6 ways to make a cold call about your prospect to win the meeting

Despite the magic of a talented marketing team driving inbound leads, the foundation of the buyer's journey is still the first contact from sales. This important step decides whether a marketing lead is actually worth it's salt. Quota-carrying sales reps don’t have the time to reach these leads only to find that 70% will turn into nothing. This is where the Sales Development team comes in.

One of the biggest challenges I've faced over the years in sales development is how to keep a prospect talking about their challenges while avoiding discussing product. Selling a complicated SaaS product can't be done on a 2-minute cold call. For that reason, discussing product features on an initial call will tank a potentially great lead. To solve this problem I've been using some techniques to keep the conversation on track and win the meeting.

Never say I, We, or Us

It's subtle, but getting those words out of your vocabulary will completely change the feel of a call and the impression from the prospect. "I was just circling back" "I was reaching out because" "We've been trying to connect because..." Leading in with something that is completely about YOU instead of THEM is going to set up the call for failure. Instead, try "Do you have a moment? Last week you looked at an ebook on improving partner engagement. What did you think?" Every time you say "I," "we," "us," or "our" mark a little tally on a notepad, and try to get that number as low as possible.

Lose the elevator pitch

Everyone has one. Your 30-second spiel about how your product does XYZ to solve every problem the prospect has ever had in their sales process. You hand crafted this speech with love, and the moment you get to use it, the conversation steers in a predictable, comfortable direction. Yet despite this opportunity, the call seems to go south shortly after. Early in my career, I used to yearn for the "So what does your product do?" moment in my sales calls, despite the poor success rate. So what do I say now? I give it a short answer and ask them an open ended question to make it about them, if I cant dodge the question completely. "It's a channel enablement platform, focused on improving communication with your partners. What challenges have you faced with partner communication since taking on your role at {insert company here}?"

Say less, listen more

Dodging the elevator pitch opportunity brings a nice segue to the next tip. By flipping questions back onto the prospect, you will naturally talk less and they will talk more. For example "How does your product integrate with Salesforce?" gets the response: "Well, what data would you like to exchange with your partners?" It sounds easier than it is.

Count to three before speaking

Something that can help execute these tips is simple patience. Before taking your turn to speak, mentally count to three, slowly. This will give you time to remember to properly craft a response, but more importantly, give the prospect opportunity to keep talking to fill the silence. This will also subtly remind your prospect that you are there to listen to them, not pitch your solution.

Don't get happy ears

Maybe it is a demo request, a partner referral, or just a ridiculously high-score lead that is all over your website. No matter how great the lead is, it is never a sure thing. For that reason, do not get "Happy Ears." The moment I hear "We are evaluating solutions to gain better visibility into partner engagement" I'm tempted to produce verbal diarrhea all over the prospect about why our product will solve all their problems. Instead I silently count to three and ask "What is prompting the evaluation?" or "What are some of the things you are looking for in a solution?" to keep them talking. Then we schedule the call.

Know when to end the call

After you've determined the lead is qualified and gained their interest, sometimes the prospect will continue to ask questions about your product. This feels great after getting the cold shoulder all day on the phone, but this means it is time to end the call. The more you say, the less they need to spend time with a sales rep. Now it's time for this: "Since this call today was out of the blue, let's schedule some time later to get into your partner program goals a bit further. How does tomorrow afternoon look for you?"

Remember: Nobody cares about who you are or how great your product is. Not yet, anyway. They care about their problems, their time, and their ridiculously high revenue goals. Make it about them. Secure the meeting.