Why Prospects Try to Get Rid of You on Cold Calls, and What to Say Instead to Fix It

You are listening to the art of sales. Everyone sells every day and this is your source for conversational realworld sales and prospecting methods that you are comfortable using and that get results. You'll help people buy instead of pushing them into being sold. Here's your host, Art Subject. In a recent issue of my smart calling report email newsletter, I told the story about the grocery store Apple guy. Now you can see that issue and all of them actually in the archive at smartcallingreport. com. Okay, so to summarize, I was at a grocery store that I usually don't shop at. I have some that I go to all the time, but this one I was in a hurry on my way home and I needed to get some fresh dill, just one item. So, I ran in where the dill normally is in my regular store and I asked the kid stacking apples in the produce department where the fresh dill was. So, he just started wandering around looking for the fresh dill, kind of like I did for the last 5 minutes. Hey, nice kid. He was trying hard, but he was completely clueless about where the deal was. So the minute he started apologizing and wandering around, my brain checked out. And again, not because he was rude, because he sounded uncertain. And when someone does not sound like they know where the deal is, you stop listening. And I have heard the same tone so many times on sales calls, more than I care to admit. Maybe you have too. Maybe you have been that person without realizing it. I have. And the exact same thing happens in the first seconds of a sales prospecting call. Your prospect's brain is not analyzing your product, your pricing, or your message yet. It's deciding something much simpler. Do you sound like you belong in this conversation? If the answer is unclear, the brain protects attention. Short answers, guarded tone, polite or sometimes not so polite resistance. And it's not a rejection of you. It is their brain protecting their time. And that is why the first 20 seconds matter more than anything else on a prospecting call. Those seconds are like the guy who has just one job to do. And that job is to help the prospect quickly figure out what's going on here. And when they're structured well, those first seconds, the prospect relaxes and the conversation opens up. When they're not, the call usually slides into an apology, a defensive explanation why they're calling, or some awkward recovery instead of what we really want, an interested prospect, a curious prospect who thinks there just might be something worthwhile here. Now, the first thing to get a grip on is what is happening in your prospect's brain. When someone answers the phone, their mind instantly asks a few basic questions, not out loud, but in their mind, and those questions are, who is this? Why are they calling me? Is this going to waste my time? Do they sound like they know what they're doing? Is there something in this for me? And those questions are answered very quickly, split seconds, not logically, instinctively. And sometimes subconsciously, like an app that's running in the background. And if the answers are unclear, the listener tightens up. Hey, you hear it immediately. Short answers, guarded tone, little if any engagement. Now you're recalling exactly what this feels like, aren't you? I am as I say this to you. Not because they dislike you, because uncertainty creates discomfort. Your job in the first seconds of the call is to remove that uncertainty. And that's what the first 20 seconds framework is designed to do. It's simple. You have a professional identification. You have relevant context or intelligence. You have your possible value proposition. And then we bridge to a question. Each part answers

one of the questions already running through the prospect's mind. So let's look at two versions of an opening. The first one here, this is the uncertain version. And by the way, I find it hard to believe that someone would actually say this, but some LinkedIn influencers suggest starting with uh this is a cold call. You can hang up uh in 20 seconds if you want to. Well, what's wrong with that? Hopefully is pretty obvious to you. Let's look at how uncertainty shows up in subtler ways every day in other things that some sales reps say and things that are recommended. Things such as did I catch you at a bad time. I was just hoping to connect with you about you were not expecting my call. You don't know me. Those sound harmless, right? Well, they're not. every one of them signals the same thing that the apple guy signaled in the produce aisle and that is yeah I'm not sure I belong here and the prospect's brain responds accordingly even though callers say those particular things because it makes them feel safe it actually triggers the resistance that they fear the most and are hoping to avoid. All right, so let's look at the structured version here. Listen to the same situation handled differently. Hey, Steve. Mark Seller with Complex Pools and talking with a couple of your on-site managers there. It sounds like keeping pool vendors consistent across your properties can be a juggling act. Well, we work with apartment communities who are tired of dealing with pool complaints, and we help them keep their pools clear and complaintfree all season so maintenance teams are not dealing with pool issues. Curious, how are you planning to handle pool vendors across your properties this season? notice, no apology, no permission begging, no announcing that it is a cold call. And I just got to shake my head at that last one. It would be like a dentist saying, "Okay, I'm coming in with the drill now, right as you see and hear the drill entering your mouth. " Anyway, so the structured example sounds like a professional and a peer helping the prospect quickly see where the call might and could go. So, let's break down the first 20 seconds framework along with examples that you can adapt for your own prospecting calls and I suggest you do. Step number one, as I already mentioned, is your professional identification. Start clearly and professionally. Steve Mark sellers with complex pools. Karen art subject here with smart calling. John Lisa Carter with Precision Manufacturing. This signals immediately that you're not hiding. It tells the listener who you are and well who they're speaking with. It checks the who is this box. Number two is your relevant context or your intelligence, something you know about them. This shows the prospect you're not just a numbers game smile and dial cold caller like everyone else who's maybe calling with a dialer that day. So, for example, hey, in talking with a couple of your on-site managers, it sounds like keeping vendors consistent across properties can be a juggling act. Or, hey, I saw your company has been expanding into several new markets recently. Or, I noticed you posted a job for a second operations manager. Sounds like things are growing there. Now, at this point in the call, some LinkedIn posters suggest goofy pattern interrupts to grab attention, gimmicks, things that they say will set you apart. Well, what I'm suggesting here is a pattern interrupt of the best type. It shows that you understand something about their world and them their most favorite subjects. Right? So step number three is your possible value proposition. This part is not a pitch. Oh, and I hate that word used outside of a baseball, softball, or football

context. It's a short statement about a possible outcome that might matter to them. For example, we work with apartment communities who are tired of dealing with pool complaints and help them keep their pools clear and complaint-free all season. We work with sales leaders who struggle to get consistent prospecting activity and help them increase real conversations without adding headcount. Now, we're not promising results here. We're simply suggesting there might be something here worth talking about. And that is what earns the next few seconds to get us into the two-way conversation. And that is step four, the bridge to a question. This moves the call from introduction to conversation. So we can do that through questions. Curious about how you're currently handling that. or this one is implied consent. I'd like to ask a couple questions, see if a conversation would be worthwhile. And then you go into your questions. And once the prospect starts talking, you're no longer delivering an opener. You're having a conversation, a conversation with somebody who's leaning in instead of pushing you away. So here's what you can do today. Before your next call, record your opener. Just the first 20 seconds. Then play it back and listen as if you are the prospect. When they now listen to it through the lens of a prospect, they're seeking certainty. And most people are generally surprised by what they hear when you're certain. And because there's often there's a gap between what people are expecting and what they actually get when they have a good salesperson on the phone. And that is what you're going to learn in the first 20 seconds framework. This is built on my smart calling process. We close that gap. So, if you'd like to go deeper right now, the first 20 seconds formula gives you the framework and examples on exactly how to do what we just talked about here. This is a master class that I built entirely around this moment in the call, the opening and the voicemail. It includes my brand newest material based on what is actually working in the field right now. Again, all built on my proven, field tested, smart calling prospecting process that's being used by successful sales pros and organizations worldwide to open up more new conversations that turn into sales. And here's what makes this different. Most training tells you what to say. Well, this one shows you why certain language works and why other language kills the call before it starts. And when you understand the psychology behind why something works, you stop guessing and you start owning the first 20 seconds every time you dial. When I also include a couple of free bonuses for you, one's a video session where I review and break down 37 actual opening statements that were shared on LinkedIn by gurus and other salespeople. and I break down the film and I point out what works, what's hurting you and why and exactly how to fix it. And I'm holding nothing back in that training. It do get a little bit brutal at times. And the other bonus takes on one of the biggest reasons sales reps avoid the phone alltogether and that's the fear of rejection. So I share actually 150 ways to reframe what happens on calls so you can pick up the phone with confidence. So if you would like to take a look and get more details and get instant access go to first 20 that's 20 first 202. com first 20 seconds. com. So, this is the training that changes how every call starts from here on out for you. When the first 20 seconds are structured correctly, prospects ease up. And when they ease up, real conversations happen. Okay. Hey, you know what time it is. — Your attitude will be every quote of the day.

— That's right. It's time for the quote of the day. Today's quote comes from political consultant Frank Luntz. And Frank said, "The amateur worries about what to say. The professional worries about what the other person needs to hear. " And again, that's exactly what we're going to help you do every time on your prospecting calls in the first 20 seconds formula. And you can get that at first 20 first20 seconds. com. Thank you so much for investing your valuable sales time with me today. Until next time, go out and make it your best sales day ever. I'm Arts Up.