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Hard sale vs. Soft sale

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Aug 1, 2009 3:41 pm

Ive heard some people say that you cut through the bs to the real investors if you just pitch a product, in my case bonds.

  On the other hand ive heard that some prospects get put off by such strong tactics and that by being more passive aggressive in your cold call can put people at ease to talk to you and therefore get more contacts.   example 1:  Hello good afternoon Mr. XYZ, my name is ABC with the DEF firm and we specialize in Tax-exempt municipal bonds., today we have a 5yr. bond yielding 5.5% tax free. Would this be of interest to you?    example 2:  Hello good afternoon Mr. XYZ, my name is ABC with the DEF firm and we specialize in Tax-exempt municipal bonds. How are you today? Great, I have nothing to show you today sir however I would like to send you my card and firm literature and at some point in the future show you bonds that are within your perameters.......   what do you guys think?  Hard sale vs. soft sale which is better?   thanks in advance
Aug 1, 2009 4:17 pm

I think the hard works better…it sets parameters without the client having to divulge info to a stranger who called… for example



example 1: Hello good afternoon Mr. XYZ, my name is ABC with the DEF firm and we specialize in Tax-exempt municipal bonds., today we have a 5yr. bond yielding 5.5% tax free. Would this be of interest to you?



Client: No…

You. well sir that is the equivalent of a CD yielding 7%.

Client: not interested

You: Is that because 7% isn’t high enough or 5 years are too long?

Client: 5 years is too long

You: So you are you saying you like shorter terms with smaller yields?

Client: yes



If you soft pitch… i don’t think a lot of people are willing to divulge what their parameters are(even if they know)

Aug 1, 2009 4:27 pm

thats a great idea squash, and more towards my personal opinion that hard does work better, its straight and to the point.

  Anyone have different views?
Aug 5, 2009 9:24 pm

I’ve tried the last couple of days with soft approach, smiliar to one that Bill Good likes to use:

  Hi, may I speak to M/M__________ please?   This is ____________. I'm a local financial planner with ___________________. Does the name _______________ sound familiar to you?   (Soft approach) Very good. M/M_____________, I'm calling you today because I'm starting my own practice here in _____________ and I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and my firm to you. Do you currently have a financial planner that you're working with? (qualify)   (Hard approach) Very good. M/M__________, I'm calling you today with some important information about what's called a tax free bond fund. Its YTD yield(pick the highest yield of all historical yields) is around 5%, and for someone in your tax bracket, that's the same as CDs yielding about 7%. Would that be something you're interested in?     What do you guys think? I'm not having much success with any of my products and scripts. I've tried tax free bonds, bond funds, fixed annuities, etc.
Aug 5, 2009 9:32 pm

[quote=coldslam0184]Ive heard some people say that you cut through the bs to the real investors if you just pitch a product, in my case bonds.

  On the other hand ive heard that some prospects get put off by such strong tactics and that by being more passive aggressive in your cold call can put people at ease to talk to you and therefore get more contacts.   example 1:  Hello good afternoon Mr. XYZ, my name is ABC with the DEF firm and we specialize in Tax-exempt municipal bonds., today we have a 5yr. bond yielding 5.5% tax free. Would this be of interest to you?    example 2:  Hello good afternoon Mr. XYZ, my name is ABC with the DEF firm and we specialize in Tax-exempt municipal bonds. How are you today? Great, I have nothing to show you today sir however I would like to send you my card and firm literature and at some point in the future show you bonds that are within your perameters.......   what do you guys think?  Hard sale vs. soft sale which is better?   thanks in advance[/quote]   Example 1 over example 2 all the time.  I can't stand it when people cold call me and ask how I'm doing today.  I'll say, "Great, f*ck off" or "Not so well, f*ck off".  Either way, they don't know me, I don't know them, I understand that how I'm doing today is of zero importance to you and the fact that you know how I'm doing today is of zero importance to me.
Aug 5, 2009 10:09 pm

Some good stuff on this thread.

There can be many reason for a script not producing. The waty tpo find out is to measure your results and then change only one variable at a time. For example change the time of day that you call. or change the list, or xchange the offer. But only change one thing at a time and track everything dfials, contacts, pressos, time, etc.   I've used versions of the X% yield script and the fund script, both with good results.   If you want to add a line add this: That's the same as a CD yielding X, do you currently have any CDs yielding X? Didn't think so, Could i send you some information on this fund? Or does that sound like something you could have an interest in?
Aug 5, 2009 10:12 pm

On that last post a classic bondguy “Just spell no” mess!

  There are muni funds yielding above 9% right now. That might get somone's attention.
Aug 5, 2009 11:14 pm

ask the prospect how they would like to receive 30-40% returns, what are they gonna say…no, f-u…haha!!!

  in my experience leading with a product has been more effective.
Aug 6, 2009 12:04 am

Back door money question:

  On the subject of asking for money, to get bigger prospects,  years ago when we were prospecting for Dogs of the Dow UIT prospects our money question went like this:   Mr. prospect we have two programs available, one for investors with over 50 thousand to invest and one for those with less than 50 thousand to invest, which program would be a better fit for you? or which program would you be more comfortable with? or which program would you like to see?   I tell you that to tell you this: That close can be used for any product.   For example:   Mr. Prospect i'll be more than happy to send you that information. I have you at 123 any street, in Anywhere Everywhere is that right? And i spell your last name M-U-N-Y is that right? Terrific i'll get that right out to you and one more question before i go We have two programs available for tax free investors, one for those with over $100,000 to invest and one for those with less than $100, 000 to invest, tell me, which one would be a better fit for you?   I don't use that money close but i could. It's a good one. Especially for tax free bonds. Plus 100k get indivual bonds, minus 100k gets funds. Send the info offered and call back with the appropriate product.
Aug 6, 2009 1:01 pm

What do you mail? Fund fact sheets?