3 ways to handle "running into a meeting" objection on the phone
and pique your prospect curiosity.
Read time: 2 min.
In today’s issue, I’m going to show you how you can handle the phone objection “I’m running into a meeting, call me back later” and pique your prospect curiosity.
Understanding the difference“I’m running into a meeting” means 2 things: They're really running into a meeting. They thought you were somebody else: their doctor, or the delivery man. Or it could just be a polite way of trying to end the conversation.
Unfortunately, most SDRs don’t what to say, hang up the phone, and start following up and chasing their prospects.
3 ways to handle the objection "running into a meeting" and pique your prospect curiosity
In my first cold calls, I didn’t know what to say when I was getting the objection “I’m running into a meeting, can you call me back?”.
And it’s the same for the majority of other SDRs.
Generally, we say:
“yes”, and hanging up the phone
“When can I call you back?”
“When would be a better time?"
“Can I call you back tomorrow?"
Prospects might say ”Call me whenever”.
Then you just start following up and chasing your prospects.
When you are on the phone with your prospect you need to start a conversation.
If you don’t do it you’ll reduce the odds of piquing your prospect curiosity.
You need a different approach.
Here's how you can handle the objection:
#1: Permission-based question then talk about them
Confirm what your prospect just said: “It’s okay.” “No problem”, “I get it”.
Ask for permission to say why you’re calling.
Mention what you know about them.
Script
You: “No problem. Would it be okay if I just steal a minute, to tell you the reason I’m calling, and then you can tell me if it makes sense for me to contact you again?” <- Asking for permission
Prospect: “Sure”
You: “I saw on LinkedIn that you are hiring 3 SDRs and then ….“ <- Them
#2 Say why you’re calling
Confirm what your prospect just said: “It’s okay.” “No problem”, “I get it”.
Then say why you’re calling with your value prop.
Ask if they want you to call them back.
Script
You: “It’s okay. I’m calling to talk about how Chili Piper might improve your demo conversion rate (here insert your value prop). Is that something you want me to contact you about again?” <- Say why you’re calling
If: “Yes”
Put some time. “Are you free tomorrow afternoon?” They’ll either give a yes or no with a better day and maybe time. If no time, then ask “morning or afternoon?”
If “No”: end the call.
#3: Permission-based question then ask 1 problem question
Confirm what your prospect just said: “It’s okay.” “No problem”, “I get it”.
Ask for permission to ask 1 problem question.
Don’t ask qual questions, and waste your prospect time.
Questions to avoid:
❌ How many SDRs do you have on your team?
❌ What are your top 3 priorities for 2023?
Ask 1 question about a problem your product can solve to pique your prospect curiosity.
Script
You: “I get it, I literary have 1 question to see if it’s even worth following up. Do you have 10 more seconds? And we can go from there. “ <- Asking for permission
Prospect: “Yes, sure."
You: “How are you making sure your SDRs are converting all your demo requests into a demo?“ <- Problem question
Prospect replies
You: “Based on that I think we should get on another call. I said 1 question. When can we get another time?”
Prospect: “I have more time right now”
You: “Are you sure? Because I said 1 question.”
To recap: to handle “running into a meeting”, try this:
Permission-based question -> them
Say why you’re calling
Permission-based question -> 1 gap question
Your prospects may give you 1 min, or they might not.
It's about starting a conversation, piquing your prospect curiosity, and not about getting a demo. You're just trying to see if your prospect is interested or not. To make sure you’re not following up and chasing.
Spend your energy and time with people that are more motivated to want to talk with you.
Thanks for reading.
That's all for this Sunday. 3 simple tips for SDRs.
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See you next week.
Happy prospecting,
Elric
PS: Here're the 3 last issues if you miss them:
If you want to read the previous ones, you can here.
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