When Prospecting, First Impressions Really Matter. Here's How to Make a Great One.

When it comes to sales prospecting, standing out in today’s crowded digital sales landscape is becoming increasingly more challenging.

The secret? Making a great first impression, which happens within nanoseconds and accounts for 80 percent of the importance of the entire call. Your introduction needs to earn you time and get a response.

We are in the business of engagement, trust, and quick response. The following sales tactics will make your first impression sing.

How to make a great first impression when prospecting via voicemail.

There’s been a lot of speculation about voicemail being dead, as voicemails get less than a 2% response rate. I say it’s on life support, not dead, and there are some best practices for getting the most out of it. They are:

• Keep it short – under 25 seconds in length.
• State who you are, why you are calling, and what are the benefits for them. It’s that popular radio station everyone listens to (WIIFM, “What’s In it for Me”).
• The tone should be conversational, informative, courteous, and brief; not robotic or sound as though you are reading from a script.
• Act confident, trustworthy, authoritative, and professional.
• Maintain a strong pitch and articulate clearly and crisply.
• Have a clear call objective tied to a compelling call-to-action.
• Have a proactive follow-up strategy.
• Leverage and complement your voice mail with your email.

How to make a great first impression when prospecting via email.

Much like voicemail, email rates are dropping. The key is combining the two and ensuring both are strong.

Here’s what I recommend when prospecting via email:

• Deliver your email with your voice mail simultaneously. These two must be synchronized and submitted within seconds of each other.
• Write short emails that are 1-2 paragraphs in length.
• Your email subject line must include your company name and your prospect's company name because this suggests a partnership. Combine these with a strong action verb.
• Punch out your opening sentence (The Hook).
• Use strong, direct language.
• Clean up, organize, and format your emails.
• Integrate information and tap into the relevancy of their organization.
• Include accessible links, instead of attachments.
• Watch for grammar and typos.
• End with a clear call-to-action.
• Keep your signature line short; six lines maximum.
• Add a “p.s.” at the bottom of your emails.

How to make a great first impression when prospecting via LinkedIn.

With 750+ million users on LinkedIn, it has become a goldmine for sales prospecting and lead generation. Once again though, it’s about standing out from the pack – and that starts with having a strong LinkedIn profile.

Here’s what I recommend, to get the most out of LinkedIn:

• Create a memorable, eye-catching LinkedIn headline.
• Your LinkedIn summary should describe your role and unique value proposition. Put your personality in it.
• Upload a current, professional headshot that shows your face and doesn’t have a distracting background.
• Join groups that serve your target audience.
• Personalize your connection requests with a message that’s under 300 characters.
• When building your personal brand, your summary, recommendations, and posts are the most important. 
• When sending InMails on LinkedIn, combine it with an email and a voicemail – the three sent together will increase your response rate.

My new favorite prospecting technique – adding videos to my outreach.

Recording a quick video introduction is one of the best ways to get a boost in response. It’s becoming the perfect digital substitute for face-to-face connections. 

To make a great intro video, follow these steps:

• Determine how and where it fits into your prospecting cadences. Does it work best as an initial intro or a quick nudge?
• Research your prospect and get to know who they are, what role they play, and what their challenges are.
• Write a script or talking points, don’t just wing it.
• Send it out via email or post it on LinkedIn.

Great (and not-so-great) opening lines, for when you finally connect with someone.

Today’s salesperson averages 50-to-60 outbound calls and e-mails per day, hoping for a connect rate of only 2 to 3 percent. When they finally get a live contact, they only have 6 seconds to make a phone intro – and even less on email. 

If the prospect likes what they hear, you've earned more time. But, if they see your call or email as spam, you’re out. 

Bottom line, your opening line really matters. So don’t waste it with weak openings like this:

• “Hey, did I catch you at a bad time?”
• “You sound pretty busy, I can call you back.”
• “I’m wondering if you have any projects you are working on?”
• “Oh, you startled me, hey, I’m wondering, ummm….”

No matter how busy your prospects are, they appreciate a salesperson who comes in prepared with a strong call objective. Introduce yourself with a strong opener that’ll put you on solid footing.

The following are strong openings that help you immediately take control of the call:

• “Hi, this is Susan with ABC Company, and the purpose for my call is to introduce myself, learn about your needs to see if there's a potential match. By the end of the call, I'd like for us to identify a few people on your team we can invite to an upcoming event.”
• “I’m glad I caught you. I would like to introduce myself, check your familiarity with our company, and learn more about your department to see if there might be a match for our solution. By the end of our call, I would like to schedule an appointment with our partner.”

The last piece of advice – know who you are selling to!

When top decision-makers were asked what they considered to be strong sales introductions, here’s what they said:

• ‘‘Someone who has done their homework and knows about my company.’’
• ‘‘When a salesperson sounds professional, succinct, confident, and provides value with their message, I will listen to it.’’
• ‘‘I delete so many messages a day and the only thing that stands out for me is a strong, short, personalized message that gets to the point.’’

Bottom line – the more you know about your prospect and the more personalized your outreach, the more likely you’ll connect with them. Research is well worth the investment.

To learn more from Josiane Chriqui Feigon, check out her LinkedIn Learning course, Inside Sales.