Did I catch you at a bad time?
Pros and cons of Bad Time openers
You certainly have heard of the “Did I catch you at a bad time?” opener. It has been debated for years in sales psychology.
This opener is aligned with the permission marketing approach that I have advocated for a long time. In today’s environment, buyers clearly prefer it over interruption marketing, and it might yield good returns.
But there is a main reason why I like this opener. Evidence does not seem to show that it yields a significantly higher rate of appointments booked. But it brings a major benefit. You treat people with politeness, and you are more likely to be rejected politely. I always stress out that people quit cold calling, not because of the failure rate per se, but because they hate being rejected in a rude manner. Over time, being treated poorly will drain your soul and motivation. The key to persisting in cold calling is to be rejected politely.
Some people have discussed the disadvantages of this approach. First, buyers could say “Yes,” and you’ll have to close the call. However, if they say yes, do you really believe you would have converted it into a no? Fail fast and move on.
Second is the loss of control. You relinquish control from the beginning. The topic of control in the sales conversation is huge. In general, there are moments in which you need to keep control and others in which you don’t have to. At the beginning, giving buyers control lowers buyers’ skepticism and helps build trust. So, it might work out.
Yet, there is a problem that remains, and which was discussed at the beginning of this article. This sentence has been debated for years in sales psychology. Hence, it has been overused. And for all cold call openers, they are only effective if others don’t use them.
So, if you opt for this solution, you should rephrase it on your own:
“I want to respect your time — are you able to talk for a minute now about?”
“I’ll be brief — can I take a minute to explain why I thought this call might be relevant?”
You get the same benefits and reduce the disadvantages.
