If you are in sales, at some point you will run across a prospect that will tell you to "just send me some information about your payroll service."  

 

In the majority of cases, this phrase is used to gently tell you they are not interested in your products or services at the moment. Although you have to respect their wishes, it is in your best interest to probe a little further.

 

Most Salespeople Will Send Information To Such A Prospect -- But Not You.

 

I was reading an article by Mike Brooks, author of The Ultimate Book of Phone Scripts, about ways to handle this. And what was interesting is that he said, "Believe it or not, about 80% of sales teams I speak with actually shoot off an email, schedule a follow up call, put the company in their pipeline and then begin the frustrating process of chasing unqualified leads."

 

I could not agree more with Mike Brooks as I have seen far too many sales people fall victim to this approach. Why? There are a few reasons as to why:

 

1. They have not been taught any other approach by their sales leader.
2. They are just going through the motions in hopes of finding an "immediate buyer" in their database of prospects.

Here's How To Get Past This Objection.

 

Mike Brooks went on to explain some great techniques for dealing with a prospect who tells you to send them information. Here is what he recommends to say:

 

"I'd be happy to email you our information.  (Prospect's name) I have a 64 page PDF file that I can email you, but do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions so I can only send you that part that you'd be most interested in?"

 

He went on to further say: "Brilliant response, huh?  Now I can already hear some of you - "But I don't have a 64-page PDF."  Well, how about adjusting this response to what you DO have?  How about:  "I'd be happy to email you our information.  (Prospect's name) I have a variety of brochures/price lists/product catalogues/programs I can email you, but do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions so I can only send you that part/the specific information/the right price list that you'd be most interested in?"

 

You Now Have The Chance To Ask A Few Questions.

 

To complement Mike's advice, I would suggest having THREE to FIVE business questions taped somewhere close to where you make your calls. Why? Because even though you might have these questions memorized, they will keep you on track when talking with a prospect. That said, listed below are two questions you might find valuable:

 

1. If you have a magic wand, and could wave it over a company like us, what would you want us to do for you and why?
2. One a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate your current _____? If they say anything less than a 10, ask them, "How can that _____ become a 10?"

Executive Summary: Once you get in the groove of cold-calling, you will invariably find a prospect that will tell you to send some type of information about your company's product or service line to them. The key to your cold-calling success is directly related to how you handle this type of calls as most salespeople send the information and schedule a follow-up call -- and when they make their follow-up call, they wonder why they got dropped into the black hole of voicemail.