Welcome to the Finding Business Podcast where with just a few minutes, you'll learn something new to attract ideal clients and accounts. I'm your host, Scott Channell. For more episodes and information on services offered, visit Scott channell with 2t's, two n's, and 2l's.com. Now on to today's episode. You can be the best at what you do.

You can save your prospect millions, and they'll still hang up on you in ten seconds. Why? Because you lost the battle in the first three seconds of the call, and you probably don't even know what you did wrong. Here's a brutal truth. Most sales reps kill their own calls before they even get to their value proposition.

They do it with what I call phrases of shame. So listen to these. Hi. How are you today? Is this a bad time?

I know you're busy, so I'll be quick. Things like that. Sound familiar? You think you're being polite, but you're actually red flagging yourself as a time waster. When you ask a busy executive, how are you?

They know you don't care. When you apologize for interrupting, you're telling them your time is less valuable than theirs. To a decision maker who has heard the same things from the time wasters that preceded you, these phrases scream, run away. Here's what you need to understand. You don't have thirty seconds to make a first impression.

You have about three. In just the first three to five seconds, your prospect is making a snap judgment. Might you help them? Are you credible? Are you worth listening to a bit longer?

If you fill those seconds with nothing that helps them answer those questions, their brain shuts down. They've mentally checked out, and they've stopped listening. They're just waiting for a pause so they can say, we're all set. So what do you do instead? You project what I call two by four impact.

You speak with such clarity and gravity that you mentally hit them with a realization. This person is credible. This person is worth listening to. And here's the six step formula. Step one, use your first name only.

Hi. This is Scott from blah blah blah Step two, say what you do. Factually, no fluff words like premier or leading, just we manage corporate IT systems. Step three, build credibility.

This is the step almost everyone leaves out. I don't know why. Drop names and numbers immediately. Companies like Micro Squishy, ibsorry, and 500 others selected us. Without credibility, nothing else matters.

Nothing you say matters. Step four. Give them three buckets of benefits, not features, but bottom line benefits, to improve system uptime by 40%, reduce security incidents by 60%, and eliminate unexpected downtime. Three different buckets of benefits paints a picture of what you might do to help them, plus three benefits increase the odds that one resonates with their pain. Step five, the soft pivot.

Lower the pressure. I have no idea if you might be open to reviewing options for your IT infrastructure, but if you are, we'd like to share some strategies other companies have used to achieve a, b, and c. If you hear something you like and think of us in the future, that would be great. That phrase, I have no idea, is disarming. It's also truthful, signals honesty, and think of us in the future defuses the we're all set objection before they even say it.

Step six, ask for the meeting, but do it right. Don't ask, does Tuesday at two or Wednesday at four work? It's old school, backfires every time. Instead, ask, would you have any time in the next week or two? If they say yes, you know they've bought into the value of the meeting, then you schedule.

Look. Your next million dollar account could be on tomorrow's call list. The question is, will you earn the right to have that conversation, or will it slip through your fingers in the first few seconds? Here's what I want you to do. Record your next 10 calls.

Identify your phrases of shame and eliminate them, then rebuild your script using this formula. The difference will be unmistakable. I hope this got you thinking. For more information about this podcast, show episodes, and services, go to Scott channell with 2t's,2n's,and 2l's.com. Thanks for listening.