Profiling is a practice that can help you discover some basic information about your prospects so you have some background information when you talk to the decision maker. This may seem like an obvious and basic concept but it’s often overlooked during the sales and prospecting process.
The idea behind profiling is to talk to whomever picks up the phone. Most of the time, they’ll be able to get you what you need. Helpful information to collect is:
- How do you manage payroll and HR?
- If you outsource, what service provider do you use?
- Do they offer benefits?
- Yes –
- Carrier?
- Renewal?
- Broker?
- No –
- Why?
- Have they ever?
- Confirm Decision maker
- Email address?
- Yes –
For me, the most important piece of information to get is their benefit renewal info. This will indicate when they’ll most likely be in “buying” mode. For instance, if someone renews in January and it’s February, you know your chances of getting them to switch are slim. It would be better to wait to call back in August or September, and aim for a January start.
Profiling Talk Track
Below is an example of a talk track for an initial profiling call.
Hi, my name is ________ and I’m calling from ___________. I’m hoping you can help me out or point me in the right direction. I wanted to send some information over to whomever handles HR and payroll for you. Who would that be?
Thank you! Also, I want to make sure that the information that I’m sending is relevant. Does your company offer benefits to the employees?
Yes – Great! And when do you renew? [let them answer] I appreciate the info.
No – Have they ever offered benefits? When did they stop offering it? Have they ever considered it? Why not?
Note: If they’ve been friendly, then I go ahead and ask for the rest of the information. If they haven’t been very receptive, then I stop while I’m ahead.
And would you by chance happen to know how you handle your payroll? [let them answer] Thanks again. You’ve been very helpful. And just to make sure I’m sending the information to the right place, I’m assuming [name the person they directed you to] email address is [throw something out there…I like to use first initial last name]. Is that right? [If it’s right, they say yes. If not, they’ll correct you.]
Additional Tips
Remember, at the end of the day, this is a quick call. No more than 5 minutes. Be friendly, and most of the time, whoever answers the phone will be more than happy to give you the info if they know it. And if not, they’re happy to tell you who will know it.
By gathering this information, you’ll be better equipped to approach prospects at the right time, as well as know who will be more receptive to your HR services. Someone who is already using payroll services will be more receptive than organizations who handle everything in house. If you find someone handles everything in-house and doesn’t offer benefits, it may not be worth too much time pursuing them as a prospect. Experience has shown me it’s very difficult to convert those leads. It’s better to focus on a prospect who offers benefits and outsources payroll already.