"How Ya Doin'?"

Every sales person has done it. It just seems to come so naturally and why not? It’s an extremely polite thing to say, right? “How are you?” Seems harmless to ask… but it actually can make or break the rapport you’re building with a prospect.

When cold calling don’t ever start off your call by asking the prospect, “How are you today?” It seems nitpicky, but it’s a subtle change you can make in your cold calling that will provide quick results.

Why is this not the right thing to ask? There are many reasons why… we’ll quickly explore.

1.    You have interrupted this person while they are in the middle of something.
2.    You have not established a relationship so the question seems insincere.
3.    You really don’t care.
4.    They really don’t care to tell you.

Let’s take a closer look.

Not many people are sitting at their desk awaiting a sales call. Most of them have tried to screen you out with caller id, an assistant, etc., but somehow you managed to get them on the phone.  So you have to make it count… you HAVE to get the meeting. More than likely they will be mildly annoyed with your call and whatever you are selling – they are NOT buying.Their goal is to get you off the phone as quickly as possible.

Keep the purpose of the call, the purpose of the call. The purpose is the set a meeting. It may seem like a good idea to ask them how they’re doing, but in a cold calling context it comes across as insincere. Do you really care how they are doing? Come on now... did you decide to call them to find out how they’re doing or to set a meeting?

“How are you?” is always used as an ice breaker, but no ice is ever broken. You either get the standard, “good”, or worse, “terrible”. Then what? Do you ask for a time to call them back when they’re not “terrible”? They know the only reason you are calling is to get on their calendar.

I know it sounds harsh, but it’s true. Instead of trying to break ice with the standard “How are you” question, you can try something new. Say something different than what every other sales person is saying. State the obvious and be respectful of their time. Instead of asking, “How are you?”, you can say this…

“Hi Joe, I understand you’re very busy and I know you weren’t expecting my call so I’ll be brief.”

This changes the tone of the call. It will set you apart from the pack. It will cause the prospect to listen as it’s something different than what they’re used to hearing. It also builds rapport. The prospect will appreciate that you are being considerate of their time.

If it’s someone you’ve spoken with before or done business with in the past then certainly ask them “How are you?” The context of the question is different as you have some sort of relationship with them.

Still not convinced? Give it a try… and let me know if your dial to appointment ratios go up.