The Sales Messenger on Telephone Calling

The Sales Messenger book

What are you selling when you make a call?  Hint: not yourself, not your product nor your company.  The purpose of a call is to sell the idea that you are worth someone giving you their time and time is more valuable than money.  So, you better make your story a compelling one when attempting to “sell” an appointment.  Cold calling is the least productive way of trying to get a sale. Your chances for sales success are dramatically increased if you first try to establish a point of reference with the prospect. That is why getting referrals can be very effective.

Here are some other telephone tips to remember:

• Use polite words and know that your first 20 words are the most important
• If you know the person, keep small talk to a minimum and transition to the business at hand
• If it is a referral, state the name of your referral source up front, example, “Rob White, our mutual friend and my client, suggested I give you a call”.
• To convey confidence, speak a little faster and louder and a lot clearer
• Smile; it can be heard
• Keep your lighting high in your office; in a dim room, your voice may sound dim
• Do not eat heavy before making many calls; feel sluggish and you will sound sluggish

Repeat Calls:  Remove names from you list if they are not responding to you. This is a difficult thing to do, but if they keep telling you it is not the right time, there is a good chance; they are just being nice to you.  Give it your best shot and know when it’s time to let go.  If you truly believe in your product or service, it is the prospect’s loss, not yours and move on to those who care.