Phone Sales Tips and Tricks

When Contacting Customers:

Telephone Tips from 'Well, duh' to 'Hmm...interesting'

1. Always assume that you are the most important person calling and don't give them an opportunity to prove otherwise. If they really truly seem busy, offer them a coveted appointment date. Pencil them in.
2. Third time's the charm. Using a person's first name in conversation makes them feel important, so say 'Joe' at around three times before asking for his money
3. Try not to say 'Joe Blow' or 'Mr. Blow'; last names are used by bank telemarketers and, so long as you're not calling at dinner time, that's not you, right?
4. Even if you are reading off a script, try not to sound like it. Descriptive words help, especially when you are describing their particular needs / facilities / stores / etc.
5. Introduce yourself with every new phone call; you wouldn't recognize every one of your client's voice AND all of your supplier's voices, right? So why should they recognize yours? Superiority complex, or what?
6. Unless you do your calling through Skype, your client probably cannot see you, but that does not mean that can't hear your gestures and expressions in your voice. Smile when you talk and you will portray your stupendously good nature through your voice. Your client will think you MUST be good to be smiling even though you are cold calling.
7. Hunter suggests going so far as to stand up for enthusiasm; the least you could do is sit up straight, for goodness sakes. What would your mother think!?
8. 'In conclusion...' Ok, so maybe that's a little stuffy, but it is helpful to summarize your conversation for your client. You should be taking notes; they probably aren't. Remind them in a sentence or two what decisions have been made and conclude the phone call on a light and easy note.
9. Before saying goodbye, make sure that your client is finished with the conversation too. As a salesperson there is a very good chance you monopolized the call with your chatter, so give your client one last chance to insert any questions or comments at the end of the call.
10. NEVER USE SPEAKER PHONE! There are just too many ways that it is wrong and tacky so just DON'T DO IT.

Monique's Opinions

Opinions about some of the best sales & marketing experts worldwide

Poor Unfortunate Soul

By Ursula

How to Win in a Game of Phone Tag

The Rules and Regulations of Voicemail

• Present an opportunity that they cannot refuse. Leave them a call-to-action message that leaves no doubt that it is in there best interest to call you back
• It is better to repeat yourself than to rely on them to replay the message. Say your name and phone number more than once just in case they didn't catch it the first time
• Remember that call-to-action thing I said? Make sure that it is persuasive, but don't limit them to a specific time. Customers don't like ultimatums and probably won't respond to them favorably
• You gave them your number,right? So don't offer to call them back; leave the ball in their court. If you made it persuasive enough, you have nothing to worry about
• Consider when your schedule is the busiest and don't call then. Chances are they will also be too busy to return your call. As a general rule, avoid leaving messages Monday morning and Friday afternoon. People hate the world Monday morning and can't wait to leave the office Friday afternoon; not really the mindset you want your potential client to be in while talking about your products. Unless you own a TGIFriday's, that is.
• Make sure to leave your name (repeatedly), but make it more interesting that just an introduction. Catch their notice; hold their attention; don't be forgettable
• Try to be concrete and concise, but if you have a list of things to spout off, let them know how many important points you are going to be making so that they don't just erase the message without listening to your blabber That being said, try to cut it short to avoid all chances that they won't listen to all of your message. Remember, the plan is not to sell them on your message, but to get them to CALL YOU BACK. Like I said, if you do a good job of persuading them, you have nothing to worry about
• If you are calling based on a referral, make sure you mention that person; if you are dating their cousin, mention her; if you are about to go to dinner with their favorite basketball star, let them know. People are interesting; use mutual acquaintances to your advantage
• 'Oh, yeah; I forgot to mention this VERY IMPORTANT and quick piece of information'. Leaving an afterthought creates interest and will encourage them to find out more about what you were thinking

Cold Calling Success

Not Just a Myth

Cold calling is a beast of a different color. Everyone in every business will at some point be faced with the prospect of cold calling. Get very familiar with the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy: If you believe cold calling sucks the big one, your customer will believe that you don't really want to be calling them. If you KNOW you are going to make the sale, you may or may not make the sale, but you'll have a heck of a better chance than if you are humdrum and wallowing in self-pity. When you are making cold calls, it is once again important to make sure you are interesting and to the point; the point is always going to be 'What's in it for me?', asked by prospective customer Jane Doe answered by cold caller extrodinaire, you. We need to talk benefits here, not features, and we need to be very confident that our product is going to give them the important benefits they are looking for. When you are cold calling, don't procrastinate, just do it. Unless it is a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon, but we have already gone over that. If you leave a message, chances are you are not getting a call back. Accept that and move on. However, if you do get a call back, I want to know exactly what you said, word-for-word, because you might be the best cold caller in the universe and I want your secrets. But really, you're not getting a call back, so keep them on your list and keep trying. You can do it, put your back into it.

More Opportunities to Learn

Amazon gives up options!

If you are still ready and rearing to learn how to sell via the telephone, check out these great reads:

Telephone Sales For Dummies

by: Dirk Zeller Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 07/09/2011) 

Secrets of Successful Telephone Selling: How to Generate More Leads, Sales, Repeat Business, and Referrals by Phone

by: Robert W. Bly Amazon Price: (as of 07/09/2011) 

Phone Power - How to Make the Telephone Your Most Powerful Business Tool - Inside Sales and Telemarketing DVD Training Video

Amazon Price: $80.99 (as of 07/09/2011) 

The Successful Sales Manager's Guide to Business-to-Business Telephone Sales

by: Lee R. Van Vechten Amazon Price: $79.00 (as of 07/09/2011) 

Telephone Selling Report

Amazon Price: $179.00 (as of 07/09/2011) 

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Cold Calling 101:

The Introduction

When you are cold calling people, you are going to have to pass the 10 second test: get them interested in 10 seconds or less and you have a prospect. Don't get them interested in 10 seconds or less and you have a dial tone. Hunter suggests flattery. I personally think bribery has potential. If you have what is naughtily called a 'hot lead', you can't go wrong with telling them the number one reason you are calling them: you have something they need and are currently looking for. For example, I sell Liquid Pool Covers. Let's pretend I got my hands on a list of municipal pools in the state of California. This would be considered a 'hot lead' because I am selling something directly related to what they need: pool cover for a pool. Furthermore, I know that California is one the leading states in environmentalism so this is how I might proceed. "Hi Michael, this is Monique Nelson calling. I know that California is one of the leading states when it comes to environmentalism, so I am sure you'll be interested in helping your facility become greener by using a biodegradable product that will save up to 45% of your energy usage. May I ask, have you heard of Liquid Pool Covers?" Now, generally, when you are asking questions you want to lead them into more than a one-word answer scenario. However, just to get their interest piqued, you can start out simple. If I wanted, I could say something more like, "May I ask what your are currently using for a pool cover?" That would be more open ended, but still direct and to the point. If they answer your question, that is a good sign that they are willing to talk. Continue to have a conversation with them, but try to keep it light and friendly; talk about other people who have had success with your products who are in similar situations, for example.

When a Cold Call Gets Warm

The Follow Through

So by this point, we are assuming you have had some success with your cold calls and have some prospects to follow up with. When you call them back, after a few days grace period, you are going to have to remind them who you are. "Michael, this is Monique Nelson calling back. It's nice to speak with you again, I really enjoyed our conversation on Tuesday about energy efficiency." Try not to pressure them from the get-go, but gently return to where you left off in the original conversation. Get them engaged in the conversation by asking them their thoughts on a) your last conversation, b) the information you sent them, and / or c) how they are planning to cope with the issues you addressed in your original call. Ask them if they have remaining questions and then answer the abc's yourself. Tell them what you thought after getting off the phone with them last time (this shows that you are actually thinking about them, and not just the numbers) and how you are SURE you have the solutions they are looking for. Again, make sure that they can insert any questions they may have. You can also come up with a list of questions they will probably have to prepare yourself. If there is a lull in the conversation, tell them that 'many people wonder this and that' and then answer the questions even if they didn't ask them. Just keep the conversation flowing as naturally as possible, and end it when you feel you have to. Making the sale may quite a few calls, visits, emails, etc. Just make sure you are giving the customer what s/he needs and not overwhelming him or her.

Do NOT Call

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Add-ons and Up-sells

The gravy for your meat and potatoes

When you finally get the sale, allow yourself a brief professional victory dance and then proceed to sell them more. Sell them complimentary items (things that work with what they bought, not free items for sale) or additional products in the same line. If you ship your products, call them before shipping just to say 'Oh, yeah, I was thinking about your order today, and you might be interested in trying this with it.'

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