“I don’t really have time to talk right now”.
How many times have you heard this line while B2B prospecting? Cold calling is tough enough, but what can you do when a prospect just seems too busy to talk? At Venture Accelerator Partners we’re no strangers to this objection. But like all objections it can be overcome if you’re willing to work at it.
Your goal for the initial B2B prospecting call should not be to sell your product or service, but to get your prospect to schedule time to speak with you. Here are four powerful and easy to implement tips that will help you earn your prospects time and book more meetings.
1. Try to Book 5 or 10 Minutes of Their Time
Time is an investment. If your prospect has little time to spare, try reducing the cost of listening by asking for only a small block of time. It might not seem like much, but the goal here is to get your prospect to agree to listen to your message. Keep to the point and focus on customer-specific advantages of your solutions. If your prospect is interested, it can help earn you more of their time at a later date. Be sure to use your skills to maximize the value of brief customer contact in B2B sales calls to get better results.
2. Be Upfront That You Want to Avoid ‘Phone Tag’
If you are polite in explaining that you want to avoid missed messages and the inherent back and forth of traditional B2B prospecting, your prospect may agree to set aside some time for a quick chat.
3. Be Flexible
If your prospect is busy during traditional hours, offer to schedule a call for when the prospect first arrives at the office or during lunch. If you want to earn your prospect’s time, you need to be willing to accept the time that they have available. If your prospect still isn’t willing to listen, take a tip from Paul Castain and ask “Why don’t we get together anyways?” This could be the question that finally earns your prospect’s attention.
4. Book Through Administrative Assistants
In some situations an administrative assistant will have access to your prospect’s calendar and may be able to schedule a meeting time. Of course, to earn a place on your prospect’s calendar you’ll first have to convince the gate keeper of the merits of your solution. Always treat the gate keeper with respect and view them as an ally that can help you reach your prospect.
Use these tips to start earning more time with your prospects. A healthy balance of persistence, honesty, and flexibility will ultimately lead to more booked meetings and more closed sales. Before you put these tips to work, brush up on your sales and marketing skills by downloading our white papers.
