Your Cold Call as a Movie Trailer

One of my favorite things to do is to watch a good movie. There is something about escaping realty for a brief period that is enthralling and intoxicating to me.

One day, I can see what it is like to be a British super agent who is tasked with preventing global destruction, while the next I can experience what it must be like to face carnivorous dinosaurs hell-bent on doing everything they can to eat me.

Now, I have a four-year old and a two-year old, so I don’t get to spend as much time in the local cinema as I otherwise would like, but certain aspects of the movie going process have not changed. 

For instance, if the movie lists a show time of 8:35 p.m., does the main attraction start at exactly that time? It doesn’t? Why not? 

It would seem to me to be a bad business model as Founder of The Cold Call Coach to tell someone that our session starts at 9:00 a.m., only for me to leave them waiting an additional 30 minutes. 

It seems counter intuitive if you think about it, but the same thing that forces them to wait 15, 20, even 30 minutes or more to enjoy what they paid for is what gets them to come back! 

Do you know what I am referring to? I am referring to movie trailers and how effective they are at getting us to pump tens of billions of dollars into the film industry every year. 

Have you ever stopped to think about why movie trailers are so effective? Why is it that we will pay top dollar, including concessions, as well as money for the babysitter for our Date Night, to go see a movie based off the information shared in a preview?

Think about the last movie preview you watched. Really take a deep dive into what was presented and how to get you to buy a ticket to come back and see the rest. What was it about that movie trailer that enticed you to spend your hard-earned money and take time out of your life that you will never get back to go see it? 

If you cannot think of a single reason why you bought a ticket after watching the preview, then you have proven my point more thoroughly than I expected! The movie trailer was so good at piquing your curiosity that you don’t even know what hit you.

For the rest of the instances, think about what it was that enticed you to make plans to go see the movie that was featured in the trailer. Anything specifically coming to your mind?

Here are a couple of reasons as to why movie previews in general are so effective:

There was no resolution

How stupid would it be for the preview to show you the ending in the one or two-minutes that they are putting in front of you? A good movie trailer will build up the suspense and leave you hanging, wondering how it all ends.

Do they catch the bad guy? Does the estranged couple reunite and fall back in love? Is the suspense killing you? If so, we have a cure for that: give us your money, buy a ticket, and we will show you!

They show you the best parts

In any movie, there are going to be highs and lows throughout the duration of the picture. Because the movie studio has no way of knowing what everybody likes, they make an educated guess on what the best parts are and prominently feature those in the trailer.

Why tell you everything and run the risk of turning you off when they can just hit a few high notes and hope for the best? 

They are fraught with emotion

Whether you are watching a preview for an action movie, horror movie, or something in between, good movie previews hit you at a deep emotive level. It is the emotional aspect of your brain that they are trying to activate as that is the center that controls most of our behavioral impulses.

If they can get you to laugh until it hurts, jump out of your chair, or get the adrenaline pumping based on the fiery car wrecks you see, they will likely be hearing cash register sounds soon. 

They are very short

Knowing that humans do not have long attention spans, previews are generally short and extremely concise. They want to make the case quickly for why you should see the movie and summarize the plot as efficiently as possible.

The longer the preview goes on, the more likely you are to either tune out or see something that will turn you off. Less is more with the movie trailer and the best ones take full advantage of that.

The characters involved

Many previews highlight the actors and actresses who have starring roles in the picture because several of these individuals have cult-like followings where their fans simply cannot get enough of them. 

I don’t like World War II historical re-creations, but I love Brad Pitt, so I better go see this one. Boy, I hate romantic comedies, but I love the way that I feel watching Kevin James movies, so I guess I better tell my wife to find a babysitter sometime soon.

Certain players in the process compel us to take assertive action and Hollywood is great at highlighting their most important assets: the characters involved.

So, in a nutshell, movie trailers are excellent vehicles for piquing curiosity because they do not offer a successful resolution, only show you the best parts, are full of emotion, don’t take up much time, and highlight the main characters involved. 

Gee golly whiz gang, might those also be attributes of a successful cold call? 

A successful cold call should not have a resolution, either. You “might” be able to help them and you “may” be able to offer them a solution, but for us to determine this, it would be nice if we could get dedicated time to talk this through.

A successful cold call only shows the best parts. What is the one or two very best things they should know about your business? What is the one or two very best things that they should know about you as a person? Rather than telling the entire back story, hit the highlights and go from there. 

A successful cold call is one that is fraught with emotion. Compel your prospect to act by hitting him at a deep emotive level that will override the logical part of his brain. When done correctly, even if a part of the prospect’s brain is advising restraint, the thought of getting something that benefits him will be too powerful to ignore.

A successful cold call is short. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something stupid. The more you say, the more likely you are to lose the prospect due to a short attention span. Your calls should be short, direct, and laser focused on what you are trying to achieve. 

A successful cold call focuses on the players involved.  What should they know about you? How will their life be impacted by you? Why will you be playing a starring role in the movie of their life soon? Focusing on the characters involved and highlight them prominently.

We would be well served as sales professionals to emulate movie trailers to pique curiosity via cold calling. If we can generate interest, leave the prospect wanting more, and give them compelling reasons to take time out of their lives to see the remainder of the movie, our odds of success go up.

Start treating your cold call as the movie trailer and your dedicated time with the prospect as the movie itself and watch your success rate on the phone soar!

Want some assistance in crafting your movie trailer? Give us a call today at 414-313-8338 or e-mail us at [email protected] and let’s put something together that will make Oscar proud!

Oh, and by the way, don’t forget the buttered popcorn!