Prospecting Made Easy(er)

“Mr. Fisher, have you seen the video yet? (What video?) If you had, you’d remember. Mr. Fisher, my name is Jeff Schmidt, and our company has just secured the latest research about how to effectively advertise and market a business. It’s a 12-minute video from National Video Marketing Systems that I’d like to show you in your office. I’ll even bring the equipment so there’s no hassle. It’s important, Mr. Fisher, that I show you this video before one of your competitors sees it. I guarantee that this cutting-edge research about the science of advertising will give you a competitive advantage and help you improve the effectiveness of your advertising. Would you have 12 minutes this afternoon or tomorrow morning?”

I was a new radio salesperson. I had an ugly powder-blue suit, a scruffy beard, and a shaggy haircut. I also had a portable video player. It was one of those all-in-one units. It weighed about 25 pounds and could be zipped into a big black case. Just opening the machine had a “wow factor” for the client. They had never seen anything like it; a portable video player that had its own TV? Hey, it was the 1980s; there was no YouTube or smart phones – I was cool! Well, except for the beard, the hair and the suit.

Phil Fisher was the sales manager and part owner of our stations in Madison, Wisconsin. He created this video. The video player cost $1,600, so our station only had one. I rarely let it leave the back seat of my car – much to the chagrin of the rest of the sales team. It worked for me. I had an 80% return rate on phone messages, and when I would talk to someone, nine out of 10 times, the conversation would end with an appointment.

Read my “call script” above again. Here are the keys to its effectiveness:

• The client is not told the name of my company or what I do.

• Excitement – you can hear it in the speed and tone of my voice.

• A question that requires an answer.

• Tell the client you have something of value that they need to see before their competitor does.

• Tell them it takes only 12 minutes, and they will get immediately actionable value.

• Ask for the appointment.

No clutter, no stutter and no slick pitch. Just a quick offer, excited enthusiasm, with a taste of urgency and ask for the appointment. Bam! 90% conversion.

Let’s face it. You’d look pretty dumb if you walked into a prospect’s office today with a 25-pound all-in-one VHS player. So, what are you bringing to the table instead? What information do you have that will help your prospects whether they do business with you or not? Some thought starters:

• An article

• A white paper

• A Ted Talk

• A YouTube video

• An RAB resource

Should you take the time and effort to do this? On Tuesday during our Sales Essentials course, the difficulty of prospecting in 2021 came up, as it often does. Sharing research and information or business intelligence will help.

Jeff Schmidt is SVP-Professional Development at the Radio Advertising Bureau. You can reach Jeff at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. or follow him on social media: Twitter and LinkedIn.