Selling catering services and events by phone: converting inquiries into sales
Phone skills that book more events
I got this question from a new marketing client who started a new event and catering company after years of working for someone else.
I’m finally getting leads from the website! This week I received more employment inquiries than ever. Now my problem is to sell them once they call me. How do you handle an incoming call from a prospect who is thinking of hiring you? Thanks, LT. Here are some tips that I passed on to LT. He informed me that he is much more relaxed and has booked a $ 9,000 job so far using these ideas. I hope you have the same luck!
First, you want to generate reports quickly. You want the caller to have a good feeling about you and your business. No, this is not about “brats”, “suck” or “gossip”. It’s about attitude.
Some thoughts to consider before picking up the phone …
Attitude of gratitude. Be glad that someone is giving you the opportunity to serve them in a way that allows you to use your gifts and talents and make a profit. Whose Act grateful … BE grateful.
Service attitude. Be prepared to help the caller in any way you can, even if it means sending the caller to your competition.
Attitude of enthusiasm. When I trained LT, we recorded some of his phone conversations (he can record his part of the call without getting permission) and he was shocked. He was trying to look like a “business professional.” He seemed as enthusiastic as an employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles on a Friday afternoon.
Unless you only attend funerals and bankruptcy hearings, most clients are excited about the event they are planning. They want to deal with a relaxed, confident and happy event professional.
The most important person in the world.
Dale Carnegie taught us to “Make other people feel important – and do it sincerely. “How do you do that? Ask questions you really want answers to and listen carefully to the answers. When was the last time you spoke to someone who really cared about your opinion? Do you feel great? Try to really understand what they are saying the customer, very few people do.
Watch out. Don’t ask about a client’s fishing trophy if you really don’t care. That is cheap, fake and transparent. My style of sale is strictly commercial, I am not talking about sports, the weather or how beautiful your tie is. When I meet you as a potential client, I always get straight to business, not mine, yours.
Set up. I attend every meeting prepared, I do not ask questions that a professional should already know. If I’m trying to get a trade show account, I know everything I can about the industry, the company, the competition, and their latest products. If I’m looking for a sales incentive meeting, I know the names and territories of the sales managers, the size of the sales force, and the demographics of the attendees before approaching the buyer. Knowing what you are talking about goes far beyond a creamy gesture.
How do you prepare for an unexpected phone consultation? Stop improvising!
Admission form. Write an intake form to capture all the information you’ll need … and include questions your competition isn’t asking.
High value questions. Make a list of smart questions that will increase your understanding and enhance your professional image. List the questions that make the client say, “Wow, I’m so glad you asked that! I didn’t think of that!”
Important sales suggestion! Always ask the caller if they have ever purchased or experienced a service like yours. Then ask, “What did you like about him?” and “What didn’t you like about this?” Get the answers to these two questions and your interlocutors will have told you exactly how to sell to them.
When LT asked a customer what they didn’t like about a previous vendor, the customer said they didn’t like the servers, they didn’t look professional. LT emailed photos and testimonials about their waiters. He got the job!
Objections Start keeping track of all the objections you get over the phone … and then put together a presentation that runs ahead of them. The best way to handle an objection is to structure your presentation so that it never becomes a problem, but be careful to prevent clients from voicing their legitimate concerns.
LT thought that by telling callers, “Our prices are not cheap, because we don’t do cheap jobs and our customers only want the best,” he removed the price objection. It didn’t, it made the caller too embarrassed for sharing the pricing concerns, and it made LT sound like an idiot!
Sales script. No, you never want to read a sales script to a caller and end up sounding like a phony telemarketer … but you need to make sure you give the caller a great-sounding presentation.
Here’s how to write a great phone sales script: Don’t write it, say it.
Record and transcribe talking to clients. Listen to your recording with a colleague or coach and choose the parts that you think do a great job selling your services. Transcribe those phrases, exactly as you said them, and create your “tone.” It will sound like you, but the best of you!