The first 15 seconds of each agency new business call to a cold prospect are imperative. If you cock them up you might as well go home.
Here is one plan. Be professional, confident and courteous but not obsequious. Tell them what you want and introduce your agency using the outline script shown here.
Start by telling them what you we:
“we’re an advertising agency”
Tell them your area of specialism:
“we specialise in financial services”
Then tell them why the two above would be of benefit to them and be as specific to them as you possibly can be: You’re now beyond the first 15 seconds so you can expand further.
“we could help you regain the market share you have recently lost to Acme Bank (as reported by your CEO Rob Grant last week) as we have done for X, Y and Z.”
As the call develops you should concentrate on those areas that will have most relevance to the individual company or brand the person you are speaking with has responsibility for. To do this you need to plan, research and develop compelling reasons to engage for groups and sub-groups of client prospects.
There is another school of thought that says if you are good enough and have the chutzpah then you can arrange a highly qualified new business meeting with a Director level contact without ever having to tell them your name, your company or specifically what you do. How?
By being 100% focussed on what the other person’s pain points are. And I don’t mean spending hours reading there report and accounts or their CEOs musings in the financial pages. Every industry sector has challenges they face at certain times, either through technology, regulation or some other disrupting influence. Identify these disrupting factors and build an industry specific pitch around them.
“John, I’ll bet you’re more than a little concerned about the new regulation coming in that will stop you advertising on live sports aren’t you? Well we specialise in helping businesses overcome regulatory challenges just like this …”
No, you won’t be right ALL the time. But even if you are right half the time you’ll win. THIS MAN is worth checking out if you need training.
