As soon as you tell them your name and company (and you should do that), your target knows this is a cold call. They don’t recognize your name or your company so what else could it be? A call to tell them you’ve found a sizable credit in their name at your company?

One of the precepts of The Appointment Making Formula™ is to always be honest and sincere with people. I don’t know about you, but as soon as a cold caller asks me how I’m doing, my defenses go up and I actually find myself irritated. I know they don’t give a hoot as to how I’m doing. Do you really care how they’re doing today? 55% of communication occurs through non-verbal manners such as facial expressions and body language. Over a phone call, that capability is not available to you. Only 7% occurs through the words you use. That means that the most effective communication available to you (38%) is through tonality. Don’t blow it by asking questions that sound devoid of meaning.

If you really want to ask a question early on to get them involved in the conversation (although it is not necessary), try this.

After saying hello (using their name), introduce yourself and your company. Then ask if they are familiar with your firm. Whether they say yes or no, respond using your eleven second commercial which describes your company briefly. The only difference between the yes, they are familiar or no, they are not is the first few words. If yes, it may sound something like, “Oh well then you’re aware that we are one of the largest…most successful”. If they say no, then say, “Well we’re one of the largest…most successful…”