Can you really say something that your competitors aren’t?
Another reason we don’t believe in investing enormous amounts of time on making the ‘Opening Approach’ on an appointment making call ‘perfect’ is the fact that it is really difficult to differentiate oneself from the competition in a sentence or two. More importantly, it is impossible to create one that your target hasn’t heard before.
It is difficult for someone who truly believes that their offering is better to understand that their competitors are basically saying the same things about themselves, even if it is not true.
We have the best quality. We have the best service. We really care about our customers. We’re small, so you’re not just a number to us. We’re big, so we can bring more resources to bear on a customer’s problem… Get the picture? You can’t come up with any statement that your target hasn’t heard before.
So before you go spend any more time working on the perfect opening, do what we do when we consult with clients to help them build their appointment setting strategy. Put yourself in your competitor’s shoes for a moment and ask yourself how you would build an opening for them. Would they say they don’t have the best quality or don’t have the best customer service? Of course not. So, even if you are the best—and can prove it—your target isn’t going to believe you when you say it because everybody says it.
The bottom line is this. Take our advice and talk about what you’ve actually accomplished for others like them (your target) instead. It is a subtle difference, but neuro linguistic programming says that human brain actually hears this subtle difference. Give yourself third party credibility by stating what your customers tell you about what you did for them.
But here’s the bigger point. They’ll still most likely not believe you, so invest your time in how you’re going to Counter the inevitable “No” you’re going to hear. You’ll set way more appointments using that strategy.
If you’d like more information on why no team of sales professionals has ever failed to at least double the number of Initial Appointments they were setting after going through one of our programs, give us a call or drop us a line. We love talking about the challenges of appointment making!
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at bcaponi@caponipg.com. You can also find answers to many of your challenges in our books: Contrary to Popular Belief, Cold Calling DOES Work! Volume I: Effectiveness, The Art of Appointment Making and Volume II: Efficiency, the Science of Appointment Making.
(Key words, perfect opening approach, effectiveness competition)
Share and Enjoy
