This is a guest post by Karen Andrews

Did you know that the majority of telephone sales leads and enquiries do not get followed up more than once (which could be why your business has a low conversion rate*)?

To improve your sales or that of your telephone sales team, develop a system to regularly check where each one is at and when they were last contacted. If you hold sales meetings, doing it at the beginning or end of each month is perfect.

Here are some statistics that I’m sure you will find most interesting:

• 48% of sales people never follow-up with a prospect
• 25% of sales people make a second contact and stop
• 12% of sales people only make 3 contacts and stop
• Only 10% of sales people make more than 3 contacts
• 2% of sales are made on the first contact
• 3% of sales are made on the second contact
• 5% of sales are made on the third contact
• 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact
• 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact

To ramp up some sales in the next couple of months, go through all the leads you have received over the last 3-6 months and either you or your sales people pick up the phone and call them. You will be surprised how many people haven’t done anything, simply because no one has bothered to follow up and they have simply been too busy to do anything about it.

* Your sales conversion rate is how many enquiries you receive vs. how many you convert into customers over a specified time frame. To calculate your sales conversion rate follow this simple formula

Total No. of Sales/ Total No. of Enquiries x 100 = Sales Conversion

e.g. 100 sales / 80 enquiries x 100 = 80%

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach, Strategist and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

This is a guest post By Art Sobczak

There is no excuse for placing a “cold” call to a prospect. With the abundance of online information available about individuals and companies, and by asking questions of others within a prospect organization, you can gather useful intelligence that can help you “smarten” your calls.  This means you can quickly relate to the prospect, his/her concerns and desires, and perhaps something that is a burning issue for them right now.

You also can warm up the prospect prior to the call. If you, a staff member or marketing person can send something in advance—something that can possibly acquaint them with you, and perhaps create some interest—then by all means, do so!  IF it is targeted and relevant, it can have a significant return on investment.

My friend and fellow sales trainer Bill Lee (www.BillLeeOnline.com) suggests a good idea: Put your prospect on your mailing list long before you make your first call. Of course, this requires some work and planning on your part; but again, if you are serious about this and make Smart Calling™ a systematic habit, then it will become a ritual for you.  Bill suggests sending things that you feel the prospect might find useful (“useful” is the key term here; don’t send purely self-promotional propaganda). Send things such as:

•  News clippings

•  Magazine articles

• Copies of web pages with interesting info

•  Helpful hints pertaining to their  business

•  Your company’s newsletter (again, the more about them, the better)

And let me add to the list:

Books. Find general, current, popular business books. Include a brief note about how you thought the prospect might find this interesting, and that you will be contacting him or her soon to discuss some ideas. Sound too expensive? Of course, you wouldn’t send these out by the thousands; but let’s say a book is $15. I bet you’d have a better chance of getting in to a high-level prospect when you say to the executive assistant, “I’m the guy that sent the book.”   When this prospect becomes a client, you’ll make that $15 many times over.

Audio CDs or video DVDs. Similar to a book; be sure it is something educational, topical, and of value that will pique their interest and curiosity.

Greeting cards. A very persistent sales pro sent me personalized greeting cards every month for 16 months (that right—16!) while I continually evaded his phone calls. I finally agreed to take some time to listen to the automated system he was using for sending out the personalized cards. I was sorry I had waited so long to discuss it with him, and now endorse and use the program. I suggest you look at it as well; See complete details on the program  at www.BusinessByPhone.com/soc.htm

The best time to send the items is after you have already asked some questions of others in the decision maker’s department, what I term “social engineering.”  This allows you to tailor what you send to the prospect’s interests, and then enlist his or her assistant in helping you get it to the buyer. And when you do call, you still want to follow all of the steps in the Smart Calling™ system. Do NOT—I plead with you— do not start out your call with, “I sent you a letter, did you get it?”

Emailing Before a Call
Emails before a Smart Call™ can warm them up, if structured well. I recently received an email that did catch my attention. It started out with,

“Art, thought you might be interested in hearing about how another sales trainer like you was able to get new customers and maintain them at a high lifetime value.”

Then he went on to share a success story, mentioned some of my services and how they were similar, and shared some testimonials. He said he would call me. That message earned my time because it was personalized, not just in name, but in content. He did his homework. He also built credibility by using a testimonial with an example of someone like me. Very nice.

This can work also with a hard copy letter. Again, the key is using Smart information, and not trying to sell in the document.

Sending Unusual Items Prior to a Call
Donnie Deutsch, host of the CNBC show, The Big Idea, tells the story of when he was building his ad agency, and he wanted the account of a regional car dealer. To get to the person who was in charge of awarding the contract, he shipped an assortment of individual car parts every half-hour for a 12-hour period to the guy’s house. Each part was accompanied with a different message, like, “We’ll Give You Bright Ideas” (a headlight); “We’ll Protect Your Rear End” (fender); “We’ll Steer You in the Right Direction”  (steering wheel).  In total, Deutsch sent 24 of these packages. He got the account.

There is no doubt that sending unconventional items to buyers can get their attention. I put these things into the “gimmick” category. Just like a trick play in football, they make for a sexy story, and they are fun when they work; but you likely won’t build a career on them. Here are just some of items I have seen and heard about.

Packages of coffee and a mug. “I’d like to have a cup of coffee with you to discuss some ideas about??

Shoes, or blow-up feet. “I’m trying to get my foot in the door.”

Lumpy mail. Direct mail marketers know that a three-dimensional envelope gets opened before standard direct mail. You are limited only by your imagination. Oriental Trading Company sells all kinds of fun things. www.OrientalTrading.com.

A sales rep with Troy XCD Inc., Angie Medina said that in order to really differentiate herself, she sends a crumpled up catalog or brochure in an envelope and attaches a note saying, “Don’t throw this away again!”

At a marketing seminar I once attended, one of the participants shared the method he has used to seize the attention of high level decision makers. I thought that I had heard most of the gimmick-related techniques of sending odd objects to decision makers; but this one beat them all. This sales person purchases cheap, $20 disposable cell phones (the kind you can get at WalMart). He then sends them to his highly-targeted top level decision makers along with a note that says, “I believe we can help you increase your profits. I will call you at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday the 16th. Please listen for my call.” Then he calls the cell number! He claims that it is so unique, that it works almost every time.

Again, if you are having a difficult time getting through to a buyer—someone you feel you must have as a customer—and have exhausted all of your other avenues, you have nothing to lose by trying an unconventional approach.

(Art Sobczak works with thousands of sales reps each year helping them get more business by phone. His new book, “Smart Calling” shows salespeople how to eliminate the fear, failure and rejection from cold calling. To learn more about the book and get the free report, “The Top 10 Dumb Cold Calling Mistakes that Ensure Rejection” go to www.SmartCalling.com.)

This is a guest post by Mike Brooks, www.MrInsideSales.com

I don’t know about you, but my email open rate is going the way of voicemails – rarely listened to, and quickly deleted.  What I’ve found, however, is that there are some techniques that can give you the best chance of getting your emails read and even responded to, but you have to be very specific in the way you construct them.

Follow these six email secrets the next time you write and send an email, and you’ll be on your way to the kind of response you used to get – and the kind that will lead to more business:

Email Secret #1:  Use the prospect’s first name in the subject line.

Think about it: what is everyone’s favorite word?  Their first name!  Have you ever been in public before and heard someone call out your name?  You automatically turned around and were receptive and ready to respond until you saw they were calling someone they knew.

You can get your prospect’s attention the same way by putting their name in the subject line of your emails.  To start with, doing so will distinguish your email from the hundreds of others your prospect gets, and because we are all drawn to our own name, it will draw your prospect’s eyes to your email like a magnet.  This is the very best way to get their attention and a great way to get them to read more.

Email Secret #2:  Customize the first few lines of your email as much as possible. Many people preview their emails by reading the first few sentences in their email program before deciding to read the whole thing, so concentrate on writing a short and value laden opening that is addressed right to them.  Something like:

“Hi Barbara, Mike Brooks here with HMS software.  I’ve got some ideas about your networking issues for your new office that’s opening in Houston next month.  I think you’ll find it useful if we talk.”

Again, keep it short, customize it to what you know they’re interested in and provide immediate, specific value to them.

Email Secret #3:  Keep your email short and easy to read! Nothing will turn your prospect off more than long, information packed paragraphs.

Their eyes will glaze over and they will hit the delete key faster than it took you to hit the send key!

Don’t let any of your paragraphs be more than three sentences, and if possible, make them just two sentences.  Recap the major ideas in short phrases, and make sure to engage your prospect by asking questions.  An example would be:

“Hi John, I was wondering if you were still having trouble recouping all the available cash from your current collection program?  If so, you’ll want to speak with me about our new itemized IT solution.

I’ve got some time next Tuesday or would later in the week work for you?

Please let me know either way.  You can see more info here (your website address).

If I don’t hear from you, I’ll follow up with a call next week.”

Email Secret #4:  Ask for a return response – whether they are interested or not. This is a great way to end your email and a good way to get a response.  Just think about how nice it will be to finally take someone off your list who isn’t going to do business with you, and also how great it will be to find someone who is!

Simply thank them in advance for their consideration and let them know that you’re looking forward to their response on this – either a yes or a no.

Email Secret #5:  Promise to follow up by phone if they don’t respond.

Let them know that you understand they are busy, and that if you don’t hear from them, then you’ll follow up with a call in a day or two.

This really increases your response rate and you can be happy when you get a “not interested” response.  These prospects just disqualified themselves and saved you a lot of time and energy!

On the other hand, there will be others who don’t respond and they become your follow up leads.

Email Secret #6:  Proof read your emails before you hit the send key.

Because your prospect can’t see you, they only have your writing sample to judge you on, and if it’s filled with misspellings and poor grammar, what kind of impression do you think this makes?

It only takes a minute to proof read your emails, and I’ll tell you now I’m always glad I did.  I almost always make them better, and when I hit the send key I know I’ve sent out the best message possible.  Doing so allows me to make the best impression, and this once again separates me from my competition.

So there you have the six secrets to writing effective emails.  Believe me, following them will give you the best chance of getting through to decision makers and getting responses that will give you an understanding of where you stand.  That’s a whole lot better than chasing and wondering, isn’t it?

If you found this article helpful, then you will love Mike’s: “The Complete Book of Phone Scripts,” which is packed with word for word scripts and techniques that you can begin using today to make more appointments and more sales.  You can read about it by clicking here:

http://www.mrinsidesales.com/scripts.htm

Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales, works with business owners and inside sales reps nationwide teaching them the skills, strategies and techniques of top 20% performance. If you’re looking to catapult your sales, or create a sales team that actually makes their monthly revenues, then learn how by visiting: http://www.MrInsideSales.com

This is a guest post by Paul Archer.

I almost fell right into their trap. I was just a mouse click away from being sucked into the greatest scam that happens every Christmas and I’m still shaking with the nerves.

My daughter, Bethan, has been asking for a new game for her Nintendo DS called Professor Layton and The Curious Village. So when I arrived home after a gruelling car journey down the M6 in the pouring rain, she grabbed me at the front door. Please Daddy, please Daddy…pleeeeease. Bags, cases, coat, laptop in hand, I speedily agreed to her persistent request so as to get inside in the warm.

More fool I. Now being a good and principled father, onto the Internet I went in search of her game. Amazon, game.com, Tesco online, play.com…I tried them all and no one had any stock in at all with not a whisper of availability before Christmas.

I’d been done like a kipper.

Kippered by the toy company who knew full well I.d have to keep to my commitment to my daughter and buy the game and when they release more stock after Christmas, which they will. I will be consistent.

And in the meantime, whilst I.m on Amazon or play.com I.ll have to buy her something else to make it up to her having to wait until after Christmas. And thousands of other dutiful parents are doing the same thing.

The influencing technique is taken from Doctor Robert Cialdini.s principles of influence is called commitment and consistency which is really useful in selling, managing large accounts and coaching your team.

The principle boils down to the fact that humans value consistency – it’s good and principled, makes us known as honest and reliable. Let’s face it, who doesn’t want to be these things?

It’s used throughout society. Weight Watchers, which I’ll be joining in the New Year, works because you publicly have to weigh yourself. In front of others – perish the thought. Political canvassers ask you to say verbally who you’ll vote for on your doorstep which they’re kissing your child.

No one ever changes their football team after they’ve told people they support them.

This principle is really useful for us as well and here’s some ideas:

• Ask your customer to fill in the application form themselves
• Use test and trial closes during your sales pitch, even after the first 5 minutes
• Help people make a small purchase early in the relationship and this will encourage them to be consistent.
• Get a commitment at the beginning of your sales meeting to give you some referrals
• When coaching just ask lots of questions to encourage them to talk and say what they’re going to do. Its   classic GROW model and it works
• In coaching make sure you allow your team member to vocalize their action plans
• Contract with team members in meetings to summarize their actions out loud and in writing

Many of these things we’ve been told before but it’s helpful sometimes to know the science behind them. And beware of ever been caught out yourself.

Did I fall for it? Well, no thankfully, as soon as I realised all the companies were out of stock so quickly and knowing that this is the number one game this Christmas, I soon put 2 and 2 together and pleaded with my daughter to accept a store voucher instead so we could get the game after Christmas. Mean old boring Daddy. After all it is credit crunch.

Paul Archer is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK. He specializes in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small. For more information on Paul and his training courses, visit www.archertraining.co.uk or his sales  blog at www.paularcher.com

This is a guest post by Karen Andrews

For many people just the thought of ‘asking for the business‘ or closing the sale, brings about paralyzing fear of rejection and feelings of being too pushy. So what happens? It gets avoided at all costs and that doesn’t help anyone.

The problem with letting fear get in the way is that sales drag on way to long and they often get lost as a result of not following-up. Remember if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Interestingly, it’s very rare for someone to be annoyed with you for following-up, if they have been meaning to call you, you’re doing them a favour by saving them time. If they haven’t made a decision, that’s OK just ask them when you should call them back (so your not bothering them unnecessarily in between).

Closing is many things, it’s not just about winning the sale; closing is moving the sale through the process and getting agreement at each step, for example:

• Agreeing to a next appointment
• Agreeing to prepare a proposal
• Agreeing to a demonstration
• Agreeing to the next step
• Agreeing to get started

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the more work you do in the early stages of the sale to understand their ‘needs’ and their buying reasons, the easier and quicker the sale will be. Here are some tips and techniques that you can follow to make the process easier

1. Spend more time asking questions that uncover needs and any problems, challenges or frustrations they may be experiencing. Businesses pay money to fulfil needs and solve problems. If you have a clear understanding of the problem or the need you can match your solution to it.

2. If you can’t uncover any of these reasons, I would suggest there is no reason for your prospect to buy it and the sale will be difficult to close.

3. Ensure that both you and your prospect understand and agree on their needs or problems and the value they will receive when you help them solve it.

4. When your prospects clearly understand “whats in it for them” it’s makes their decision easier and quite often they want to buy from you.

5. Tailor your presentation around their needs and “whats in it for them” Great presentations communicate this clearly and gets your prospect into ‘buying mode’

6. Rcognize when people are ready to buy. They might indicate or show they’re ready by asking questions about the product or the buying process: “How long will it take for delivery?”, “How does that work?” or “Where to from here?”. Other signs include positive body language and comments such as “we could use it like this?” or “that’s a good idea.”

When it comes time to ask for the business there are 3 different techniques you can use. I find the ‘assumptive’ close tends to work best for me but it’s important to find a technique that works for you.

The direct close
This is the most direct because you actually ask for the order. For example “should we get the product ready for tomorrow?” or “Would you like to place an order”

The indirect close
This is where you summarise and re-state the benefits and then ask for a decision. For example “having spoken to some of our clients and heard about the benefits they have been enjoying as a result of our service, are you ready to place an order”

The assumptive close
This is the one I use all the time and it assumes that the customer has made the decision to buy your product. Instead of asking them for an order, you ask them to complete the first step to get the service started or goods delivered. For example “if you need to have delivery next week, I need the order from you no later than tomorrow” or “when would you like us to get started”

If the client is unwilling to move ahead, perhaps you haven’t addressed all of their concerns or perhaps they have a misunderstanding about your product or service or fail to see the benefits of what you offer.

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach, Strategist and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

This is a Guest post by Art Sobzcak.

Cutting costs is something just about everyone is interested in, especially given the economic situation of the past couple of years.

An entire special section in the Wall Street Journal focused on businesses cutting costs.

A USA Today article discussed how more people are opting for credit cards that just don’t give airline or other travel points, but those that can cut mortgage payments, or reduce their monthly interest expenses.

And, any biz school student can tell you that to increase profits, you can increase revenues, or, you guessed it, cut costs.

Is that something you can affect?

How do you help companies or individuals control or cut costs? (Which, in turn, increases profits.)

How are you doing it?

Of course, before you go crazy with the idea, it’s important to understand whether your market is interested in cutting costs.

If so, capitalize on it.

Here are some specific ways to do so.

During Conversations With People Other Than Your Decision Maker

As I always preach, get information from anyone and everyone before speaking with your decision maker. So, ask questions of admin assistants, others in your buyer’s department, or anyone you reach for that matter:

“What are the initiatives in your division/group/department? Cutting costs? Increasing productivity?”

“Has there been an emphasis on cutting spending lately?”

Then, if you learn, or know, that cost cutting and expense control is important, you can work that into your call strategy.

Here are ways to do so.

In Your Voice Mails and Opening Statements

Based on what you know about your prospects and customers, you could use words and phrases like these. Think of how you could customize these to to fit in what you sell and what you could do for them.

For example, you could say,

“Ms. Prospect, we help companies to …”

…cut the costs of…

…reduce expenses on…

…trim the fat from…

…lower the payments on…

…lessen the…

…control the costs of…

…reduce interest rates on …

…eliminate the waste in…

…minimize the number of ...

…prevent increases in …

…pay less for…

…get discounts on…

…increase the amount of ____ they get, for the same price they’re paying now.

…find the best prices for…

…reduce spending on…

…delay increases in…

…consolidate the bills for…

…take advantage of credits for…

…reduce debt…

Of course, there are many other ways to communicate how you can help control costs.

Saving time is another major area. Think of ways you can include that as well.

NOTE: Most salespeople say “save you time and money.” That boring, and so overused it’s virtually worthless. Find something more creative.

Questioning

In your questioning, it’s important to help understand where they’re bleeding.

Then, open the wound wider.

“What’s that costing you?”

“What other costs are you incurring?”

“How is that affecting overall profits?”

The language of cost is universal. It touches a nerve. If you can affect it, and it’s something that is important to them, that’s a recipe for your sales success.

Art Sobczak has helped sales pros say the right things by phone for over 27 years.  Get a free ebook of tips at http://www.BusinessByPhone.com, and see more free sales and prospecting tips, hear recorded calls, and watch videos at http://www.TelesalesBlog.com

This is a Guest Post by Mark Hunter.

Have you ever been in a selling situation when you were not able to close the sale? Of course you have. Every salesperson has. If you are unable to close the sale, you must ensure you close on something.  This is true if you sell primarily face-to-face, and it is true if you sell primarily over the phone.

First of all, don’t skip on doing the leg work of making sure you have uncovered the customer’s true needs and wants.  Keep good records, because even if you can’t close the sale right now, you may still be able to make a connection with the customer in the future based on either new product lines you have or the customer’s ancillary needs that occur to you after the call.

If you cannot close the actual sale, one of the key areas where you can “close” is to establish yourself as an expert and trusted advisor.  When you do this, you build the customer’s confidence in you.  Make sure your voice tone conveys that even if the customer doesn’t buy from you right now, you still are available as a resource in the future.  Do not allow the customer’s rejection of your offer at that moment to impact your voice tone and enthusiasm at all.

With your words and your tone, express to the customer that you are available for any questions they may have, even questions general to your industry.  In addition, do not hesitate to alert the customer to information that will benefit them, even if such information doesn’t mean a sale for you.

Establish yourself as a trusted advisor upon whom the customer can rely, and you will be more likely to secure sales from that customer when they are ready to buy.

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. He is a consultative selling expert, specializing in custom-tailored sales programs. You can read his blog at http://thesaleshunter.com/blog.

This is a Guest post by Art Sobzcak.

Guess who says the following:

“Hi, I’m just calling to check in with you.

a. Parolees out on probation, checking in with their probation officer.

b. Sales reps who call customers or prospects and can’t come up with anything more creative or interesting to say.

c. Teen-aged girls, every two hours on the weekend, calling their parents.

d. All of the above.

The answer of course, is “d.” What we will concern ourselves with is “b”, the Probation Officer call.

These calls are most often placed by reps who call regular customers on a regular basis, or when placing follow-up calls to those lukewarm prospects.

And the result usually is not very good.

No wonder. There’s nothing of interest or of value there for the listener. Are they supposed to get excited simply because you called to check in with them?

What to do? Have a reason for calling. Have something of interest. Search your notes from previous calls and make that the reason for this call. For example,

“Stacy, it’s Ken Mackeral with Fish Supply. I’m following up on our last conversation from January. At the time you mentioned that you were going to be expanding your catfish operation in May, and I wanted to share some information about what another customer of mine did to help keep his expansion costs low and increase his capacity.”

Use Your Database

Here’s a specific way to help you come up with great reasons to call, and call the right people.

Let’s look at a scenario using something that every company experiences: changes.

For example, has your personal or business bank changed names and/or ownership within the past couple of years? A friend told me his has changed. Three times. One astute bank sales rep who has been pursuing him manages to contact him after each change while the effects are fresh in his mind. Although he hasn’t moved yet, the timely calls combined with the annoyance of the changes are beginning to wear down his resistance.

Let’s look at the sales ideas and strategy at work here … the ones you can use too for a variety of situations.

1. Prospects can be particularly vulnerable after their existing vendor is acquired, merged, or undergoes some other type of change.

2. Taking advantage of it requires you to track who a prospect uses, and be able to sort your database accordingly, just like the rep mentioned above probably did.

Most contact management and CRM programs allow you to customize fields and sort accordingly. Consider assigning a field for “Current Vendor.” Then it’s a breeze to do a quick sort of all the prospects who have the competitor’s name in the field, and plan your next contact.

When calling these prospects, naturally you don’t phone with an attitude of, “So I see your vendor was just acquired. I bet things are a mess there!”

Instead, treat the call just like you would a normal follow-up. But, be prepared to ask questions designed to get them to tell you the problems and pains they might be experiencing as a result of the change.

For example,

“Mike, you’re still with AB Vendor, right? I see. With the recent acquisition, some of my other customers have noticed some changes in the promptness of getting orders delivered. If that is an issue for you, we have some options that might be worth taking a look at. What has been your experience?”

You could use this technique with any number of changes or events that customers or prospects might have interest in, that could be a great reason for calling if that situation occurred.

For example, let’s say a prospect told you that if you ever came out with a left-handed adapter for your product, they would get them in minute. You would then put LHA, or “Left-handed adapter” in your notes, and when your company introduced one, you’d simply do a sort on that code or term and have a great list to call, with a great reason for calling.

The only reason to make the Probation Officer call, (unless you actually have one) is a lack of creativity or work. Use these ideas and you’ll go further with these prospects and customers.

Art Sobczak has helped sales pros say the right things by phone for over 27 years.  Get a free ebook of tips at http://www.BusinessByPhone.com, and see more free sales and prospecting tips, hear recorded calls, and watch videos at http://www.TelesalesBlog.com

This is a Guest Post by Mark Hunter.

I’m not talking about the dial tone. I’m talking about the tone of voice your prospect is using. More specifically, I’m talking about what to do when you hear a change in their tone of voice.  We communicate with our voice, but it goes way beyond just the words we say and the volume with which we speak.  The real telling signs in telephone sales are in the tone of the voice, particularly pitch.

Listen carefully to the next person with whom you talk, and you’ll detect slight variations in the tone. What you are listening for is when the tone or pitch goes up and when it goes down. When this happens – when there has been a change – the person to whom you are listening is reaching a conclusion of some type.  Typically, a customer’s tone/pitch will go up slightly when they become excited or enthused, and it will go down when they’re resigned or view something negatively. Often, this change of tone is also accompanied by a change in the speed with which they speak. An increase in the words per minute signals excitement and a slow down signals calmness.

The trick with all of this is to know how to use it to your advantage. A customer’s change in tone, pitch or rate of speech is not as important as how you respond to it.  When a customer’s pitch/tone goes up, you should immediately ask them a question that gets them to build on what is making them excited. Then, immediately follow with a question to close the sale.  If, on the other hand, the customer’s pitch goes down, you should ask them a question that pertains to the biggest need they’ve expressed to date. If they have not expressed any need to you thus far, then ask them a question that would draw out what you believe is the biggest need or pain they’re facing.   Follow that question with another question that gets them to build even more on what they just told you. The key is to draw out as much as possible the need they’re facing. In doing so, you’ll be in a better position to close the sale.

Another key way you can use the tone/pitch is to help validate what the other person has just told you.  It’s very easy for a person to say something that is not the truth from a vocabulary standpoint. However, it is incredibly difficult to mask their tone/pitch.  Again, this can be a clear sign when someone is talking to you as to whether or not what they’re telling you is factual or merely something to help end the call.

This is the reason I tell anyone who is spending any degree of time on the phone to use a headset that covers both ears. Using an ordinary phone will not give you the listening advantage you need to discern the slight differences in a person’s voice. These slight differences are exactly what can help you dramatically distinguish what the customer is really saying. Ultimately, you will be better equipped to close more sales.

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. He is a consultative selling expert, specializing in custom-tailored sales programs. You can read his blog at http://thesaleshunter.com/blog.