Developing a strong telephone technique is extremely helpful in building that confidence. Fortunately, even if you have had no previous experience in using the phone for business, the fundamentals of good business telephoning are simple, logical and easy to learn.
When you contact someone by phone, show them the same courtesies you would extend to them in person. Remember that in a very real sense you are what you are selling at the moment; your goal is to convince them that they should meet with you to discuss their sweeping needs. As a result, you want to be sure to sound like someone they wouldn't mind spending some time with. As they listen to you, they will be forming an image of the type of person you are. With a little practice, it's easy to make certain their mental image is a positive one.
If you are concerned about your phone image, or haven't had much business experience on the phone, you may want to practice by taping practice conversations with friends. When you play back the tape, note how many times you inject "ahs," "ers," "ums," and "ya knows," and then work to get rid of them. You can also tape your calls to prospects, but if you do you are required by law to tell them that they are being taped.
When you listen to the playbacks, also see how your speech sounds. Do you enunciate clearly, or is your voice muffled or are your words garbled? If so, you may be holding the receiver too close to your mouth. Practice speaking clearly, and pronounce each of your words carefully. Other mannerisms to avoid are sniffing, raspy breathing and long pauses. And of course don't try to make your calls while chewing gum or smoking a cigarette!
Always do your best to remain friendly and inoffensive while on the phone. Stay upbeat and good-natured. Remember that you will be meeting with them in person before long, so use the call as an opportunity to build goodwill and a positive image in advance of your time together. Don't be concerned if a prospect is hesitant about seeing you. Look at if from their point of view: You know that you have something of interest to show them and that you will be polite and professional, but they don't. Keep in mind that you are the owner of a business, and a respected member of the community.
By the way, a rule of thumb is that the easier an appointment is to obtain, the poorer is its quality. The reason is that if someone is a decision-maker, then their time is more valuable. These are the people that you will want to have appointments with, so don't be too surprised if some of them ask you a few questions on the phone. To assist you in fielding their questions, we have included a section listing the most typical questions which prospects ask, and example answers for them.
It is always better to have the name of the person you wish to speak to in advance. If you do, you will find their secretary to be much more congenial in putting your call through directly to them. This information is often available through business directories, the Chamber of Commerce Directory, and through professional cataloging services such as Dun and Bradstreet.
Keep in mind that in this first phone conversation you are not trying to get someone to agree that you can start sweeping their lot. Rather, you are calling to make an appointment to discuss their sweeping needs and the services which your company performs. You would like them to let you work up an estimate for keeping the exterior of their business property cleaned.
If you hire another person to make calls for you, consider paying them a bonus for every contract that you sign as a result of their initial contact. Using such a performance incentive typically will allow you to pay a lesser amount per hour, and the higher amount only when you will be gaining from the contact. For example, you might pay minimum wage plus a bonus for each signed contract you end up with as a result of their efforts.
If you decide to hire someone to solicit appointments for you, work with them at first to ensure that they are making proper presentations. Before long, however, you will be able to spend most of your time in the field making presentations, taking care of promotion, and performing the actual sweeping. Keep track of the number of leads per hour, day or week that the solicitor makes. Then you will have a way to tell if the number falls off.
Whether you or someone else solicits business for you, be sure that good notes are taken as to who was talked to, what their current and long-term needs are, who the organization's contact person is, whether they are owner or manager, etc. Again, if you don't already have a better system for this, use the Card File Prospecting & Contact System from the Support Material section of this manual.
Some find it best to select a particular category of business to call each day, but we recommend targeting your calls to a specific geographical area. By so doing, you will be able to schedule your on-site visits so as to minimize your travel time between appointments.
"Good (morning or afternoon), I'm calling for (first and last name of prospect). Is he/she in?" Then, once you get them on the line:
"Mr./Ms. (their last name), this is (your first and last name). I'm the owner of (your company name), and I'm calling to ask for a few minutes of your time to introduce you to the professional parking lot cleaning services we offer.
As the owner, I try to get out and visit with people such as yourself on (pick 2 different days of the week, for example, "Tuesdays and Thursdays"), would one of these be better for you?" Wait for a response, and respond to any questions they offer. Get them to target one of the days. If they say that the only day they can meet with you is one of the days you didn't say you could, offer to fit that into your schedule the next week, not this one. Remember, you are a busy person making an appointment with another busy person!
"Would it be better on (day of week picked) for your schedule if we got together in the morning or the afternoon?" Proceed to narrow down to a specific time. End by reinforcing how much you are looking forward to showing him/her the latest technology in parking area maintenance.
Most contractors find it sensible to leave their phone number, so the prospect can call to cancel in the event a scheduling conflict comes up. Some prefer not to offer this, figuring that they'll just show up as scheduled and, if the prospect forgets or doesn't make the meeting for some reason, they can at least see the layout of the operation, meet the secretary and other company personnel, and leave a brochure. You will soon recognize which of these approaches works the best for you.
Another approach which you might care to use initially is to call and say "I'm a new contractor in the parking lot sweeping business here locally. Since I am just getting started at this point, I am willing to give you a very attractive price on sweeping services for your parking lot. If you would like, I would be glad to stop by and write you an estimate for the work that we can do."
Finally, never forget that getting solid appointments, doing effective demonstrations, providing competitive bids and everything else connected with your marketing effort makes no difference if you don't provide an outstanding level of service once you get the job!
These responses seldom have anything to do with the response of the decision-maker, if you can once get through to him/her. Work hard to at least speak to the decision-maker, the person actually responsible for hiring the outside pavement cleaning. By the way, if you are absolutely unable to get through, agree to send a copy of your brochure for their files.
This is a good idea for several reasons. There is a remarkably high turnover rate among property managers, and when new managers come in they often review the service of the various contractors who work for the complex they manage. Also, you never know when a manager will become dissatisfied with the performance of the contractor who is currently performing their lot cleaning, and give you a call because your brochure is on file.
Once you are speaking to the decision-maker, expect them to ask questions. When prospects ask you questions, or otherwise make it more difficult for you to get an appointment, it's just to confirm in their own minds that you are a qualified professional, one worth their expenditure of time. When fielding these questions, keep in mind what you are after, usually an appointment for a face-to-face meeting. Answer their questions briefly, and then immediately move back to getting the appointment with a statement such as:
"So, does (Tuesday morning at 10) or (Thursday afternoon at 3) sound better?"
Don't tell any more about your service than you have to, but rather leave that for your in-person meeting. Stay in control of both them and yourself. Remain cheerful, positive and professional. Following are some of the most common "objections" encountered during appoint-making phone calls, and some sample responses which will help you in your initial telephone calls. Put them into your own words and then practice until you have committed the responses to memory. Doing so will help you to maximize your number of appointments, and thus presentations of your services.
As you read the following questions/objections, keep in mind that an objection actually presents an opportunity to make a selling point in your favor. Although many of the common objections and possible answers follow, keep track of any others that occur and write out and practice an answer to them. Your answer should turn the objection into a positive selling statement which works to your advantage.
Prospect:"If you can't mail literature, then forget it."
You:"Mr. (Prospect), we have found that each shopping center area (or whatever this is) is unique, and can benefit by a personal review. By getting together for a few minutes, we can tailor the variety of services we recommend to your exact needs, rather than offering some pre-determined package of services that you may or may not fit into. In just a very few minutes, I can give you the complete details of a cleaning program designed to exactly fit your need for this type of service."
Prospect:"I'm not interested in using a sweeping service."
You:"Mr. (Prospect), experts now associate tremendous advantages with a shopping center's use of a professional sweeping service. It will more than pay for itself in terms of keeping the interior of your shopping area in good condition. In some cases it has even meant the difference between being legally liable or not in slip-and-fall and other personal injury situations! In a very few minutes of time together, I can show you what the many advantages are to our service, and how it will more than pay for itself in the long run."
Prospect:"How much is this going to cost me?"
You:"There is no charge or obligation for our meeting, nor for my professional evaluation of the level of services your operation needs. The charge for actual services varies greatly from one client to the next, depending on a variety of factors. Many businesses confirm that they actually save money, because of the benefits they receive through our cleaning program.
Again, there's no charge for this analysis and I can guarantee you that you'll learn some very interesting things about the value of keeping your outside parking area clean and neat."
Prospect:"I'm pretty busy."
You:"I know what you mean! I find myself on a tight schedule, too. That's why I'm calling ahead, so we can find a mutually agreeable time to get together when we both have a few minutes available."
Prospect:"How long is this going to take?"
You:"As the owner of the business, I'll be able to acquaint you with all aspects of our services in very short order. It takes less than 20 minutes to tell you about the different benefits we offer, plus the time to answer your questions. I will be bringing (one of) our sweeper(s), also, and you may want to come out and take a look at it. Of course, that's up to you."
Prospect:"The person you want to talk to isn't here right now."
You:"Ok, that's fine. What is their name? When is a good time to catch them in? Is there another number I should call to reach them directly? Do they handle contracting for your outside maintenance needs?"
Remember that your goal is to get an appointment! Go back to asking for one, as outlined at the top of the section, after you respond to each question.
You'll learn to welcome these questions, because the more difficult it is to make an appointment, the more likely that you are, indeed, talking to the decision-maker. Their time is more important, so they are more careful about making sure they won't be wasting it. Don't worry, with the quality and cost-effectiveness of the sweeping services you can offer with Schwarze equipment, along with the information in the following section, you will have a very good opportunity to sell them!