How to avoid the mail-out paper war

Has this ever happened to you? You’re on a cold call (usually) and have reached your decision maker. As you launch into your introduction your prospect interrupts with:

                         I’ll just stop you there. I’m far too busy to talk at the moment, 

                        can you send something by (e)mail please?

Many prospects use this early in your presentation to try to get rid of you. It is often a conditioned response. It worked on the last 20 telemarketers, will it work on you? 

I often see salespeople rushing to send out mail after a request like this and calling back several times to ask the prospect if they have read it yet. 

Inevitably, the prospect hasn’t looked at it. Why should they? There was no call to action, no presentation to create interest and no identified need. The paperwork is now in the prospect’s delete box or filed in the executive waste basket. 

Sometimes busy prospects are just that – genuinely busy. They might be a good prospect at a less hurried time, so you don’t want to close the door on them. Neither do you want to get caught in the dreaded paper war where you keep re-calling until they just say “no” anyway.

However, as well as identifying good but busy prospects, it’s also useful to weed out the time-wasters and non-buyers who use this objection / statement just to get you off the phone.

The best way to handle this situation and find the good but busy prospect is to stick to the golden rule: try to send out information only when you’ve made a full phone presentation first. You see, only by listening to your call can a prospect make an informed decision about your product or service and what might be best for their business. 

Try this next time you get an information request that pops up right at your introduction:

I understand (prospect’s name) … and it’s my pleasure to get some quality information off to you today that you might find useful and… may even save you and your company money ...

I want to make sure I send you the right information through that suits your business needs and your situation … so ...

I'd just like to chat with you on the phone for about four minutes first ... If I called back around 3pm today … would you be able to talk to me for around four minutes then?

You can adapt this style to any service, product or type of call. But you can expect to receive more “No’s” when you use this technique because you will flush out most time-wasters. However, those prospects who are genuinely busy will often agree to a call-back at the time you suggested.

Sometimes they will offer a different time for you to call. Genuine prospects appreciate your consideration and you’ve also said you’re NOT going to bang on for half an hour. You’re going to identify their needs and then send them out information. After all, isn’t that what they just asked you for?

I can guarantee you will be astonished in the change of attitude from many prospects when you call them back. Many times you will be able to either confirm an appointment or register a sale at the conclusion of your call.

It stands to reason that genuine prospects will agree to a re-call and, once you have been able to make a full presentation, any reasonable request for information must be GENUINE interest – otherwise why would they ask?