Cold Calling Without a Gimmicky Script

squeed · 03-31-2009, 10:17 PM

A good number of the posts here that talk about prospecting via phone, sound to me like a very gimmicky approach. Almost like you're trying to trick someone into having a conversation with you. The scripting just doesn't sit right with me. If I were being read that script, I would hang up.

I'm not an agent, yet, but I am in sales.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried and succeeded with a more straight forward, yet still scripted approach. For example.

For Health Insurance, calling on a small business.

[COLOR=Blue]"Mr. Jones, this is Mr. Smith from Smith Insurance. We haven't met but I'm a local insurance agent in town and I would like to be able to help you in lowering your health insurance costs, while keeping the same if not better coverage. Is this something that you would be interested in having a conversation about ?"

If Yes, "Great, what time can we speak ?"
If No, "OK, thanks for being upfront with me. I appreciate your time, I do have one last question. Is this something that any of your employees may be interested in or potentially a colleague who may be paying too much? or without health coverage ?"[/COLOR]

For Life Insurance & P&C, calling on a a homeowner.

[COLOR=Blue]"Hello, may I speak with Mrs. Jones, this is Ed Smith from in town."

If Yes, Mrs. Jones, my name is Ed Smith, I'm a local insurance agent and I live in town, about 10 minutes from you. I work with several folks in the community in helping them to lower their insurance costs while still receiving the same or better coverage. I've also helped people who couldn't find affordable coverage.

I know that you weren't expecting my call today, so I want to be respectful of your time. I also know how uncomfortable it is when people try and sell you stuff, and I promise, that is not my intent today. My approach is a little different. I like to provide 3 insurance options that outline what your coverages looks like today and what your coverages could look like as well as what your investments for those coverages would be.

There are three things that you can do with them. You can use them in talking with your existing agent to get a better deal, you could find them interesting and we could speak further, or you can throw them away or use them to start a fire next winter.

Would you be interested in having a 15 minute conversation with me later this week to see if I can help you get a better value for less money ?"[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]
If No, OK, thank you for being so up front with me. If you do know someone without coverage, or someone who has difficulty obtaining coverage, my phone # is xxx-xxx-xxxx. I may be able to help them. Have a nice day.[/COLOR]

This is what I plan to do when I become an agent. Has anyone tried more of a straight forward approach like this and do they work ? If not, do you think that they would work ?

I know that that's a lot to say on a cold call. So I'll assume that I would get hung up on at least 1/3 of the time. That aside, what are your thoughts on this approach ? Can you see the difference in how this feels vs. some of the other approaches ?

-S

gzpxyj · 03-31-2009, 10:51 PM

I like your approach! Jim

VaDwayne · 03-31-2009, 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by briko3

"[COLOR=#0000ff]I also know how uncomfortable it is when people try and sell you stuff, and I promise, that is not my intent today."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]How exactly is that being straight forward?[/COLOR]
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VaDwayne put a script up yesterday that I thought sounded really good. I tweaked it and am going to start trying it tomorrow.

Here it is: (Feedback is more than welcome )

[COLOR=black]Good afternoon,[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]My name is Chris Preisig and I’m a Financial Advisor here in Greenville. If you’re like me, I’m sure you hate to get phone calls out of the blue, but can you give me 30 seconds to explain why I am calling?(99% will say yes, and now it's their idea, plus you will peak their interest)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]My firm specializes in Retirement and college planning and insurance. I would like to do a financial review with you next week which will take about 20 minutes. Which day would be most convenient for you?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]SHUT UP, and don't you dare speak until they give you an answer. If you speak first, YOU WILL NOT GET THE APPOINTMENT!!!![/COLOR]

Hey, thanks for taking my advice. Your script sounds really good. I made 36 calls tonight and only 1 person told me that they were to busy to give me 30 seconds.

Scripts do work, but you have to sound like you are not using one.

squeed · 03-31-2009, 11:01 PM

[COLOR=Blue]How exactly is that being straight forward?[/COLOR]

It is because my intent on the first call really isn't to sell them anything. The intent is to get to the second meeting where I do intend to sell something.

It's not that I wouldn't take a 1st call deal, but when cold calling, unless your timing is perfect, it doesn't happen that often so there's always a second meeting or more to get a deal done.

-S

captain94 · 04-01-2009, 10:14 AM

When I cold call all I want to do is "Data Mine" What do you have, how long have you had it, how much are you paying for it. I log the data in my CRM. that is successful call to me. then when I here that say AARP has a rate increase I pull all the names of the people I talked to that has AARP and I call them back and tell them that I can save them money on there med-supp plan. It works for me.

insuranceexec · 04-01-2009, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by briko3

"[COLOR=#0000ff]I also know how uncomfortable it is when people try and sell you stuff, and I promise, that is not my intent today."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]How exactly is that being straight forward?[/COLOR]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
VaDwayne put a script up yesterday that I thought sounded really good. I tweaked it and am going to start trying it tomorrow.

Here it is: (Feedback is more than welcome )

[COLOR=black]Good afternoon,[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]My name is Chris Preisig and I’m a Financial Advisor here in Greenville. If you’re like me, I’m sure you hate to get phone calls out of the blue, but can you give me 30 seconds to explain why I am calling?(99% will say yes, and now it's their idea, plus you will peak their interest)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]My firm specializes in Retirement and college planning and insurance. I would like to do a financial review with you next week which will take about 20 minutes. Which day would be most convenient for you?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]SHUT UP, and don't you dare speak until they give you an answer. If you speak first, YOU WILL NOT GET THE APPOINTMENT!!!![/COLOR]

I assume you are securities licensed. If so, then good script. The problems with most scripts is that people can tell they are being read.

Try recording it first and perfecting it from there. I hope this helps........

Franz Kafka · 04-01-2009, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by squeed

A good number of the posts here that talk about prospecting via phone, sound to me like a very gimmicky approach. Almost like you're trying to trick someone into having a conversation with you. The scripting just doesn't sit right with me. If I were being read that script, I would hang up.

I'm not an agent, yet, but I am in sales.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried and succeeded with a more straight forward, yet still scripted approach.

IMO every script will sound scripted because it is quite often "scripted". In fact the more it sounds smooth and natural to you the more scripted it will sound to your listener. Think about it. Do you ever call up your friend and say "Hi Tim, this is Franz Kafka, your old buddy, calling from my house. I'm calling to see if we can meet up for 5 minutes and talk about that lawn mower you borrowed from me 2 years ago. Is Tuesday at 10 a good time or would some time Thursday be better?" If you call without any script, you're going to sound like you're not using any script; e.g. taking time to find the right words, rephrasing and correcting yourself, showing variation in the speed, tone and volume, stuttering etc. The key is to relax.

briko3 · 04-01-2009, 03:20 PM

Yeah, but if you do that 20-30 times cold calling, it will become smooth and "sound like a script".

Originally Posted by Franz Kafka

IMO every script will sound scripted because it is quite often "scripted". In fact the more it sounds smooth and natural to you the more scripted it will sound to your listener. Think about it. Do you ever call up your friend and say "Hi Tim, this is Franz Kafka, your old buddy, calling from my house. I'm calling to see if we can meet up for 5 minutes and talk about that lawn mower you borrowed from me 2 years ago. Is Tuesday at 10 a good time or would some time Thursday be better?" If you call without any script, you're going to sound like you're not using any script; e.g. taking time to find the right words, rephrasing and correcting yourself, showing variation in the speed, tone and volume, stuttering etc. The key is to relax.

moonlightandmargaritas · 04-01-2009, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by briko3

Yeah, but if you do that 20-30 times cold calling, it will become smooth and "sound like a script".

It could be smooth as a baby's ass, but it's not gonna make any difference.

It's 2009 for crissakes!

Cold calling is going to have minimal effectiveness - unless you've got enough trump to hire five telemarketers to give the kind of volume that you need...

Just because someone's broke, and can't afford any other kind of marketing isn't going to make it more effective. You can keep wishin' and hopin', but you're not gonna spin sh*t into gold.

snowman · 04-01-2009, 07:46 PM

Common types of OPENINGS to use in order to gain the prospects attention long enough to listen to the rest of your presentation. They can be used as either statements or questionns and are:

Mystery - Ask a question or make a statement about something having to do with your P/S that the prospect is not aware of such as the difference between 2 or more reasons about something. Ex. Do you know what the difference between a Good Legacy and a Bad Legacy is?

A Startling Statement or Problem Statement- Which can be either a Negative or Positive Statement. Ex. Homeowners insurance rates have risen over 300% just this year alone!

A Compliment About your Prospect. Ex. I'll bet you haven't gotten this far ahead in life by not recognizing an idea that could help you.

Show/Explain a Visual Exhibit of your P/S.

Referral - Someone your Prospect knows has referred you to him/her.

Gift - You have a gift for your Prospect just for listening to you. I have a nice money clip for you to hold all the money that our annuity will/can earn for you.

Survey or Service: "When I cold call all I want to do is "Data Mine" What do you have, how long have you had it, how much are you paying for it. I log the data in my CRM."

A New Idea or New Information about your insurance products or services. Ex. "then when I here that say AARP has a rate increase I pull all the names of the people I talked to that has AARP and I call them back and tell them that I can save them money on there med-supp plan."

Need Suggestion/ Question/Statement: I'm calling because your last financial review is probably obsolete by now with all the changes that have gone on recently.

Not - "I would like to do a financial review with you next week which will take about 20 minutes." - No benefit to the prospect.

briko3 · 04-01-2009, 09:30 PM

OK, does this sound better?

[COLOR=black]My name is ____________ and I’m a Financial Advisor here in ________________. If you’re like me, I’m sure you hate to get phone calls out of the blue, but can you give me 30 seconds to explain why I am calling?(99% will say yes, and now it's their idea, plus you will peak their interest)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]My firm (______________) specializes in Retirement, college planning and insurance, and with all the changes that have gone on recently your last financial review might be obsolete. What I would like to do is meet with you next week for about 20 minutes for a financial review. Which day would be the best for you?[/COLOR]
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Comments welcome....

haugman · 04-09-2009, 12:05 AM

A key i have noticed when dealing with people on the telephone is a lot of people have verbal diahrea. You need to assume the same until they tell you no. If you ask if they are interested they will automatically most of the time say no. So instead of asking if that sounds good say when would mornings or evening work better for you? Just from i have learned!

arnguy · 04-09-2009, 05:12 PM

Most prople have an almost automatic response which is a defense mechanism----that is the word NO! As has been stated here you must avoid questions that have a yes or no answer particularly at the beginning of the call.

beatuplunchbox · 04-09-2009, 08:25 PM

Heck, a script is nothing more than a guide to make sure you don't forget anything and so your calls will follow a natural sales process.
They are always awkward to anybody just starting to use them but after enough calls they become like second nature and sound natural.

You also learn where you can break away and return back at. Just make sure the script have open ended questions so that someone cant answer just yes or no.

robliano · 04-09-2009, 09:00 PM

A few excellent points were hit on here and some not so good:

The good:

1. Practice til you don't sound scripted, like learning a song on the radio, you hear it enough and do it enough to drive and sing at the same time, like auto pilot.
2. Record yourself, to see how stiff you sound, how many ums you say and correct it (tied to practice also)
3. Stop talking sooo much
4. Ask questions, telling is not selling, don't just make statements and expect someone to be interested.

The bad:

Never, ever wing it, that's unprofessional and inconsistent. You want consistent results.

The ugly:

Cold calling isn't effective?

Cold calling is effective if you're effective at it (sorry Paul, you know I love you but you always seem brainwashed by that book or whatever it was about cold calling sucks)

moonlightandmargaritas · 04-09-2009, 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by robliano

Cold calling is effective if you're effective at it (sorry Paul, you know I love you but you always seem brainwashed by that book or whatever it was about cold calling sucks)

You don't have to believe me, or Frank Rumbauskas, Jr. (the "Cold Calling Sucks" guy).

We've had Jacques Werth come on this forum and post. Jacques is the author of the long-time best-seller High Probability Selling. I first read his book seven or eight years ago.

He has trained thousands of salespeople, and has been a recognized expert on sales training for over twenty (maybe thirty) years.

Maybe you should look up his posts on this forum, and see what he's got to say about "cold-calling".

I appreciate that you love me, but can you put your track record up against his?

robliano · 04-10-2009, 08:57 AM

Will he say that you can't be successful at cold calling?

That it doesn't work at all?

Where are the posts, I'd love his opinion, that's what it is right, an opinion?

So far, I agree 100% with this piece from the book:

Second, traditional sales training teaches that selling is the Art of Persuasion - that the way you get a prospect to buy your product or service is to manipulate the prospect through the five classical steps of the buying decision. In contrast, High Probability Selling teaches that selling is the art of Agreement and Commitment. Only High Probability Prospects - those who are willing to commit step-by-step to the buying process - are worth the salesperson's time, energy and resources.

Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

You don't have to believe me, or Frank Rumbauskas, Jr. (the "Cold Calling Sucks" guy).

We've had Jacques Werth come on this forum and post. Jacques is the author of the long-time best-seller High Probability Selling. I first read his book seven or eight years ago.

He has trained thousands of salespeople, and has been a recognized expert on sales training for over twenty (maybe thirty) years.

Maybe you should look up his posts on this forum, and see what he's got to say about "cold-calling".

I appreciate that you love me, but can you put your track record up against his?

healthagent · 04-10-2009, 09:01 AM

I can write 1 deal per 3 hours of going BtoB. At an average commission of $600 and going BtoB 3 hr/day for 5 days that's $3,000 for the week. I've done it for weeks and months.

I'm not sure what Frank would have to say if I dragged him out in the field with me and showed him the 15 hours of cold calling a week can return $150K.

Costs? Gas.

In fact, there are countless sales jobs that are BtoB 8 hours a day. Advertising would be one of them. If you grabbed a laptop and an air card and decided to earn a living by going BtoB selling health 8 hours a day you'd make ohhh, around $300K a year.

JacquesWerth · 04-15-2009, 10:37 AM

[COLOR=black]I agree Cold-Calling is Obsolete. It alienates most of the people you call. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]However, turning cold calls into a series of warm calls is a long-term winning strategy. [/COLOR]

It enables you to develop "favorable front of the mind awareness" in a large target market. That is important because prospects buy in their own time for their own reasons. Each time you call your list, some of them will be ready to buy and they will want to buy from you.

[COLOR=black]Like everything else that gets posted here, this information probably won’t do you any good unless you learn how to do it. [/COLOR]

ABC · 04-15-2009, 11:03 AM

I cold call almost every day.

I don't use a script but have talking points. I ask questions and actually listen to their responses. Then I evaluate and see if my services might help them.

I do B2B cold calls so depending on what industry has an impact on what questions I ask.

The technology industry you should be speaking to a group that is young, educated, & healthily......Pitching a Consumer driven plan might capture their attention.

Blue collar industry might have older, not as educated, & higher utilization people. So pitching a disease management program to help reduce cost might open the door.

Then again my closure rate is way low but atleast I have one.

Maybe I am doing it all wrong?