When making outbound calls or sales calls, the main thing to consider is: are you asking the right questions? People respond differently depending on how you express yourself. There are different ways to approach a question and some work, some don’t. The important thing when making outbound calls is to ask a series of “yes questions” to develop the product or service. It has been speculated that the more customers say yes, either orally or mentally, the less likely they are to reject the offer.
But of course, before you create the Yes Ladder, you need to make sure you’re targeting the right people first. An unwise decision is to use a purchased business list. The people on this list are probably fed up with telemarketers and you will most likely start with a cold call. The smart thing to do is to start with your own list of businesses. Outbound call center agents need to be more personal in their approach, as the people they call really want their calls. The purchased list has people who are constantly being bombarded by telemarketers (since most startups use purchased lists) and they won’t want to hear what you have to say.
Now… you have your list. It’s time to start the calls. How do you build a yes ladder?
If you have specific prospects, questions will easily come up. For example, it sells sugar-free sweeteners. First you have to know your unique selling proposition. What do you have to offer that other products don’t? Once you establish that fact and know you’re calling a target prospect, ask a question that relates to the prospect as a person. Granted you’re calling a mom, ask first if they use sugar at home as sweeteners. The common answer to that would be a ‘yes’ and then follows up with a question about whether they are interested in the fact that they can use as much sweetener as they want without any health risks. The common answer would again be a ‘yes’, then you move on to ask them if they would be interested in your product that could do exactly that.
Yes Ladder is the secret to success for an outbound call center agent. If he has already gotten his prospect to say yes to more than two questions, then it becomes harder to say no. It’s a common marketing strategy, although it doesn’t really always work. We may be able to satisfy the potential customer’s interest, but sometimes it really doesn’t. You have to have some back-up questions so they don’t get lost. Then what do you do? You ask open-ended questions (although this doesn’t work if you already have a short time to complete the call). This keeps the prospect interested and engaged in the conversation.
So, in addition to the Yes Ladder, outbound call center agents must learn how to keep the target prospect interested and engaged in the conversation so they can make a sale. It can be a bit difficult to turn that cold call into a warm call, but with enough practice and a better understanding of your market, things will eventually come naturally when you make outbound calls.
