To get people interested in your products or services, you need to convince them you’re not going to waste their time, what you have is relevant to what they want, and that you’re not going to bore them to death.
The key is to take the risk out of it. Make them an offer that gets them thinking “Well, even if I don’t get what I want there’s something in it for me.” Try phoning with real enthusiasm to say, ‘I’ve got something really fantastic that can do terrific things for your business. I would really appreciate ten minutes of your time. If, after I’ve finished, you aren’t as excited about what I’ve told you … in other words if I’ve wasted your time… I’ll give you twenty dollars to reimburse you for your time.’
Here’s another idea: Use the ‘market survey’ approach. Offer cash for people’s opinions.
Let’s use a home builder as an example. Rather than spending big money on an advertising campaign, a builder could run lots of smaller adverts seeking peoples’ opinions. They could offer a reward to anyone who is thinking about buying a new home for their ideas on what people look for in a new home. They’ll give the builder information and ideas on what they want and, of course, the building company can turn them into clients if they can demonstrate that they have the answer to their needs.
You can do the same thing with training courses to find talented people for your team. An example: a training course on a career in hospitality. Pitch it as a ‘chance to learn how to make a great career and real money in the rapidly expanding hospitality business’. The carrot? A few who show real potential can be offered full-time or part-time employment with you.
Be creative. Take out the fear of boredom; take out the risk, and offer rewards. You’ll have the phone ringing off the hook.
The “how’s things?” call is one of those techniques every businessperson should use. It works beautifully for anybody who is serious about making their business successful. In fact, if you’re not using it you should be. Want to learn more? Buy Winston’s downloadable discussion on the “How’s Things?” call here. “Part of the Winno’s Wise Words series”.
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