This process begins with reaching out to the lead and initiating conversation. Before you try to establish contact with him you always check the Contact Status/ Key Fields / Touchpoints /Comments and Updates to prepare for the action – contact. You initiate contact by phone calls, emails and text messages. You do this 4-5 times until you make the first touchpoint with the lead either by email, phone or text messages.
Not answering “rule” to first initial contact
- If the lead did not answer the first time we sent him a 1th text message and 1th email
- If the lead did not answer the second time we didn’t send anything.
- If the lead did not answer the third time we sent a 2nd text message.
- If the lead did not answer the fourth time we sent the email.
- If the lead did not answer the fifth time we sent the 3rd text.
If we don’t reach him with the 5th try we change his status to No Response.
The lead is on “Attempting Contact” status until you reach him by phone and make the first conversation to do the following:
1. Establish connection (introducing yourself and make a positive impression),
2. Get to know the prospect and if he is good for hiring,
3. Getting him familiar with the company he applied for.
4. Understands what we offer and he is interested.
5. Understands that he needs to fill up the online full application.
- Establishing connection:
The 1st time he answers/pickup the phone is when you establish a connection – this is the meaning of ”Touchpoint”
- It begins with the first hello and continues with your introduction of yourself, the company and the reason why you called.
- You can use prospect first name to confirm if he is the right person to talk about the job offer you have, ask him “how are you” – be empathetic (if he is good be positive / if he is not good – show sympathy and say you have some good news for a job if he has some time to talk about it)
- Ask if it’s a good time to have a little conversation about why you called – meaning you respect his time.
During this time it’s important that you sound positive, friendly and professional, speak clearly and with a good tone of voice so he can understand you easily and make a good first impression about you and the company. (Speak with the same speed as prospect speaks so they can feel you are not overselling them, unless he tells you that he is busy /in a hurry)
- Getting to know the candidate and discovering if he meets the carrier requirements for hiring.
To “break the ice” (having the prospect to feel comfortable with you on the phone) you have to ask open-ended questions (the ones he can’t answer with a “yes” or “no”)
- You start by asking him about his driving experience – always be polite (veteran drivers intend to have strong personalities based on their driving experience). “If you don’t mind, can you tell me a little bit about your driving experience? How many carriers did you work for and what did you hauled?” as primarily questions.
- Ask the prospect about his last carrier, what did he like? and what made him leave – make notes on what is important for the prospect in Vtiger.
- Ask the prospect about his experience in the last 3 years (“Tell me about your OTR driving in the last 3 years, were you on the road consistently or had some break periods?”)
- Ask the prospect about his driving records – Does he have any moving violations, if he has, what happened? and when did it happen? – make sure you write everything down in detail as you hear it.
- Getting him familiar with the carrier,
To establish trust and gain more interest the prospect needs to have a good picture about the carrier:
- Explain in brief about the carrier you are calling about, what makes the carrier different from the others, explain that the carrier maintains a family and a positive working environment.
- Explain the areas the carrier runs and the types of loads – working with big customers (for example if the carrier works with companies like US Cold Storage / Chicago Meat / Aldi / Manfredy / Turano / Nestle / Walmart etc. )
- Mention about the perks that the carrier has, meaning if they have their own brokerage? Maintenance Shop? Great driver program like no other carrier etc.
- Explain what the carrier is looking for from a driver on today’s market (people who are willing to work and thrive, have a better living, etc.)
- Making sure the prospect understands what the carrier offers and keeping the prospect interested.
- Explain the full offer that the prospect is interested in with the key segments of Pay&Benefits/Employment/Equipment/Hometime/Company support
- Look for the things the prospect mentioned for his past employment and what is important for him to use that as a strong selling point. For example – negative feedback (our strong selling point) “I was hoping to get good miles but that is not happening so i’m not making money!” – Then you tell him the opposite: The carrier has a lot of work and they are looking for people who are willing to make good and steady miles and great hometimes.
- If you couldn’t present any of the criteria above or got a strong selling point then you are most likely going to lose the prospect.
- The Prospect understands that he needs to fill out the online application on tenstreet/or send DL and sign on docusign.
A lot of drivers after the first communication forget that they need to fill out the application so it’s crucial to explain and sometimes even challenge them to apply. (that’s all because of the high demand of drivers in the US).
So when you try to make initial contact regarding the application you have to follow some basic rules:
- Explain the prospect that the carrier needs full application
- Ask the prospect if he has any questions regarding the application.
- Explain the prospect this way he will know if he is approved and then schedule orientation.
- Ask for his email address and tell the prospect where to check if its not showing in the inbox – check for spam or junk mail
- Send the prospect the correct email with the info he needs, addressed with his personal name.
CALL BACK – Interested
Call back and help him send full application
You’ve spoken to the prospect but he still has not filled the required application after 24hours.
In this case, which is very common, you need to push and help him apply by contacting him at least 3 more times.
1th Call back:
When you reach the prospect, introduce yourself and remind him that you’ve spoken about the job and you are calling about the application.
- If the prospect still hasn’t received the link or email with the full application, try to figure out why?
- Is the prospect email address correct?
- Did the prospect check the inbox and spam/junk mail?
- If the prospect haven’t got the time to check his email and apply
- Ask what are his plans, when he will apply?
- Ask what is his situation right now – how soon is he planning to join us by going on orientation, explain the orientation process and encourage him to go forward
Actions that can motivate the prospect to apply:
– Send a new email while speaking with the prospect on the phone and ask him if he received the email. (If he is not able to check his email for ex.:currently driving, or not having a device etc. tell him to check it and you will follow up in a few min.)
– Send a link for the full application as a text message as well. (If needed)
– In case he is not sure about the carrier (is that the right carrier for him?) – You can explain the benefits he will have and how it will be better for him (always check the previous notes to see the strong selling points for him – “since you had conversations before and have data/comments about the conversation”).
2nd Call Back:
When you reach the prospect on your second call back (the next day) since there is no application yet, depending on the previous conversations you had you can always use your own selling points if any or bellow:
– Advise the prospect that this is a great opportunity for him right now, later we might not have open positions so it’s a good idea to apply and see if he gets approved.
– Ask what is holding him back, if there is something you can help him to make his decision.
3rd Call Back:
If the prospect still hasn’t applied, make the last contact before changing his status from “Call Back” to “Not Interested Indirect”. Do this within 2 days of the last touchpoint.
- Ask if he is still interested and give him one last chance to apply with a deadline.
(ex. Applications are open until the end of this week since the positions will be filled up)
- If the prospect haven’t answered the phone on 3rd attempt you can send text message like the example below:
DryVan,REEFER weekly pay AVERAGE is $1.400+ a week.
ORIENTATION STARTS 01/06 or 01/08
CALL John 708-571-3328 .
send msgs reply STOP
If the prospect replies with STOP or didn’t fill the application after the third contact he goes to not interested indirectly.