Fishing for Live Conversations?

Fishing for Live Conversations?

I’m not much of a fisherman, but I do know that if one wants to catch fish, strategy matters. Consider, for example, where to drop the fishing line. Fish that are feeding often congregate where the current slows and a drop-off occurs, as this is where food sinks to collect. Find me a spot where running water plummets into the deeper parts of a river, and that is where I’ll be casting my line.

Teleprospecting works much the same way – if you want to catch decision makers on the phone, you need to focus your energy on the most profitable days and times to place calls. Less-experienced outside sales professionals typically squeeze in their prospecting dials whenever they have free time on their calendars. Inside sales professionals may treat each calling hour identically. It’s time to change things up.

If you want to catch more fish and talk to more people live, consider the following:

  1. Call when the fish are biting - Research has shown that the most productive calling hours of the day are between 8:00am - 10:00am, 12:00pm - 1:00pm and 4:00pm - 6:00pm. The best days to make contact are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
  2. Put your “gone fishing” sign out - Block time on your calendar for calling, and treat it as you would your most important meeting of the week. Pipeline building is just as crucial as closing deals. If you are not building your pipeline, your future closing opportunities will look bleak and you won’t reach your sales quotas.
  3. Bait your line properly - Like any good fisherman, you need to select the proper bait before you cast your line. Pre-call planning is critical. What intelligence can you gather that will make your product relevant to the prospect prior to picking up the phone? What can you learn about the prospect’s current role on social networking sites? Make it a point to gather this information outside of the prime-time calling blocks you’ve established on your calendar so that you can stay focused on making calls during those blocks.

Having conversations of substance is imperative in sales. Let’s make it a point to improve our chances of catching people live by following these simple guidelines.

John Gambardella

Director of Business Development & Inside Sales for the Americas at Dynata

9y

Remember the 7 Ps

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Sandra Long

Author of "LinkedIn for Personal Branding" l Keynote Speaker l TEDx | LinkedIn Rebranding | B2B Social Selling l My Mantra: "Be a Friend First" | Helping Companies, Events, Universities, Leaders, ERG's, and Employees

9y

Nicely written and good tips Nick Adam

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