To Ask Permission to Speak or Not, that is the Question.

By Ron S. LaVine, MBA
President, Accelerated Sales Training, Inc.

From a business perspective, there may be nothing more valuable than our time. Let people know you respect their time by asking, "Is this a good time to speak?" or "Do you have a few minutes?" before using your opening statement. Not only is this a more professional approach, you'll find people will offer their full attention since you've been given their permission to speak. Professional salespeople understand and respect the importance of another person's time.

The next time you receive a call from a telemarketer or telesales rep, notice if the person asks for your permission to speak with you. My experience has been that the majority of callers launch right into what they have to say without giving any thought to what I might be doing. It angers me that the caller hasn't considered that I might be doing something more important and I respond with "Take me off your list."

You can be seen as an interruption or a blessing depending on how you handle yourself. I called a senior buyer of a microchip manufacturer who granted permission for me to speak. I asked how they went about buying a certain type of solution. He took thirty minutes explaining their buying process to me. That information was extremely valuable to the strategy of the sale.

If it is not a convenient time for your prospect to talk, QUICKLY CONFIRM THEY are the RIGHT PERSON, SCHEDULE A FOLLOW-UP CALL and then HANG UP THE PHONE. Why waste their time or yours? If they are busy, you certainly will not have their attention. Make a good impression right off the bat by being polite and respectful of the other person s time. They will be more receptive to your next call because you showed a simple courtesy.

During one of my training sessions, we placed a call to an executive of a Fortune 500organization. After a brief enthusiastic introduction (my name and organization only), I asked the executive if he had a minute to speak with me. The man replied that he was busy. I offered to call him at another time when it was convenient to speak. He asked about the nature of my call. I reminded the executive that he said he was busy and I did not want to interrupt his current activities and would prefer to call back at a more convenient time.

Guess what happened next. The executive said he would take the time to speak with me briefly and he asked a second time regarding the nature of the call. The executive became curious because of my courteous concern for his valuable time. The conversation lasted over twenty minutes. The executive explained valuable details regarding the evaluation and decision-making processes within the organization. He also provided additional information for me to develop an enterprise-wide proposal.

The training attendees in the room were flabbergasted. Who ever heard of a telesales rep refusing to speak with an account? The concept is simple. If you speak with a busy prospect without their permission, you will not have their full attention, defeating the purpose of your call. Asking permission to speak before going on to explain the purpose of your call, will distinguish you from typical telesales reps. Your call success ratio will begin to climb.

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Ron LaVine, MBA is president and founder of Accelerated Sales Training, Inc., a LIVE cold call training firm located in Oak Park, CA. You can get a special report 41 Sales Tips You Can Use Right Now AND the complementary bimonthly Sales Tips and Telesales Tips for Selling Success eZine all by signing up at http://www.astselling.com. If you would like information on Live Cold Calling/New Business Development Sales Training please call Ron at 1-818-519-3852.