6 questions to help improve your prospecting phone calls

It truly is fascinating how small the difference is between the top salesmen in an organization compared to the average salesmen. Being a step above your competitors in the smallest of areas can equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars of difference in your favor. Of these little steps, none may be bigger than being able to get prospects to return calls. So often in any business, we place very important calls, only to never have them returned. Here are six simple questions you and your organization can ask yourselves to heavily increase the chances of getting a returned call.

1. Who referred you? Face it, the business and insurance world is a lot about “who you know.” If you were told to call an individual through some kind of mutual connection, don’t leave that out! In fact, you should probably mention that mutual connection more than once in your initial phone call. (More: Phone technique training)
2. Why specifically are you calling? Keep in mind that your prospects are probably bombarded with phone calls daily. With this overload of calls, the last thing they want is another lengthy call that bounces around to several different points. Have a specific purpose to the call, and stick to that purpose.
3. What’s in it for them? Don’t just make a pitch and move on. If this prospect is going to be involved with you, they of course want to benefit from it. Tell them in this initial call how they will reap benefits from buying insurance from you.
4. When can they call you back? Daunting games of phone tag might be the occurrence that makes you lose the prospect. In your call, tell the prospect the best times to reach you. Be sure you are available during those times. If you tell the prospect it’s a good time, and you’re not available, they may become annoyed. (More: Is the do-not-call list still an issue for you?)
5. Is there an alternate method to reach you? Give the prospect the opportunity to reach you in another way – perhaps text messaging or e-mail. This shows the prospect your commitment to connecting with them.
6. Can you keep the returned call brief? When the prospect calls you back, odds are they will want to keep the call brief. Alleviate any hesitation to call you back by insisting that you will keep the return call brief, and you are not interested in wasting their time.

Joshua Mellberg is President and Founder of JD Mellberg, a Financial Planning Firm specializing in wealth preservation portfolios and estate planning. He works with clients to transition into more secure investment vehicles while providing the latest in tax-advantaged strategies. www.alphaadvisoracademy.com