Many experts feel that the first 16 words you speak to a prospect are vital. How a prospect reacts will determine if you get a meeting scheduled, and, ultimately, if you earn a sale. Since those first few moments are so important, we will spend this entire unit focusing on your approach. Since the telephone is going to be a vital part of your approach, we will look at all the skills and techniques you can use to insure that time on the telephone is effective, productive, and, above all, profitable. We will also consider face-to-face and e-mil and snail mail approaches and see how they can complement your telephone activities.

In today's crowded, competitive marketplace, prospects will be looking at you as hard, if not harder, than you're looking at them. Thus, in many ways, the pre-approach, in which you get people to agree to see you, is the most challenging part of the sales cycle.

Scheduled meetings must be earned. The best way to do that is to find the real reasons for people to want to see you. Contrived pre-approach methods, which manipulate people into agreeing to schedule meetings are widely rejected in today's individual, business, and professional markets.

But there's an extra benefit to be derived from getting on-profile prospects to really want to see you, not forcing them — fewer no-shows. There's a chance that a person who is "forced" into a scheduled meeting doesn't really intend to keep it — and won't!

However, by using the Ohio National Financial Services Telephone Approach to encourage people to talk about their needs and wants and concerns, to explain how you can help, and forthrightly address their comments and questions, you can be sure prospects will keep their scheduled meetings. And, they'll do it gladly!

Because the first 16 words are vital, the next pages will show you how to make them as effective as possible.

Back to Top | Next

Ohio National is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor, any particular prospecting, marketing or selling system.

2