Selling by telephone isn’t easy. But very often it’s one of the primary ways a home-based business can prospect for potential customers and sell your product or service to an out of town client. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to use the telephone effectively, before, during and after the actual call.
Start Before The Call
Your prospecting or sales call isn’t a friendly chat with a friend. It’s like any other sales presentation. The only difference is you’re not doing it face-to-face, you’re doing it over the phone. That’s what makes it a bit more challenging that making a sales pich in person.
In face-to-face sales presentations, whether they’re scheduled appointments or cold calls, you can see who you’re presenting to and judge their reaction by facial expressions and body language. This lets you adjust your presentation accordingly. You also have the advantage of being able to use sales literature and aids to help communicate your key points.
Over the phone, it’s voice against voice. Unless of course your both at at a computer and you can use your web site as a presentation aid,
Generally with personal sales presentations, the prospect will show you the courtesy of letting you complete your presentation. On the phone, it’s easy to just hang up or make or end the conversation abruptly by saying there’s another important call on the other line.
Prepare For Each Call
Determine what is the single response or outcome you’re realistically looking to achieve. Depending on your product and industry, the usual outcomes are: Prospecting to find out who the decision-maker is; Setting up an appointment for an in-person sales presentation;
Making a sales presentation on the phone; Getting buy-in to send additional information;
Bidding on a job or project or filing an RFP; Closing the sale over the phone.
Research The Companies or People You Call
Go online and research the company you’re calling. This is the easiest way to know how your product or service can benefit them. It also shows you’re intelligent and a problem solver … two key qualities every business looks for in a supplier. It also keeps you from wasting your valuable time on unproductive leads and calls. Remember your time is money!
Know What You’re Going To Say… Without A Script
One of the biggest turn offs to anyone answering the phone is a robot reading a pre-written script. How do you feel when you pick up the phone and hear:
Hello Ms Smith, I’m Tammy White from the All American Exterminating and Rodent Control Company and I have a special offer to help you get rid of those unwanted cock roaches, palmetto bugs ,ticks, ants, mice, rats, snakes and other vermin that find their way into everybody’s home…
Tammy’s canned sales pitch … so creatively and graphically written … is the last thing you want to listen to … especially when you and your family are sitting down to dinner. You’re response is probably just slamming down the phone and wishing the company would exterminate Tammy along with the roaches!
All American Exterminating and their poor sales person Tammy didn’t put their best foot forward with their telemarketing script.
You’ve Got 15 Seconds To Put Your Best Foot Forward
First impressions are lasting ones. The first 15 seconds of your conversation creates a lasting impression of you and your company and determines whether the person you call will continue to talk with you or not.
Instead of taking the All American Exterminating approach, start with a customer benefit oriented approach like:
“Good afternoon Ms Smith, I’m Sally from All American Exterminating. We’ve been saving other homeowners in your neighborhood thousands of dollars in what they pay to control pests around their yards and homes. And we do it more effectively than the companies they formerly used. We’d like to help you do the same. Is this a good time to talk or should we schedule one that’s more convenient?”
Sally immediately gave you two compelling benefits – saving money and more effective service. She also supported it with the fact her company was doing it for other people in your area. And lastly, she offered you the choice of talking about it now or if it wasn’t convenient for you, either calling you back at a time you specify or setting up an appointment to stop by your home and presenting to you in person
Whose initial presentation would you prefer to listen to Tammy’s or Sally’s?
Make The Call From the Right Place
Call from a place where you won’t be distracted or interrupted… like your home office. Don’t call from the kitchen when you’re cooking dinner or from your car during a rush hour traffic jam. Background noise is annoying and makes it difficult for you to focus. Calling from a LAN line rather than from a cell phone also assures greater clarity of voice transmission. Nobody should or has to know you’re not calling from a the corner office of an office tower or industrial park. After all it’s your product and you’re professionalism you’re selling.
Make The Call at the Right Time.
Try to schedule calls at a time that’s right for you and the person you’re calling. Don’t call from the kitchen when the kids are getting off the school bus. This is not the best time for you to focus your undivided attention on the customer on the phone. Likewise, try to call at a convenient time for the person you’re calling. If you’re calling an executive, lunchtime may not be the best time to call. Definitely to not call a retail shop at lunchtime or on a Saturday morning. Remember how you feel when a telemarketer interrupts your family dinner!
Keep The Call Short
Time is valuable to the person you’re calling. It’s just as valuable to you too. Be friendly, professional and helpful without chewing their ear off.
Use Your Website
You may not be able to show them a brochure over the phone, but if you’re calling someone in an office with a computer, you’ve got even a better tool … your web site. Remember you have it and don’t be afraid to use it as part of a sales presentation made on the phone.
Deliver What You Promise
If you promise you’re going to send out a sales kit or proposal today, do it. If you say you’ll call back with a price on Thursday, make sure it happens. Never promise anything you can’t deliver.
Make The Gatekeeper Your Friend and Ally
Receptionists, secretaries, assistants, assistant boutique managers and other subordinates are “gatekeepers” that give you entry or keep you from reaching the decision-maker who determines whether or not to buy your product.
Find out the gatekeepers’ names and remember them. Always greet them by name and make them feel important. They’ll do the same for you
Remember The Golden Rule
When selling on the telephone, always remember the golden rule and you won’t go wrong:
Sell unto others, as you would have them sell unto you!
