Sales Call Openings - Tactics to Avoid

The skills that are applied in a typical sales call opening are usually something like: Present an agenda for the call, explain the value to the client, and check for acceptance. The question you need to ask yourself with any sales call opening is, "does this person have a compelling reason to listen to me"?

Hello Mr. Smith, this is Jon Doe from ABC Inc. Welcome to ABC Inc., I’m thrilled you chose us as the place for your services needs. I am your local relationship manager and will always be here to answer any questions you have on your account and to help you take full advantage of all of our products and services that come with your account. I’d be in a better position to help you hit the ground running here if I could get some additional information from you. Can I ask you a few questions?

That’s an opening, right? With a positioning statement. Everyone recognize that? Does the client have a compelling reason to listen? Perhaps. It depends on the situation, but if they're a new client and they are getting their first Welcome Call, they likely have a reason to engage. Clients will quickly disengage if they are hit with one of the openings to avoid.

The hotel call - "I’m just calling to check in and see how things are going.” It immediately puts the customer in the indifference mode and gives the customer an “out”.

The baseball call – “I’m calling to touch base and see if you’re happy with your account. How does that sound?” The account is “working out” fine. “Thanks for touching base”. There is no real value to “touching base” and certainly it alone does not offer a compelling reason to listen, unless you're bored and dying for someone to talk to. The client thinks, but may not say, “Why are you bothering me?” – even if they are cordial.

The fitness call - “I called to see how everything is working out for you?“. The probe doesn’t offer much value. The response will either be, "uhh, great", or, it will turn into a complaint session about everything that is going wrong for the client.

Mail survey - “I see you requested a new account application and I wanted to make sure you received it. Did you get it yet?" The client thinks “No, I did not get it, but the postal service thanks you for administering a survey on their services.” If the client says no, the conversation becomes about the mail rather than their needs. If the client says yes, then what? Nothing compelling there.