It’s the question on organizational leader’s mind. Marketing is coming at us from all sides, all hours of the day. Even as we sleep, our email inboxes are filling up with spam, advertisements and membership offers.
Our phone is constantly alerting us to texts from salespeople trying to get their foot in the door of our lives, bombarding us with information. Facebook ads clutter our feed. Everyone is fighting for our attention via electronics.
So how do you set your business apart from the noise? How do you move past surface networking conversations to really understanding what your client is looking for so you have the opportunity to meet that need? The answer may be simpler than you thought. Are you ready? Drum roll please…
Pick up the phone!
With texting and email taking over business communication, personal phone calls are becoming more and more of a novelty. People want to feel heard and worthy of a personal connection. And the longer you put off this critical component, the longer you put off success.
And lest you think we are trying to turn business leaders into telemarketers, check out the difference below in trying to make an immediate sale vs. trying to make a real connection. Telemarketer or TeleMASTER?
Telemarketer: How are you doing today? Do you have a minute?
TeleMASTER: Would you help me, please?
Most of us don’t want to waste our time or inform a total stranger of how we’re doing. But human beings are wired to help each other. Get the ‘gatekeeper’ on your team right off the bat.
Telemarketer: Would you do me a favor?
TeleMASTER: What do we need to do to get in touch with _________?
Again, you don’t ask someone for a favor if you haven’t built a relationship. But the strategic use of the word ‘we’ draws the potential client in even more.
Telemarketer: Let me tell you all about me and the service my company offers.
TeleMASTER: Tell me about the products and services you currently use. Are you satisfied with them? How is your competition beating you at your business? What are your customers like?
You are not the hero riding in on the white horse to save the damsel in distress. Make each customer the hero in their own story. Ask probing questions about their business to draw out the story.
Telemarketers burn out quickly.
TeleMASTERS focus on the long game, pacing themselves into a fulfilling career.
When you pitch the sale before even finding out who your customer is and what they need, you are regularly hung up on. But building relationships, building trust, getting to know your client base will page huge dividends, if you are willing to put in the time.
