This was recorded last week as part of our 15 week sales training webinar series. We have left out any mention of COVID 19 in this entire webinar series on purpose because hopefully these training modules out live this health crisis and when this is behind us, I don't want there to be mentions of the virus throughout all of these training modules. That being said, make any adjustments to this standard training content for either your particular situation, your selling style, or the environment that we are operating in at the time.
But if I give this a longer thought, I still stand by my recommendation and it is because the "How are you doing?" from a cold call (call from someone you don't know) is what I view as an empty gesture and can make you look like a salesperson that is trying to sell something, which could turn someone off even worse in this environment where there are so many bigger things for people to be thinking about.
"Have I caught you in the middle of anything?" is even more appropriate now because the person you are calling may have a very serious health related problem they are dealing with and I think this question fits better with checking the temperature on where they are at the time they picked up the phone than a question that might make you look like a salesperson cold calling and trying to sell something. Those are my thoughts.
But you do you. If you think your way is better, ignore that tip. Or try it out and see how it goes. Would love to hear your results because I actually get a lot of positive feedback on that one tip in particular.