One of my clients writes:
My biggest challenge is that I make a lot of calls for my company, and I cannot get anyone to call me back. I work for a company that sells office space solutions; we specialize in office design and construction. There are a lot of innovative things we can do for companies, but no one wants to talk about renovating office space. In fact, the words renovation and construction seem to scare many prospects away. How can I get people to call me back?”
Your challenge hits home with me. I sell training solutions. If I called one hundred people and left a voicemail saying, “I’m Paul Cherry and I specialize in training solutions, give me a call if you are interested,” I would maybe get one person to call me back, just to tell me that they are not interested. Unfortunately, no one is interested in what you do! No one is interested in training, except me. What you need to do is figure out what your ideal customers are interested in and what outcome they are looking to achieve.
For my customers, I know that they are interested in: increased sales, improved margins, expanded market share, gaining a competitive edge and having a high performing sales force. As you think about your own customers, why would someone benefit from what you do? Let’s say you sell office space solutions. You need to think about how would someone benefit from an office design renovation? I would guess that office redesign could lead to: greater employee collaboration, retaining a higher caliber of employee, reducing cost by eliminating inefficient use of space, making a powerful impression on customers (new and existing), as well as creating greater brand awareness in the community.
Opening Statements Examples for New Customers
- “I am calling because what we do is create collaborative work space environments that motivate employees and maximize workplace productivity. When can we sit down and talk about these issues, to determine if what we provide is a good fit with your needs?”
- “We specialize in office space solutions in order to attract and retain a higher caliber of employee. Our redesigned offices are spacious, welcoming and pleasant. They make employees want to come to work. Is the attraction and retention of a quality workforce something that is important to you? And if so, when can we sit down and discuss some of the issues you’re looking to address?”
- “What we do is optimize office space environments so that they truly reflect your company’s vision and values. This helps create greater brand awareness and makes a powerful statement to your prospects and customers. When can we schedule a time to share some ideas on how you can maximize your brand awareness and grow your market share?”
