How To Go From Being An Interruption to Getting People’s Attention

If salespeople knew they would not fail they would contact more people and make more calls.

So why don’t salespeople make more contacts with people and make more sales calls?

Simple… FEAR.

People fear making more sales calls because they fear they are going to interrupt their prospects’ day and ultimately get rejected which is paradoxical because contacting people and making calls is the lifeblood to a sales professional and if you don’t do this nothing else matters.

Well, I’m here to tell you WE ARE an interruption in your prospects’ lives until we can get their attention.

If we’re interesting enough we’ll grab people’s attention and they’ll have time for us.

So how do we go from being an interruption to getting people’s attention?

Here’s a simple acronym to describe 10 ways you can get people’s attention.

RAC SIPS RUM

Referral – 1 referral is worth 15 cold calls.  I believe this is the simplest way to get someone’s attention.  If they’ve been referred by someone that’s mutually known they’ll listen to you.

For example, “Hey John, I know you don’t know me, but our mutual friend Betty Smith asked me to connect with you because…”

Ask – When you ask someone a question you immediately get their attention.  Ask them a question about something they’d be interested in and they’ll respond.

Compliment – The quickest way to get someone’s attention is to appeal to someone’s self-interest.  Ask yourself what you like about this person.

Notice something specific about the person you can compliment them on.  If you’re going to use this approach be sincere.   You’ll turn people off if you’re fake.

Social Proof – If you have an opportunity to show them someone famous, well-known, or one of their friends that has done business with you you’ll immediately get their attention.

Information – Give them an interesting statistic or some interesting information.

For example, “Did you know there was an article in Forbes magazine that listed the 5 reasons 8 out of 10 businesses fail?  And here they are.”

Poll/Survey – Let them know you or your company is doing some research and taking a poll/survey to collect data to better serve a specific group of people.

You’ll have their attention and out of curiosity many people will ask more about what your business or what you offer.

Show-off – If you have a simple way to demo your product or service to your prospect that is out of the ordinary you’ll have their attention, especially if it’s something that they’ll benefit from.

Reciprocation – Give someone a gift.  Ideally, give them something they can use that will be valuable for them.  This will cause them to reciprocate and you’ll have their attention.

Unexpected – Most salespeople are the same, say the same things, and dress the same way.  People are tired of the same ‘ole same ‘ole.

Do something unexpected and you’ll instantly have their attention.  Be different than the sea of people in the marketplace that do what you do.

Mysterious – Create some mystery.  For example, you might say, “I have a question that… (pause) well… (pause) only you can answer.”  I had a very skilled telemarketer ask me this once and I was all ears.

Remember, you ARE an interruption until you get their attention.  All you have to do to get someone’s attention is to remember RAC SIPS RUM.

Oh, by the way, if you found this useful click on the social media stuff below and share this with your friends 🙂

2017-06-03T11:24:52-07:00 By |

About the Author:

Mark Antonio is an international sales and social media marketing strategist with Boss Marketer. Mark is versed in many different industries and has worked as one of the top speaker, trainer, coaches with the Anthony Robbins Companies. In total, he is fluent in 3 languages and has traveled to over 35 different countries and spoken to over 300 companies and distinguished audiences including Mercedes Benz, American Express Financial, Santander, ArcellorMittal, Citibank, and Berkshire Hathaway to name a few.