Breathe.

…And Breathe

Give yourself a chance to breathe and your prospects a chance to get a word in. When you introduce yourself and your company, pause before you tell them what you do. Give them chance to process the information and response. When they respond, you can then tell them about what you do – in small, bitesize chunks. Allow them to ask questions before moving on to your next point.

The long and short is that no one likes to be talked at. Create a two-way conversation that both parties contribute to. Breathing is the key to keeping your prospects on the phone, and ultimately, improving sales calls.

We’ve all taken those unsolicited sales calls that tempted us to slam the phone straight through the receiver. However, the value of the product being sold often isn’t the issue; it’s the way the spiel is conducted. Sales calls success isn’t luck, so what can you do differently to increase your success rate?

Engage 

By engaging in a valuable conversation, you stand a much higher chance of improving sales calls. You are more likely to pique their interest than by reeling off a rehearsed 2-minute monologue before your next inhale. With the right preparation, you can make your calls worth engaging with. But how?

Prepare

Before you make a phone call, do your research. What are the strong points of the company you are calling? Where could they use some help? Tailor your conversation around your findings. Congratulate their success and then focus on your products that would develop their weak points.

Use the power of LinkedIn to learn about the person you are calling. What have they been up to? You could ask them about their new job role or a charity fundraiser they have taken part in. You could find out more about a course they have taken. A less scripted and more natural conversation will be more valuable to them and you may learn a few things. 

Personalise

Investing time into preparation may result in a few less phone calls but it won’t decrease your sales. Personalising each call will result in more rewarding conversations that develop into valuable relationships.

Demonstrate to your prospects that your products really are valuable to them and they’re not just “another person” you’re pitching to. That’s got to be better than maximising jargon-packed phone calls that have obviously been rehearsed down to a T.

Listen

There is no shame in asking your existing customers for advice. Ask them about which inbound sales calls they have found worthwhile and why. Find out what works well in the calls they recieve and experiment with these techniques in yours.

Learn from every call you and your colleagues make. What works for you and what doesn’t? Is there a certain point in the conversation when prospects seem to interrupt you? The chances are, you’re not giving them chance to think and the conversation has devalued. Acknowledging when this happens is essential for improving sales calls. Note when it happens, identify trends and make changes accordingly.

 …And Breathe

Give yourself a chance to breathe and your prospects a chance to get a word in. When you introduce yourself and your company, pause before you tell them what you do. Give them chance to process the information and response. When they respond, you can then tell them about what you do – in small, bitesize chunks. Allow them to ask questions before moving on to your next point.

The long and short is that no one likes to be talked at. Create a two-way conversation that both parties contribute to. Breathing is the key to keeping your prospects on the phone, and ultimately, improving sales calls.