Stan,

Don't worry, no offense taken. In fact I like your honesty. From your script shown below you seem to have a series of questions vs. a simple, straight to the point question.

In my case I want to know one thing, is the owner interested in increasing his productivity and profits. If the answer is yes then I ask for a 20 min. appointment. If not I say thank you very much.

In your opinion is asking a simple yes/no question concerning his interest in increasing productivity a good question to ask right up front? For example in the above post I use the example of "are you interested in a potential 20% increase in productivity, in your case thats a $2,000,000 potential increase in annual sales?"
(Could you give an example of a productivity type question you would ask upfront concerning this?)
If the answer is yes should I be asking more open ended questions or just go for the appointment.

I apologize if the questions seem elementary but i'm like a sponge and want to learn all I can from the pros.

Thanks in advance.

Mitch

> Mitch,

> In a word, your phone script sucks. I don't
> want to anger or hurt you, as I can see that
> you put a lot of time and effort into it,
> but I can clearly tell that you are new to
> this.

> I am a former telemarketing warrior who has
> made over 100,000 phone calls. I have worked
> at several of the 'boiler-room' joints and
> have also done a ton of cold-calling in real
> estate. Your script is similar to those
> annoying phone calls you receive when you
> are busy stuffing your face with your
> dinner. I guarantee that you will not get
> past the first paragraph with 95% of your
> phone calls.

> The trick to cold-calling is to not talk AT
> the person, but WITH them. Your script is a
> good example of what I call
> 'verbally-puking', which most of those
> dinner-time calls are. (Also, realize that
> most of those so-called telemarketers have
> been at their job less than 2 months... most
> quit within 8 weeks.)

> Instead, ask open-ended questions. Always
> remember that the person who asks the
> question is the person who is in charge of
> the conversation. Your list of questions
> should naturally flow from one point to the
> next and lead to a close.

> For example, here is my script when I was
> cold-calling in real estate:

> Hello Mr. Jones, this is Stan with Re/Max.

> When do you folks plan on moving?
> How long have you lived at this address?
> Where did you folks move from?
> How did you happen to pick this area?
> If you WERE to move, where would you go
> next?
> When would that be?
> You do realize that it could take 6-9 months
> to get a home sold in this market sometimes,
> so my next question to you is, do you want
> to be gone in 6 months, or just getting
> started?
> How about I come by and take a look at your
> property. Would Thursday at 7 work, or would
> Friday at 8 be better for you?

> You'll notice that all questions are
> open-ended... they can't say 'no'. It leads
> them to talk about their situation and
> creates an opening for you to plug your
> product or service. Also, realize that they
> are doing the majority of the talking, and
> they will like you MORE because they were
> able to talk about themselves and their
> situation (it's an ego thing... everyone
> loves to talk about themselves).

> I realize that cold-calling can be a
> daunting task. I always found that making
> the first call of the day was always the
> hardest one to make, but once I started, I
> could get on a roll.

> I am getting rather lengthy here, but I have
> a few additional pieces of advice:
> 1. Just because the person on the other end
> of the phone can't see you doesn't mean that
> they can't hear you frown. Make sure to
> smile... it can be heard.
> 2. Try making calls standing up. After all,
> if you are making a presentation in the
> boardroom, you'd be standing.
> 3. This one is related to #2... get a
> headset so that you can use your hands to
> talk. Your body language controls your
> tonality.
> 4. Know your script inside and out,
> backwards and forwards. If you are trying to
> remember what to say, you cannot concentrate
> on your tonality. Even worse, if you are
> reading your script, the person on the other
> end can hear it... they'll think that you
> don't know what you are talking about. A
> good way to memorize is what I call the
> 'Jack Nicholson' method. Jack makes over 20
> mil a movie, so I think we can learn
> something from him. When Jack gets a script,
> he reads it out loud as fast as he can 10
> times in a row. Try it, it works.

> Sorry for the long post, but I have studied
> the art of cold-calling, and I want to see
> you succeed.

> Best of luck,
> Stan