Selling to Anyone Over the Phone by Renee P. Walkup

Author:Renee P. Walkup
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AMACOM
Published: 2011-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

OBSTACLE CHALLENGES

An obstacle is anything that gets in the way of your listening success. Whether you eliminate obstacles or merely find a way around them, one thing is certain: You cannot afford to ignore them. Multitasking Distractions. Part of what attracts many of us to the sales profession (besides the money!) is that it is a fast-paced, varied, and challenging career. For this reason, we often find ourselves multitasking—for example, using our computer to email while on the phone, placing a sandwich order with a colleague, and making coffee at our desk, all at the same time. Sometimes we get a misguided impression that by multitasking, we are getting more done. Let’s take a closer look at this belief.

On the phone, multitasking can be the kiss of death, because if our attention is divided, we are not listening to our customers! When we stop listening, we miss important details that might lead to a sale. When we check email, review our stock portfolio, mouth silent conversations with colleagues, and engage in other activities, our heads are down, and our tone and inflection are impaired. Even rocking in your seat will make you sound different to a customer and affect your ability to listen to the subtleties in the conversation. In addition, these subtle changes in your tone and inflection are heard by the customer on the other end, thereby impeding your ability to gain a rapid rapport.

Solution: Organize and prepare for sales calls. Don’t pick up the phone until you have done the following:

Cleared your desk.

Turned your chair away from all distractions.

Closed your door, or put out a “Making Calls—Please Do Not Disturb” sign.

Turned off audible distractions such as music, the alert tone on email, and your call waiting.

Prepared yourself to make and/or take calls.

Your job during that phone call is to listen to your customer. Those who listen build better relationships, know more about customer needs, and close more business.

Inability to See Customer Reactions. On the phone, we have to determine where our customers are in their thinking with only their words and the tone in their voice to go by. There are many messages in the nonverbal part of communication that can give us a direct line to a close:

Does the customer sound hurried?

Are there hesitations in the customer’s comments?

Are you hearing enthusiasm and fast tempo?

Does the customer sound friendly and engaged, or irritated at having been interrupted?

What information can you gather about customers from the way they speak? A great deal can be learned from tone and tempo, but you need to listen purposefully beyond the words themselves. For example:

“I am not the decision maker.” (They probably want to get you off the phone, but they likely know who is making the decision.)

“You’ve caught me at a bad time.” (If said quickly and in a friendly way, they may be interested but it truly is a bad time. Ask for an appointment.)

Listen to yourself as you read aloud each statement below. Be sure to note the different meanings conveyed when you emphasize a different word.

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