|
|
|
I did some telephone prospecting today. Yesterday I bought a list for relevant area codes and SIC codes from InfoUSA.
I was a little disappointed in that I didn’t get quite the selection I was looking for. I did some refining and boiled it down to what looked like my target market.
The instructor sent us a sample of what he called a “Prospecting Board.†I used his template and created my own prospecting board. I used the same 20†x 30†foam board he suggested. I propped it up on my trash basket and it made a fairly ergonomic arrangement.
I admit to having some trepidation about doing this. Initially I suffered from “getting ready†syndrome. That’s where one spends a lot of time getting ready instead of, as Nike says, “Just doing it.†I experienced a little bit of wanting to do it perfectly, but reminded myself that it was more about doing versus perfection.
I finally dove in and started dialing.
I prospected for three sessions for a total of two hours and 39 minutes. In that time, I made 123 dials. In that 123 dials I was able to make my offer to the decision maker 27 times.
I used the script of . . .
This is Ted Armstrong with Eastern Business Solutions. I sell Microsoft Great Plains accounting software. It keeps track of all customer orders and what inventory you have on hand. Is that something you want?
As per my instructor’s guidance, I went into what I called “robot†mode. That is I recited my offer in a strict monotone and neutral voice.
I had two people that wanted literature. I asked them for their email and told them we don’t send literature. They coughed up their email address and I fired off two emails with an attached PDF and links to both the Great Plains and my own company web site.
I had one person respond with the questions, “How much?†I gave him my scripted response . . .
Depending one what functions and how many users are needed the amount could range between $10,000 and $60,000.
He was looking for something more in the $5,000 range, so I kissed him goodbye.
One person, when I finished my offer responded with “Yes.†For a brief moment, I was completely flustered. I recovered as best I could and made an appointment to see him.
After making the appointment, I then asked . . .
Depending on what modules and how many user licenses you need, a Great Plains installation can run between $10,000 and $60,000. Are you prepared to spend some place in that range?
He said he was looking for between $5,000 and $10,000. I quickly queried him on what modules and how many users and told him it would likely be at least $12,000. We canceled the appointment.
My instructor said to try to prospect for the full three hours with a 15 minute break each hour. He said they found that you become more productive in the third hour. However, more than three hours is too tiring.
I found he was right. I did become more productive in my third session, but I was pretty wiped afterwards.
It was a good learning experience.
Posted by Ted at June 3, 2005 8:38 PM