Review your telemarketing pitch and observe how you present your products and services. How many times do you use the word 'IF'? Hundreds of times. How many times should you use it? Zero. Why? Because this small, seemingly innocent word weakens your sales pitch and flattens the questions you ask your prospects. When your salespeople use the word 'IF,' they reveal two things:
- They don’t know something,
- They assume their prospects' responses and proceed with their script regardless of the answers.
These mistakes are especially fatal in B2B telemarketing where the interlocutors are seasoned professionals who pay close attention to such behaviors, which act as a deterrent.
The foundation of B2B lead generation
No one wants to talk to beginners, especially in B2B prospectingThink for a moment: you’re a business owner, marketing director, or CIO, and you’re looking for a solution to automate internal processes, acquire a CRM, or make other investments. Who would you want to advise you? A novice or an expert? To move forward, prospects need to interact with salespeople they perceive as experts. It’s all about perception. How you are perceived will follow you and stick to you. Experts have a way of speaking that commands respect. Their voice and the words that make up their telemarketing pitch exude confidence. They say things like, "Listen, you really need to trust me on this. I've been in this business for 20 years, and based on everything you've told me, this product is the best fit for you." In contrast, beginners use vague, less precise language, and their limited knowledge of the potential client and their environment becomes increasingly apparent as they progress through the commercial exchange. “IF” is part of the beginner's vocabulary. They make assumptions because they don’t know their prospects or their environment. However, to move forward, potential clients need to deal with experts, not novices.
Impress them with a strong telemarketing pitch.
How? By understanding them better than they understand themselves. By grasping their reality and needs to educate them and show how they can enhance their performance. Here’s a secret that few salespeople know: If you call a prospect to “discover” their needs, you’ve already lost the battle before it even begins. To capture the attention of prospects, you need to demonstrate that you deserve to be heard. For example, how can you help them increase their revenue? Optimize costs? Reduce employee turnover, Lower attrition rates etc. A crucial point here, in B2B prospecting, Your script should be empathetic, kind, and avoid imposing your perspective. You need to be diplomatic, persuading your interlocutor from their own perspective ;) (We plan to write a specific article on this topic, as it would require too much space if we covered it here.) To achieve this result, there are no hacks or shortcuts. It requires hard work and collaboration with the marketing department to deepen your research. In summary, customer knowledge is the cornerstone of B2B prospecting and sales. You need to start by mastering the needs of your prospects and their environments by gathering information online (which is free). By making this effort, you will naturally become more confident during your interactions with them, and ambiguous terms will magically be removed from your vocabulary. You will be perceived as an expert, and your prospects will allow you to take control of the conversation and guide them. Among these terms that weaken your message is "IF."
How to Strengthen Your Telemarketing Script?
Replace «IF» with «WHEN»
«If your company needs help managing X, then Y is the perfect solution for you. «What if your prospect doesn't need help with X or doesn't realize they do? They will ignore everything you say next. Your message will fall on deaf ears. Engage your prospects effectively in your sales process. Eliminate the word «if» from your vocabulary and replace it with «when». Instead of: «If your company...»
- «...needs a more sophisticated software solution »
- «...has more than 100 employees»
- «...needs help managing...»
After: « When your company…»
- «... encounters such problems, our software can help you resolve them. »
- «... grows to over 100 employees, we can help you... »
- «... uses software that cannot solve this issue, our solution can help you. »
A simple change in the phrasing signals to your prospects that you can solve their problems. This adjustment also transforms boring questions into effective and more convincing arguments.
Your pitch should include open-ended questions.
Certain information is not available online, such as specific needs or the solutions used by the target company, etc. In such cases, ask open-ended questions to gather the necessary information. For example, if you say, «If your Marketing department is having trouble in lead generation qualified, Leads Provider can help you because...» The prospect might think: «Our marketing department does not have a problem qualifying leads, so we do not need Leads Provider.»» It is more effective to ask an open-ended question and say: «What is the main challenge your Marketing department is currently facing?» Or «How does your Marketing department approach lead generation?» Once you have the information, you can explain how Leads Provider can generate highly qualified leads for them. Open-ended questions allow you to identify problems with much greater precision, enabling you to then explain your solution. To summarize, here are some key fundamentals to observe in the B2B prospecting
- Prospecting is an organized process, a series of coherent actions. To succeed in this field, it is imperative to work diligently and stop believing that sales are a matter of chance.
- Prospects do not want to engage with novices or amateurs. Be a professional and dedicate time to mastering your potential clients' environment.
- If you call a prospect to 'discover' their needs, you’ve already lost the battle before it even begins.
- Remove "IF" from your sales pitches and replace it with "WHEN".
- Ask open-ended questions.
- Finally, to quote Alain Ducasse regarding work and, in our case, lead generation: «There are no shortcuts. You work, you succeed. You don't work, you fail.»