Phase 1: The Greeting.
This seems obvious, but there's some ninja psychology at work here. First, you have to imagine the mindset most people have when they call a business. Most people are expecting a disgruntled, unhelpful drone to pick up and make their lives more difficult.
So do the exact OPPOSITE. When you start your call, make it a point to ask how Mrs. Jones is doing in a really warm, genuine way. If she says something like,
"Ah, long day! You wouldn?t believe it!"?
Tell her, "Oh no! What happened?"
Be super cool, nice, and awesome.
Be so awesome you catch your prospect off guard, forcing them to open up and let their guard down.
The "greeting" phase is where you let your prospect know, "Hey, I know this is a business call, but we're just weird, awkward, just-want-to-be-happy-in-lfe people first, right?"
The key is you have to just really be genuine and genuinely care.
Phase 2: Getting down to business.
The small talk / greeting phase will naturally wind down within a minute or two. At this point, I usually say?
"Okay, so what can I help you with today?"
Even though we've gone back and forth with email to get to this call? I still ask this because it's just a good way to break the ice and switch the subject to business.
And this is what I do next: nothing!?
I just sit and listen. Usually the prospect has a lot to say. They've been thinking about this project for maybe months and have a lot of built up thoughts / ideas.
I just "Hmm" and "Ahh" and "I see" my way through it until they let it all out.
When appropriate and natural I ask questions and ask for more detail. Sometimes this can last for 45-60 minutes by itself (sometimes longer!). But this is important. Take notes! Get everything they need down on paper. Because you?ll need it in phase 3?
Phase 3: Mirror & Build.
Before I start yapping to Mrs. Jones about how great we are and such, I ask a very important question:
"Great! Is that all, or is there anything else?"?
If there's more, I listen, and take notes. And then, I ask that question again. As many times as I have to.
Why? Because I want my prospect totally clear and focused when I start talking. And if they're thinking of an idea they forgot to say, etc., they won't be focused on me. On the other hand, with all of their ideas out of their head, they're now a proverbial "empty cup".
Once they're in that state of mind, I start talking.
At first I "mirror" back to them what they told me they need, only I put it into my own words. And I elaborate using my advanced design / marketing / coding knowledge which they don?t have (I "build" on what they said).
I'll say something like:
"Great, well before we go any further, I just want to make sure I understand you perfectly. You're looking for [insert "mirroring and building" here]"
After that, I ask,
"Did I miss anything or does that about cover it?"
Usually they're super impressed that I listened to them and got it all on the first try. Listening is a rare trait in this world, and showing your prospects that you actually took in what they said is the biggest thing you can do to make a sale in my opinion.
People want to feel heard and acknowledged more than just about anything.
Phase 4: Talk about yourself
After I've established that I really understand their needs, I say something like this:
"Great, well first off I just want to tell you that we're 100% capable of getting this done. In fact, just recently we had a similar project where [insert similar project story that shows you're capable].
"But before we get into specifics, I'd like to talk to you real quick about how we work, because there's a good chance our methods are very different from most companies you've encountered"
At this point I talk about us. How we work, what we do differently, why we do what we do. I educate them on our strengths.
It's amazing how good of listeners people become after you've first really listened to them first. They love hearing about you after you've first shown them that you actually care about them.
Phase 5: Back to email? LOL yes,
In step 5 we're taking things BACK to email!
First, I ask my prospect if they have any further questions about who we are or how we work. I ask them if there are any lingering needs or specs they forgot to mention. I make sure we're 100% donezo.
THEN, I tell them,
"Great, well I'm going to review all of this with my partner and we're going to put together a solid proposal for you. I should have it ready for you by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. If everything looks good in the proposal, then we're ready to get started ASAP!"
If they ask about price, I inform them that I'm unable to give a price without consulting my team and discussing the best possible methods of achieving their goals.
This is true of course, but it also serves another purpose:
The proposal outlines EVERYTHING. And it's usually quite a lot. It opens people's eyes to how much work and time are involved in the design / marketing process - something most people don't realize.
I want them to know this before they see a price. So I want them to read the proposal.
At this point in the call we say our goodbyes, and we get to work on the proposal.
So now, all you have to do is knock their socks off with a thorough, well-designed proposal.
After going through this entire process, the proposal should really just be the icing on the cake. They're really sold in the phone call when they see how attentive, competent, and awesome you are.
But hang on there, tiger! We're not done yet!
Because after the proposal is often the most crucial point in the sales process (next to the phone call).
Because sometimes your prospect sees the price and doesn't like it!
If this has ever happened to you, or happens to you regularly, stay tuned.
Source: Graphicsdesignblender