effectively prospect for new business without having to cold call
How to prepare and present compelling business proposals (not quotes)
Improvements in these key areas will significantly improve your reputation in the marketplace.
Bob London of Chief Listening Officers on "How to Have More Strategic Custome...Chief Listening Officers
This webinar, originally hosted by ChurnZero on 9/16/2020, is full of actionable tips for customer success teams.
Description:
"That's enough about me, let's talk about you. What do you think of me?" This great movie quote describes how customers often perceive their vendor interactions.
So ask yourself, are your customer conversations and QBRs really about them - or are you focused on asking what they think about your product? Do you understand the "why" that drives their day to day priorities? Are they giving you their unvarnished perspective in a way that can help your company learn and grow?
Bob London of Chief Listening Officers has conducted over 2,000 interviews with B2B customers and other decision-makers. In this presentation, he covers:
- Bob's go-to questions that yield candid responses
- How to frame conversations, ask questions and follow up
- Tips on "listening between the lines" to maximize insights
Impress Me or You're Dead — 5 Ways Recruiting Is Morphing Into MarketingHuman Capital Media
It’s an ugly truth — in the traditional applicant tracking system-friendly world, recruiters hold the power. Emboldened by technology that allows them to view resumes faster than a grocery store clerk scans a can of vegetables, recruiters typically spend five seconds or less evaluating each resume for a “fit” to the job in question. Could it get less personal?
But wait. Payback, as they say around the neighborhood, is, well, it’s full of retribution. Great candidates are increasingly making quick judgments about recruiters and the companies for which they work, often before a recruiter can pitch the job in question. What’s going on?
Join us for this webcast hosted by Kris Dunn of the award-winning recruiting blog “Fistful of Talent,” and we’ll give you the 411 on:
How social media and third-party sites like Glassdoor are creating transparency related to which companies are “employers of choice” for great talent.
How the best recruiters are starting to think like marketers, proactively nurturing passive candidates and truly building an employment brand.
Why that employment brand matters in today’s world and what branding elements are present in employers that are viewed as authentic by star candidates.
The top five marketing techniques recruiters must know to find and hire top talent.
How the right technology helps you survive the new rules for how great candidates judge and treat recruiters.
Impress them or you’re dead. Recruiters used to have the power, and maybe they still do with average talent. But if you want to land the best talent as a recruiter, you’re also being judged and evaluated by candidates. Join us for this Workforce webcast, and we’ll show you what your company can do to be successful and what you have to do to deliver great talent.
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European Customer Experience World (ECEW) Conference 2013 in London
"Putting people 1st to prosper"
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Director of Sales & Service
LV= General Insurance Division
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Start up Sales from Columbia Business School's Launching New Ventures course. Generating leads, sales pipeline, increasing close rates, tips and tricks.
Sales: Targeting and Optimizing Your Interpreter Agency to Your Primary CustomerWing Butler
In this session, Wing will lead participants through a process that assists in identifying who the customer is, how to target them and how to optimize systems to track and close these customers.
Sales: Targeting and Optimizing Your Interpreter Agency to Your Primary Customer
The art of_the_introductory_call
1. The Art of the Introductory
Call: How to Get Appointments
with Top Prospects
Presented to Attendees of
CTW
by Amanda Puppo , CEO, MarketReach Inc.
All Rights Reserved
November 2012
MarketReach, Inc.
168 Franklin Corner Rd., Bldg. 1
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
www.MarketReach.biz
609-448-6364
Amanda@MarketReach.biz
2. Who is MarketReach?
• A NJ marketing company that specializes
in lead generation & appointment setting.
• In business 12 years… it began out of
Amanda’s apartment.
• Contributors to Vending Times.
• Have been marketing for OCS, vending
for many years, and Micro-Market
Operators most recently.
4. STRATEGY IN YOUR
INTRO CALL- THE LIST
The OCS Operator
• Has little time to cold call.
• Is juggling sales, operations, customer
management.
• Needs to be strategic on Introductory calls.
5. YOUR PROSPECTING LIST
How to get a List
• Build one in-house
- Through trade shows, networking
events, Manta, & other online research.
• Purchase a list
-Through a List Broker or
MarketReach – narrow by staff size,
industry and zip code.
6. STRATEGY IN YOUR
INTRO CALL- THE LIST
Working a Top Prospect List
• Within the larger excel prospecting list, create a
“Top 50 A prospect” list. These are to be worked
with the rest of the prospects but more care &
money is put forth through a multi-channel
marketing approach towards this “hot 50”.
How?
7. STRATEGY IN YOUR
INTRO CALL- THE LIST
A Multi-Channel marketing approach
• Research the company & decision maker.
• Ask good fact-finding questions through phone
calls to screeners & colleagues of the DM.
• Follow through with consistent marketing
techniques (phone, direct mail, tchotchkes, holiday
cards, articles of interest).
8. PERSISTENCE
• Law of Large numbers
then you’ll find
If You Make people who are at
Enough the right place,
Calls... right time and
ready to switch!
• Ratios
– IT’S A NUMBERS GAME. The more
dials, the greater the success.
9. INTRO CALL CONCEPTS
TO STICK WITH
• Gain rapport with all those you come
in contact with.
• Ask engaging questions to converse.
• Get proficient at presenting benefit
statements.
• Practice acute listening skills.
• Record detailed notes of your conversation.
10. ASK QUESTIONS EARLY ON
Let’s turn cold calls into warm
calls by asking the right
questions to non-decision
makers!
11. ASK QUESTIONS EARLY ON
What questions can we ask
Receptionists & Colleagues (of
the Decision Maker) to be
more ‘in-the-know’ once the
decision maker comes to the
phone?
12. ASK QUESTIONS EARLY ON
• Staff Size
• Decision maker names &
Titles
• Current OCS/ Vending
situation
13. ASK QUESTIONS EARLY ON
Having trouble getting information?
“Before you transfer me…”
14. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #1
Deliver Your Opener
If possible, abbreviate your company name if its got
coffee in the name. Screeners will be tempted to
screen you out, let’s not make it easy for them!
Find out the decision maker name on 1st dial so that
you simply ask for the name with no other
explanation! (i.e. “Jim Jones please.”)
15. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #2
To DM, follow your opener with…
• Qualifying the Prospect as to their decision
making ability.
“You make decisions regarding the break
room services, right?”
(delete the word “handles” from your vocab!)
16. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #3
Ask open ended, Dialogue-Provoking
Questions to engage the prospect.
• Tell me about your Coffee set-up:
– Do you have a one-cup system or pots or
something else?
– Is the coffee free to the employees or is it
company-paid?
17. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
Let’s come up with some more
Examples…
Engaging (fact-finding) Questions…
18. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
ENGAGING QUESTIONS; UNCOVER PAIN POINTS!
•What is it that you like about your current
provider?
•In considering ways to improve your service,
with regard to the service or selection or
anything else on your mind, what would you
like to see done a little better?
20. BENEFITS vs. FEATURES
• Benefit: WII-FM (What’s In It
For Me)
• Feature: Characteristics of the
service-- how it works
21. WHAT DO YOUR
CUSTOMERS WANT?
Reduced Costs
Happy Employees
Save Time
Less Aggravation- Easy to use
Peace of Mind
To Be the Hero!
22. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #4
Make Powerful Benefit / Feature Statements…
• FEATURE: “We can provide you with either a
one-cup system or a coffee bar where you’d
have the option among a number of leading
brands including; x, y and z coffee.”
• BENEFIT {IF ONE CUP}: “saves money because
of no waste, no mess or cleanup, no burnt
coffee, and our clients find the choices very
refreshing.”
23. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #5
• STRENGTHEN FEATURES/ BENEFITS
IN CLOSE SET-UP:
We’re so sure that you’ll love it, we’re
offering not only a free trial so you can see
for yourself how great it is {NO RISK}, but
also there’s no monthly rental {LESS
COST}, 3 boxes of free coffee {‘FREE’-
MUSIC TO THE EARS} and the equipment
is state of the art with an LCD screen
{INNOVATIVE}.
24. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #6
Ask for the appointment: Present
compelling benefits, and ask terrific
fact-finding questions, but always be in
command of your presentation, and
always direct the presentation toward
a close!
25. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
Closing Techniques
• Do you have a calendar in front of
you?
• The Alternative Choice close
• Fit the meeting around YOUR
schedule!
– After asking, let there be SILENCE!
26. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #7
• Gather information to prepare you
for the in-person sales call.
– What questions, if answered, will
prepare you best for the in-person
presentation?
27. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
Gather information Questions may
include confirming:
– DM name, title, email, address
– Staff size, current vendor, coffee
system
– “can you have your last few invoices
handy so we can compare apples to
apples?”
28. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
Don’t forget to---
Re-qualify the prospect’s decision-making
ability!!!
Who else besides yourself would make a
decision on a Coffee & Vending service
change?
29. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
STEP #8 (last step)
• RECONFIRM appointment and
re-state time/date of
appointment and your contact
info.
30. ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
RESTATE/ RECONFIRM
…Ok, so we’re all set for <day> at <time>, my
company is XYZ Services, my name is ___,
and I’m going to give you my phone number
in case anything comes up, ready for that?
Pause… it’s 333-4444. So you got all that in
your calendar? Great see you then!
31. MORE ELEMENTS OF AN
INTRODUCTORY CALL
Be aware of your tone & vocal variety
and
• Have a positive attitude and be
Interesting
Interested
Friendly
Professional!
32. HOW OFTEN SHOULD I
FOLLOW-UP?
• If it were you on the receiving
end of the call, how would you
want it to play out?
• Get permission and a date for
follow up! What is a good way to
ask that question?
33. DEALING WITH
VOICE MAIL… LIMIT IT!
• Most prospects won’t call you back!
• If you leave a message, be sure to
include benefit statements or
information you found out “along the
way” to the decision-maker.
34. WRAP UP…
THE FIRST COUPLE DIALS…
• Collect names & titles of decision
makers.
•Try to get extensions and pre-
qualification questions answered.
•Do this on the FIRST call.
•This will warm up your call to the DM!
35. WRAP UP
•Make the necessary dials- Speak with
enough people and you’ll get lots of
appointments. But develop your Top 50 to
target!
•Constantly perfect your presentation by
finding new ways to ask great questions and
benefit statements!
•Always be Closing!
36. Don’t leave the Prospect hanging
after a great presentation!
“So you’ll actually be getting more for the money
with a better selection and more prompt
service! So do you think this Thursday, or next
Monday, would be the best time to meet with
me?”
The best way to end a rebuttal is with
either another Probing Question or a
Closing Question!
37. MarketReach Services
• Appointment Setting
• Trade Show/ Direct mail follow up
• List Acquisition
• Surveys with a Lead Gen edge to
Lost/Inactive accounts
• Customized Intro Call Training & Script
development
38. Questions?
We’re just a phone call away!
609-448-6364
or email:
Amanda@MarketReach.biz
No Time to make cold calls yourself?
Limited on staff resources?
Let the professionals handle it!
Sign up for a 75 hour pilot this month and
receive a free list ($200 value!)
Editor's Notes
AT END OF SLIDE ASK ABOUT AUDIENCE; WHO ARE OWNERS? OWNER OR SALESMAN? COFFEE? COFFEE & VENDING?
Ask Audience Questions
Ask audience: How many are the Owners? Keep hands up if also the head Salesman. Keep hands up if you’re the ONLY salesman
How many have a contact management system for their prospects? Excel? How else do you keep your list? Staff size Minimums a good idea when you’re expending money & time!
Cold call vs warm call discussion
IF NOT THE DM--- SEGUE INTO WHO IS IMMEDIATELY, THEN ASK SOME FACT FINDING QUESTTONS
STOP HERE: AUDIENCE!
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
You’ll be less likely for a no-show with a strong conclusion. If prospect wants a confirmation call: (I’ll give #, do you have a pen). If you have to call the day before call during off hours and leave a message. Consider a Thank You fyt card in advance instead. How many of you prefer to call the day before?