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Tips On Using The Telephone
The way in which you communicate with customers on the telephone plays an important role in winning orders. In this article are a wealth of sales training tips that will be helpful for anyone who uses the telephone as part of their job:
Address the customer using their name as often as you can without over doing it. This has the effect of making your voice more accepted.
If you are calling a prospect, make them feel more important by using the word ”personally”: “Am I speaking to Mrs Green personally?”
When you start a conversation on the telephone, do not introduce your self with just your surname. You should give your first name and the name of your company as well. This makes it easier for a prospect to remember you.
Try to turn administrators, PA’s, in fact every one you come into contact in the course of the conversation into your allies. You can convert people into allies very easily by asking for some help: “Could you help me, please? I’m trying to get hold of …”, or “ I’m looking for some help! I’m trying to find out who I should talk to about…” Most people will be willing to help, and don’t mind doing you a favour. If you ask for assistance in the right way, most support staff will help to open the door for you to contact the right person.
Sales discussions on the telephone will often end in failure. However even failures can have a positive impact if the reasons for the failure are analysed by you and acted upon. Fifty percent of failures is due to the same reason – poor call preparation. After every failure, the sales person should ask himself:
What advice, points of contact, references did not work?
What did I fall over at the very start of the call?
Was I talking to the correct person?
Did I call at an inconvenient time for the customer?
Was it the wrong time of day for this type of call?
Did I give up too soon at the first objection?
When you call large organisations, find out the direct dial for the person you want to talk to, and make a note of it in your record book. This way you can get through to the person you want immediately, without having to go through the switchboard.
Errors in hearing can be very embarrassing. Always repeat back any numbers, which your customer gives you. You should spell out the names of people, place names, street names and product names, to ensure that the customer understands you correctly.
Whilst sales training will develop your skills, the best telephone technique will count for nothing if you do not organise yourself before you call. Make sure that before you start to dial that you have everything ready to hand which you are going to need. This could include files, record cards, copies of earlier proposals, a copy of the order, the correspondence file, etc.
The windows and doors to your office should be closed before you start to dial, so that you are not interupted by people coming into your office, or by the noise of road traffic outside the building, or by the general noise in the office around you.
Once the telephone conversation is finished, do not forget to make good notes of what was discussed and to bring your customer records up to date. If you have a bad memory, action the conversation straightaway (and don’t leave it, thinking “I won’t forget that” - because you will!).
Treat each phone call as if it were the only phone call you will be making that day. Don’t think about the last call you made. Nor should you worry about the next call you are going to make.
Let your tone of voice communicate your enthusiasm and involvement in what you are doing. Put a smile into your voice, it can be heard even if it can’t be seen.
Speak to your customer, don’t read to them. The prospect should never have the feeling that he is listening to you reading from a prepared script.
Speak clearly and slowly, and with the correct amount of emphasis on the right words. Allow short breaks to emphasise the important points.
Give the prospect the opportunity to “Yes” to what you are saying now and then!
In summary, your objective is to leave the prospect with an excellent impression of yourself and of your organisation. It takes a lot of practice to become perfect so attend our telephone sales training course to develop your skills.
