Here’s the kiss of death when cold calling.
Predictability.
Here’s what predictability sounds like:
You finish dinner, and the server says, “Would you like dessert?”
If you’re like me, your reflex reaction is “no thanks.”
That’s because you’re on autopilot.
However, when someone is unpredictable brains pay attention.
Something in the brain subconsciously thinks, “That’s different.”
By way of example, I recently had dinner at True Food Kitchen in Boca Raton. Instead of the server asking if I’d like dessert, he said, “Do you hate pie?”
That question bypassed my autopilot mode, and a few minutes later, I was eating a delicious piece of vegan squash pie.
The point?
Your prospects are on autopilot when you cold call them. How do you bypass autopilot?
Storytime.
Several months ago, I got a cold call from Kendra, a former SDR at Gravy. Here’s how she bypassed my autopilot mode.
Me: “Hello?”
Kendra: “Is this Josh?”
Me: “It is.”
Kendra: “Hi Josh, it’s Kendra with Gravy. I’m calling you from the drive-thru at Starbucks and was hoping I could ask you a few quick questions before I order.”
Me: (Laughing.) Sure. What are you ordering?
Kendra: A vanilla latte. Can I get you anything?
Me: (LOL). No thanks, I don’t drink coffee. How can I help you?”
Kendra. “Okay so not sure if you’re experiencing this, but we’re seeing that many course creators lose 12-16% of their revenue YoY due to failed credit card payments. If you don’t mind me asking, how are you recovering failed payments today?”
Me: “I’m using Stripe, so I don’t think I have that problem.”
Kendra: “It sounds like you’re logging into Strip frequently to ensure you don’t have failed payments.”
Me: “Actually, I’m not.”
Kendra: “If you’d like, I can send you instructions on how to check Stripe for failed payments. If you see some, we can chat. Would you be open to that?”
Me: “Sure. My email address is…”
A few minutes later, I received instructions from Kendra.
I didn’t have any failed payments.
But if I ever do, Gravy will be the first company I call.
The takeaway?
So many times, people call me and have a “sales voice.”
They sound too professional. Too rigid.
Because Kendra sounded like a person, so she immediately lowered resistance.
How can you sound more like a person instead of a salesperson?
Imagine you’re calling a friend from a drive-thru.
Imagine if you were bold like Kendra.
Conversational language kicks professional language’s ass.