How To Double Your Sales By Tony DeFrancisco, Phone Sales Pro, Team Leader

This will be the first in a series of posts called "Doubling your sales" and just so we are clear, this is targeted primarily at people in telemarketing sales. And let's define telemarketing. I am not referring to the low paying vacpacs, credit cards and other telemarketing jobs out there that pay $8-$10 an hour and if your lucky with commissions perhaps you can earn $20,000 -$25,000 annually, if that. I am talking about the professional telemarketing positions where you can earn $100,000+

One of my mentors and friends, Stan Billue passed away recently. He was considered to be one of the very best sales trainers in the business. He felt that everyone is in telemarketing. He would say if you used the phone to order a pizza, you are in telemarketing. And if you use the phone to sell any product?or service, you may call it phone? sales, telesales and may call yourself a account representative but it is still telemarketing all the same and you are still a telemarketer.? It's like insurance salesmen who started calling themselves financial advisors? back in the 1980s. A rose by any other name is still a rose.

So if you are in professional type telemarketing be proud of it. You now have the ability to earn as much as doctors, lawyers and other professionals. If you are in the lower end of telemarketing,? use that to gain experience and as a springboard to the higher level positions that are available.

Now on the training.

I used this technique several months ago in my previous job. If you follow my posts, you know I started a new position on May 27th.?

I was working very hard to? close this sale and had been working with this guy for at least 45 minutes. This gentleman had really tested me. Even after what I thought was a great presentation, overcoming objections and using 6 different closes, he wouldn't budge. He keep telling me. "I have to think about it!"

I used the "I want to think about it" closes and nothing. He still said he had to think about it. So I came up with a type of close I had heard from a sales trainer, sort of, using my own variation.

I simply said;

"OMG! I just realized I am using the wrong phone. Can I put you on hold for a second or two while I switch phones?"

He said "Sure" with a what a heck tone.

I immediately picked up again and said.

Ok. Now we are ready. I was calling you on the thinkers phone line. This is the line for leaders who make decisions.

There was a pause followed by a huge laugh. And then he said, "That was incredible. Nobody every did that to me before and I get pitched about a dozen times day. "

And then finally he agreed to buy.

Now why did this work? There were several reasons.

First? I used a pattern interrupt with him.?This is a technique used in NLP. It got him?off his "I want to think about it" and a little confused. This erased his objections and made him open to the opportunity and how this program would benefit him.

Secondly, I got him laughing.? It was said that in his day, Jay Leno made more money than all of the teachers in Los Angeles county combined.?? People want to laugh and be entertained. How long was Johnny Carson on? Same thing. People want to laugh and be happy and happy people are more amenable to buying.

About a month ago, when I interviewed for the job I am starting on Tuesday, I expected a normal one on one type interview. However, I was in for a surprise. As I sat in the boardroom, I saw, one, two, three, finally 8 people walk in and take their seats around me. This can be intimidating and in fact was used for that reason. This company wanted to see how I could handle myself under pressure So I greeted each one with a smile and once they were seated I asked them,

"Do you want me to stand up and put my hands against the wall?"

The leader asked, "Why"? with a laugh in his voice.

I said, "Because this looks like the setting of the St Valentines Day Massacre!"

Everyone in the room laughed and the leader said, "I like this guy already!"

The interview went extremely well with this group firing off? questions and me firing off answers. I got the job, my best job ever so it worked.

Several years ago I was interviewing for a job at a University in a sales position. There were 25 other people in a group interview situation.? And they had told us that they only wanted to hire 3 people. Wow. Talk about pressure.

The Dean and three supervisors were also there and asked us each to stand up in our seats and tell them about ourselves, say something?different than what was on the? resume and finish by telling them why they should hire us.

I went over my background talking about? sales scenarios and finished?by saying, "I consider myself a income producing asset and if you hire me I'll be sure that my asset gets to work everyday and produces high sales for you."

The supervisors and the whole room roared.? And the Dean who was the decision maker laughed so hard that I think they heard him 3 blocks away. I got the job easily beating out the others.

I asked the Dean later if I was out of line with that income producing asset comment. He said "No way I loved it and that was the deciding factor on why I hired you. "

Get people laughing and use pattern interrupts. They work.