What is an Opener?
An "opener" is used primarily with IPC calls (or cold calls). There are other situations where you may want to use them such as at conventions or network gatherings. An opener is a quick and succinct statement about who you are and what your company does. They are delivered to the decision maker and, on occasion, to the "influencer" of the sale. A secretary or assistant to the decision maker is a good example of an influencer.
In putting together an opener, keep it as brief as possible. It should preferably be only one sentence long or two at the very most. Take out any words that are unnecessary and focus on words and phrases that will address what benefits your product or service offers.
You may have heard that in sales you should present the feature first and then the benefit. Well, your opener will fare much better if you present benefits (or results) only. You have only a limited amount of time, especially on an IPC call, to capture your listeners attention. By speaking directly to what may be of benefit to them it may just encourage them to want to hear more. Choose your words carefully.
Never think you will just roll with the punches or go with the flow. Have a planned and well rehearsed statement for your opener. Say it quickly, clearly and confidently with excellent eye contact. If you are on the phone, state your opener in less that thirty seconds, or forty five seconds, at the very most, and say it with a smile.
Form for Writing Your Opener:- 1.State your name
- 2.State who you are with and what you do
- 3.What the positive results of using your product or service is and why you are different in terms of benefits or results.
Examples of Good Openers:
- My name is Joe Schmo and I am with ABC Corporation. We design easy, affordable widget tools that are proven to help increase profits for small to medium sized businesses and we are the only company that offers free in-house training along with our products.
- My name is Josephine Schmo and I am with ABC Company. For twenty-five years we have been the leaders in Widget Rental and Service. We offer our clients the convenience of twenty-four hour service along with free pickup and delivery seven days a week.
- My name is Jack Schmo and I represent ABC Advertising and Promotions. We specialize in highly effective low cost advertising for the small to medium sized business. We are treat our clients advertising dollars as if they were our own.
This may seem like a mouthful but your prospect will have to think for a long moment to come up with an objection. After delivering your Opener, wait for a response. Respond to any questions or comments appropriately
If their response is favorable, and you are on an IPC call or at a network gathering or convention, do not go into your full presentation. Politely acknowledge that you know they are busy or that this is not an appropriate time and then ask for an appointment. Do this by saying something like, "I'd like to set up a time that we can meet and talk further -- it will only take about ten or fifteen minutes -- how does next week sound?"
Follow through with gathering the details for the day and time of the appointment. How easy, right?
