15 Thirty-Second Variations: The Opening

You have to concentrate on one idea at a time.

—Robert Collier

The format we just looked at for a thirty-second speech is an

excellent one. But you will want to tweak the specific wording

depending on the circumstances of an individual cold call.

Tweaking begins with the opening—the way you introduce

your thirty-second speech. Here are some variations to consider.

The Reference

Did you get the prospect’s name from a mutual acquaintance?

Great, there’s your opening:

“Hi, Mr. Smith. My name is John Marks. Bob

Grandee from ABC Interiors made me promise to

give you a call.”

Caution: The “reference” opening counts on your

prospect to know Bob Grandee or ABC Interiors and to think

favorably of them.

The “May I Ask?”

“Hi, Mr. Smith, my name is John Marks from the

XYZ Shoe Company. May I have thirty seconds of

your time to ask you a few questions?”

The “May I ask?” opening works well when:

_ You are calling on prospects who know of you or use

a product/service like yours (Nike to Athletes, Mont

Blanc to businesspeople, Gerber to moms).

_ You have name recognition among your buyers and a

respected brand (Ferrari, Virgin Atlantic, Hewlett-

Packard, Starbucks).

_ You have a product, service, or technology that is the

hot thing (I-Pod by Apple, Harry Potter books by

Scholastic).

The Headline

The headline is a good opening when you believe the prospect

already has an interest in the thing you want to talk about.

“Hi, Ms. Smith, my name is John Marks. As you may

know, interest rates are starting to go up.”

“Hello, Mr. Banner, my name is John Marks. The holiday

season is weeks away . . . . “

The Agreement

Seek the prospect’s agreement about a premise relevant to

your call before you start the thirty-second speech:

“Ms. Forth, can we agree that if you wanted to buy a

new home, one of the first things you need to do is to

find out how much your current home is worth

today?”

Ask Permission

Here’s a question about cold calling that has been debated for

years. Should you ask the prospect’s permission before starting

your speech? Or should you just go for it?

“Mr. Thomas, my name is Steve Stone, and I represent

the DFG Company. Do you have a few seconds

for me to tell you about . . . ?”

Sometimes the answer will be “no,” followed by a dial

tone. So what do you think? Should Steve ask for those seconds

or just try to take them and hope the prospect doesn’t

hang up on him anyway?

Our feeling about the matter is best expressed by the story

of Debbie and Carl. Debbie was a veteran salesperson for a

company we’ll call Ace Systems. She was assigned to mentor

Carl, who had a few years of selling experience but was new

to Ace.

Debbie spent the better part of two days telling Karl about

the company, its target market, its products, its competitive

advantages—the works. Like many veteran salespeople with

established clients, Debbie was a little rusty on prospecting,

but she thought a few prospecting calls before the end of the

day would set the stage for tomorrow, Carl’s first full day of

selling.

Thirty-Second Variations: The Opening 85

Carl got on the phone and made his first cold call with

Debbie right there.

“Mr. Guinta? Hi, this is Carl Holt from Ace Systems.

Is now a good time to talk? OK, when would be?

Great, I’ll call you back then, thanks.”

“Carl, what did you do?” Debbie asked in horror.

“You NEVER ask permission to hook the prospect.

You just go for it.”

“I always ask permission,” Carl replied. “It’s the polite

thing to do.”

“Well, you’d better pick up some new habits,” Debbie

told him, “because asking permission to talk to

someone is old school. You will never get that guy

back, I guarantee it. Let’s call it a day, and I’ll see

you tomorrow.”

The next morning Debbie arrived at her office and found

Carl at her desk, getting ready for a day of prospecting.

“What are you doing in my office?” she demanded.

“I like it better than my cube,” he explained.

“Thanks again for all your help.”

“Carl, who said you can use my office and my desk?”

“You did.”

“I did????”

“Sure. Yesterday you said that asking permission is

old school.”

“I wasn’t talking about my office, I was talking about

prospecting.”

“Your office, their office, in person, over the

phone—what’s the difference? If I don’t have to ask

permission to come into a customer’s office, why do

I have to ask permission to come into yours?”

Debbie got the point. So should you.

You have to concentrate on one idea at a time.

—Robert Collier

The format we just looked at for a thirty-second speech is an

excellent one. But you will want to tweak the specific wording

depending on the circumstances of an individual cold call.

Tweaking begins with the opening—the way you introduce

your thirty-second speech. Here are some variations to consider.

The Reference

Did you get the prospect’s name from a mutual acquaintance?

Great, there’s your opening:

“Hi, Mr. Smith. My name is John Marks. Bob

Grandee from ABC Interiors made me promise to

give you a call.”

Caution: The “reference” opening counts on your

prospect to know Bob Grandee or ABC Interiors and to think

favorably of them.

The “May I Ask?”

“Hi, Mr. Smith, my name is John Marks from the

XYZ Shoe Company. May I have thirty seconds of

your time to ask you a few questions?”

The “May I ask?” opening works well when:

_ You are calling on prospects who know of you or use

a product/service like yours (Nike to Athletes, Mont

Blanc to businesspeople, Gerber to moms).

_ You have name recognition among your buyers and a

respected brand (Ferrari, Virgin Atlantic, Hewlett-

Packard, Starbucks).

_ You have a product, service, or technology that is the

hot thing (I-Pod by Apple, Harry Potter books by

Scholastic).

The Headline

The headline is a good opening when you believe the prospect

already has an interest in the thing you want to talk about.

“Hi, Ms. Smith, my name is John Marks. As you may

know, interest rates are starting to go up.”

“Hello, Mr. Banner, my name is John Marks. The holiday

season is weeks away . . . . “

The Agreement

Seek the prospect’s agreement about a premise relevant to

your call before you start the thirty-second speech:

“Ms. Forth, can we agree that if you wanted to buy a

new home, one of the first things you need to do is to

find out how much your current home is worth

today?”

Ask Permission

Here’s a question about cold calling that has been debated for

years. Should you ask the prospect’s permission before starting

your speech? Or should you just go for it?

“Mr. Thomas, my name is Steve Stone, and I represent

the DFG Company. Do you have a few seconds

for me to tell you about . . . ?”

Sometimes the answer will be “no,” followed by a dial

tone. So what do you think? Should Steve ask for those seconds

or just try to take them and hope the prospect doesn’t

hang up on him anyway?

Our feeling about the matter is best expressed by the story

of Debbie and Carl. Debbie was a veteran salesperson for a

company we’ll call Ace Systems. She was assigned to mentor

Carl, who had a few years of selling experience but was new

to Ace.

Debbie spent the better part of two days telling Karl about

the company, its target market, its products, its competitive

advantages—the works. Like many veteran salespeople with

established clients, Debbie was a little rusty on prospecting,

but she thought a few prospecting calls before the end of the

day would set the stage for tomorrow, Carl’s first full day of

selling.

Thirty-Second Variations: The Opening 85

Carl got on the phone and made his first cold call with

Debbie right there.

“Mr. Guinta? Hi, this is Carl Holt from Ace Systems.

Is now a good time to talk? OK, when would be?

Great, I’ll call you back then, thanks.”

“Carl, what did you do?” Debbie asked in horror.

“You NEVER ask permission to hook the prospect.

You just go for it.”

“I always ask permission,” Carl replied. “It’s the polite

thing to do.”

“Well, you’d better pick up some new habits,” Debbie

told him, “because asking permission to talk to

someone is old school. You will never get that guy

back, I guarantee it. Let’s call it a day, and I’ll see

you tomorrow.”

The next morning Debbie arrived at her office and found

Carl at her desk, getting ready for a day of prospecting.

“What are you doing in my office?” she demanded.

“I like it better than my cube,” he explained.

“Thanks again for all your help.”

“Carl, who said you can use my office and my desk?”

“You did.”

“I did????”

“Sure. Yesterday you said that asking permission is

old school.”

“I wasn’t talking about my office, I was talking about

prospecting.”

“Your office, their office, in person, over the

phone—what’s the difference? If I don’t have to ask

permission to come into a customer’s office, why do

I have to ask permission to come into yours?”

Debbie got the point. So should you.