Close-ended questions: the biggest error in cold-calling

The training I received at my first job, at a US call center in Panchkula, taught me a few tricks when it came to converting cold calls to sales leads. One of the tricks was to never ask a customer a close-ended question. A question is called close-ended when the answer to it is either yes or no. Clichéd examples include – “Is the right time to talk to you?” or “Would you be interested in it?”

It is a given that every answer has a consequence and at all times, we like to be in our favour or for our greater good. When you ask a customer or a client a close-ended question, he/she puts the thinking hat on and wonders what the consequences of both the answers would be. Any layman can predict what I am going to say next. On a sales call, a client’s ‘no’ is not going to have a negative impact on him/her unless you convince him/her of that. On the other hand, a ‘yes’ could mean an outflow of a certain amount from the company’s or the individual’s account.

In this scenario, a ‘no’ is definitely an easier way out. Therefore, more often than not, a 

customer or a client is going to opt for it over a ‘yes’. How do you change it then? It begins with a simple step – do not give him/her an option. Instead, explain what the consequences of both those answers would be and eventually, lead him/her to a point where he/she would believe that saying a ‘yes’ would be far better than saying a ‘no’.

Rather than asking if it is the right time to talk to him/her, try saying – “I am calling you with an opportunity worth the ten minutes you are going to spend listening to me”. Start simple and change it every single time you approach somebody. Once you have the listener’s attention, take charge of the conversation, make him/her comfortable enough, and lead him/her to what you really wish to discuss.

Avoid close-ended questions, learn to be spontaneous on the call, and at all times, remain in charge of the conversation. This may not guarantee that every cold call would turn into a lead but it would certainly do a world of good to your confidence as a salesman/saleswoman.