The phone is the No. 1 most effective tool of a salesperson in today’s market. No other tool gives you a greater balance of leverage of your time versus actually creating a personal connection. In this video, I will share with you phone tips you absolutely must know about.
Click the video below:
Three Phone Sales Tips You Must Know About
#1. Tone it down. Salespeople have been taught to show lots of enthusiasm on the phone, yet this is really debilitating because nobody wants to talk to the “Hey! How are you!?!” guy.
Tone the opening down with something a little bit more real, something along the lines of, ‘Hey George, Marc Wayshak calling; did I catch you in the middle of something?” By using an approach that’s much more relatable and much more genuine, you’re going to see your connection and conversion rates go up significantly.
#2. Script out the first ten seconds of your call. What’s amazing is that so few people actually truly script out the first few seconds of their call, yet no one’s surprised that research shows us that most prospects take about seven seconds before they decide whether or not to hang up or allow the call to continue.
Don’t leave your opening to chance. Instead script out exactly what you’re going to say every single time in order to engage that prospect.
#3. Lead with common challenges. Your prospects do not care about what you have to sell; all they care about are their challenges and goals. So instead of focusing the call on how great your product or service is, focus the call in a direction that’s going to get them to talk about what’s going on in their world.
Here is an example of how I might start a call with a prospective client: “George, a lot of my clients are coming to me right now for a couple of reasons. One is that they are losing sales to low cost competitors; two is that they are just really struggling to maintain a good sized pipeline, or number three, they are just finding that the ROI on their sales activity just isn’t where they want it to be. Do any of those challenges ring true to you?”
By using an approach that is focused on challenges and then ultimately engaging that prospect, you’re going to find that your prospects are suddenly much more responsive to whatever it is that you ultimately have to offer.
So there you have it: the three phone sales tips that will dramatically increase your sales results—to more and bigger sales.
I want to hear from you, so which of these three tips did you find most useful? Be sure to just share below in the comments section.
I have found that rather than saying “Did I catch you in the middle of something,” I have had better success with “Did I catch you at a bad time?” It is always a bad time; plus people like (fundamentally to say no). So when they say no to that question, they are inherently allowing you to proceed with the conversation.
I like both and mix them up. As long as you are starting with one or the other, you’re in great shape!
#3. Lead with common challenges. Your prospects do not care about what you have to sell; all they care about are their challenges and goals. So instead of focusing the call on how great your product or service is, focus the call in a direction that’s going to get them to talk about what’s going on in their world. AGREE!
Nice. It is such a huge distinction Krista.
I found #2 to flip a switch for me. My previous work experience from years ago was all scripted. Bringing that element back and making it effective was what I will take most from this. Thanks Mark!
Glad it was helpful Danielle. Keep up the great work!
#3 Was the best tip for me, although all are great. Thanks for posting this!
Thanks Chris, the phone is truly a powerful tool.
As I consultant with auto dealers I provide phone training for outbound and incoming prospect calls. I like number 3.
You have my wheels turning on outbound calls to have our customers share some of the challenges they are facing while trying to start the buying process online with an industry that fights the appointment driven culture.
Thank you
Hi Donna, leading with challenges is going to be key to closing more appointments. Great job!