The importance of having a strong sales intro

Securing the sale is the goal of every sales representative. After all, closing the deal is how you make a profit and turn your prospect into a loyal customer. However, to get to this point in the sales funnel, you have to start somewhere. The first step in generating sales is contacting your prospect. While on your website you have a callback widget for WordPress, in other situations you need a good opener. There are many different strategies. Whichever you choose, your goal is to incite the conversation and pique your prospect’s interest. Without that, you’re not likely to get to a close. So, what are those strategies we mentioned? There are various approaches, and which one you’ll opt for will depend on your personality, type of business, and customer. Let’s learn why having a strong sales intro is important and look at some great openers.

What is a sales intro?

On your website, you can use various tools to convert visitors to leads. However, when you’re selling on the phone or giving a presentation, it’s all up to you. Sometimes you’re making a cold call or your future buyer doesn’t know who you are. So, what you need is a quality sales intro. It’s an opening statement or question that initiates an interaction with a prospect. Simply put, these are the first words a sales rep says to a prospective buyer. The rest of the sales funnel relies on your opener. If your intro doesn’t engage a potential buyer, it’s not likely they’ll be interested in continuing the conversation.

What are the benefits of having a strong sales intro?

Although short, a good sales introduction is vital for the rest of the sales process. Many sales calls end without success and lead nowhere. But with a quality, powerful intro, you can create a valuable opportunity for gaining a new customer. The reasons why a good opener is important are that it:

• makes a good impression right at the start
• captures your prospect’s interest
• establishes a good rapport with your prospect
• helps you stand out from the competition
• dictates the tone of the rest of the sales process
• boosts your sales rates.

Find the right customer plays a key role

Trying to sell an anti-age cream to teenagers won’t get you far in sales. Of course, this is an extreme example. But the key takeaway is to sell the right product to the right customer and therefore increase your chances of closing the deal. Think about your ideal customer for a second. How old are they? What do they do? What are their values? Why would they be interested in your product? Answers to these and other relevant questions help you find the right customer and get off to a running start.

The rules of thumb for a good intro

• First and most important, your intro must be about your prospect, not about you. So, you don’t need to give too many details about yourself and pitch them your company. Instead, after a brief introduction, focus on your prospect’s needs and the relevance your call has for them.
• Secondly, make your intro short. You need to capture your prospect’s attention in seconds. Otherwise, they’ll find a way to excuse themselves and finish the call before it actually starts.
• The third rule – get your prospect to talk. Once they engage in the conversation, there will be time to say and hear everything you need to eventually close the deal. It’s similar to online sales. You need to know how to increase user engagement on website if you want to boost your conversion rates.
• Lastly, always allude to the value you can add. After all, it’s what your prospect wants to know the most, so it will intrigue them enough to continue the conversation. Now, let’s have a look at how all of this works in practice.

Start by asking a question

This is a good starter because it contains an element of surprise. They’re very likely to answer and you can continue the conversation from there. However, avoid yes or no questions. If you ask something like “Are you interested in…?” or “Do you have a moment to…?” they’ll probably say no. Instead, try asking them how they’ve been or simply ask about their day. Once they answer, you can steer the talking from there.

Be bold and grab your prospect’s attention immediately

Catch your prospect off guard by making an attention-grabbing statement. Think about those click-bait titles online that generate a lot of interest. But unlike those articles, your bold statement won’t be devoid of actual content. On the contrary, your product has a real value to your prospect and your intention is to show them why.

Show sympathy for their difficulties and appeal to emotions

People are more likely to respond if you engage their emotions. So, instead of talking about statistics or your product’s features, use your sales intro to appeal to your prospects emotionally. Ask something like this:

• What is your greatest difficulty at work?
• What brings you the most happiness?

Tell a story

Telling a story is similar to appealing to your prospects’ emotions. It helps them relate to you and build valuable connections. They’ll feel you understand them and know what they struggle with. The story you tell may be personal or work-related, whichever you think will work best. However, ensure that your story is truthful and honest. Otherwise, your prospects will sense ‘the trick’ and will be very unwilling to talk to you. Nobody likes being manipulated, so keep this in mind.

Demonstrate your knowledge and show genuine interest

As mentioned before, make your call about your prospect, not about yourself. Having a strong sales intro demands you capture the prospect’s interest. And most people are interested in their own work, plans, and issues. So, do your research and show it in your opener. Learn as much as you can about your prospect’s company or their position within it and use it at the start. Learn about recent events, merges, changes, developments, and anything that will make them eager to hear how you can help them with that.

Final thoughts

While most people focus on closing the deal, having a strong sales intro is equally if not more important. After all, if you don’t start something, you’ll never be able to finish. Therefore, how you begin matters. It will help you grab your prospect’s attention and steer the conversation later on.