What happens when you put a busy CEO or VP on the phone with a first-year salesperson? It usually goes something like this:
Nick (sales guy) calls Jane Smith (prospect)
Jane: Hello, this is Jane.
Nick: Hi Jane, this is Nick with Peak Software
Jane: *suspicious* OK hi.
Nick: *anxiety sets in and goes into rapid-fire sales mode* I was just reaching out because we help companies like yours to increase productivity and decrease down time and blah blah blah…
Jane: *slightly irritated* Sorry Nick, but now’s not a good time…
Nick: *now frantic* Ok ok, but before you go, I just want to tell you that we have helped X company just like yours and our solutions are one-hundred percent customizable and…
Jane: Hangs up the phone.
Speed kills sales. Remember those three words the next time you pick up the phone to make cold calls.
Even if your calls go better than Nick’s call above, chances are you aren’t optimizing pace for maximum impact. And that means you’re leaving deals and money on the table.
The good thing is, pacing is one of the easiest ways to improve your sales almost overnight. Sure, it takes a little practice to master, but the strategy and tactics couldn’t be easier to grasp and implement. And once you learn pace, YOU are the captain of the conversation. You steer the sales boat any direction you want. It’s a beautiful thing.
But before we go any further, I want you to take a post-it note and write PACE in big bold letters and stick it on the side of your monitor. This will serve as a constant reminder throughout the day to focus on pace. It’s worth the focus. Trust me.
How to Set the Pace
Breathing
First, deep breaths. Everything in sales (and life) starts with breathing. So before you can fine-tune your pacing instrument, as it were, you must get your sales anxiety under control with optimal breathwork. I recommend learning how to box breath to calm the sales nerves. Box breathing is a simple 4 second inhale, 4 second hold of breath, 4 second exhale, and 4 second hold. Wash, rinse, repeat for four cycles. If you’re doing the math, four cycles will take one minute. That’s it. And you’ll be in a peak mental state to make the next several calls count. (Practice box breathing throughout the day, every day.)
How to Establish and Keep the Pace
All right, your prospect picks up the phone. In the first 10 seconds you have to establish pace and passion. The passion comes through in your tonality, or the inflections and volume of your voice. The pace comes from just how fast or slow you speak.
Try this:
Jane: Hello, this is Jane.
Nick: Hi Jane, this is Nick with Peak Software
Jane: *suspicious* OK hi.
Nick: *calm and confident* I’m reaching out because I saw that you oversee product for X company, is that right?
Jane: *slightly irritated* Yes, that’s right. But sorry Nick, but now’s not a good time…
Nick: *calm and confident* I understand, well I was recently speaking with [name person/company in her industry] and was able to uncover some massive opportunities in [solving prospect’s pain point] and figured you’d really love to hear how Peak Software can get you similar results.
Jane: Ok, tell me more, I have a couple of minutes…
Notice how Nick didn’t go right into the pitch, he slowed it down. The moment he sensed urgency in his prospect’s voice, instead of speeding up, he actually pumped the brakes a little. He wants to establish baseline data, he wants to qualify his prospect, he wants to show he’s in control and there’s nothing for Jane to worry about. Nick’s not on the phone to sell Jane anything. He’s on the phone to learn about her and to help her. THAT’S the pace with which you want to lead your prospects and cold calls.
The Philosophy of Pace
Just think about the hostage negotiator. If a hostage is being held at gunpoint by a madman, and the madman starts acting frantic, do you think the hostage negotiator is going to lose their patience and get all spazzy? Absolutely not! The opposite will happen. The negotiator will slow their speech, move slowly, and bring the energy of the situation down to a manageable level. That’s exactly what you have to do in sales.
Now, does that mean high-energy is bad? Not necessarily. In fact, high energy is a great thing… when the time and situation calls for it. And let’s be honest, some prospects answer the phone with loads of energy, and you need to match that high energy.
Also, once you have your prospect’s attention and they show interest, you want to kick up the passion-meter a notch or two. This is where tonality really comes to serve you. You should aslo employ strong tonality in the first 10 seconds of the cold call. But strong tonality doesn’t mean speed of speech. You can (and should!) control pace using tonality.
Final Words
Unfortunately, the vast majority of salespeople assume the prospect wants off the phone as fast as possible. But this just isn’t true. That’s why the pace is rushed and why the call ends poorly. The truth is, people WANT you to solve their problems, if you’d only give them the space to breathe and think.
You must slow and control the pace of the call even when — no, especially when — your prospect starts to quicken the pace. You are in the driver’s seat. Don’t let the passenger (your prospect) start pushing your accelerator. Thankfully, it really is this easy. It’s often enough to take a breath and relax, even allowing silence to briefly ring before continuing the conversation.
Finally, remember the hostage negotiator. They are masters at pacing and controlling the energy of their subjects. So it wouldn’t hurt to think of your prospect as the hostage, their anxiety as the madman, and yourself as the negotiator. It’s your job to disarm the madman and set the hostage free. You’ve got this.
Until next time…
Johnny-Lee Reinoso