This is a guess post by Paul Archer

Be careful of speaker phones or hands-free mobile phones as they might be giving your customer the wrong message.

This afternoon I was sitting in Starbucks enjoying a double espresso and the guy on the next table was using his mobile phone with his speaker enabled. I appreciate that mobile phones are supposed to give us all radiation poisoning if we press them to our ear, but the information he was giving his customer was terribly public. He didn’t seem to mind bless him, but I bet the customers did, if they knew.

Worse than that are conference facilities built into many landline phones. It might be more convenient for you to use this feature when contacting customers but again the same negative message is being given to your customer. Who else might be listening comes to mind. Besides speaker phones sound like you’re in a public lavatory.

A final phone tip for you. If you find yourself working from home and need to make prospecting or client based calls and the background noise just doesn’t work for you. Children making a noise, dogs barking and such…then download a sound file from the internet which mirrors a busy office noise and play it on your computer.

I use one and although my customers probably don’t mind where I am, the comforting office sound made me feel more relaxed and I perform better on the phone as a result. Try it – it works.

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 Jill Konrath

Cold calling is tough. We all struggle with it. That’s why I laughed today when I talked with Sara, who works for a New York-based PR firm. She’d just seen my new video clips where I’m speaking about the challenges of phone sales and connecting with corporate decision makers.

Sara understood exactly what I was talking about! That’s when she told me her story:

I was calling a major media outlet to “pitch” one of our clients. Of course, I got voice mail. About half way through my message, my mind went totally blank. So I hung up.

As soon as my memory returned, I recalled the client and picked up exactly where I left off …

“Hi. This is Sara calling again. We must have gotten disconnected. As I was saying…”

Now that’s quick thinking. I wish I’d thought of it!

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. She’s a frequent speaker at annual sales meetings, kick-off events and professional conferences. For timely and provocative sales advice, visit www.SellingtoBigCompanies.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 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.

It may seem far-fetched to have posture and phone sales training go together, but they do complement each other very well. Putting those two terms together gives you another term: higher sales.

Bringing back to mind your telephone sales training, you get a vivid picture of steps you had to practice to hone your phone sales skills, your cute trainer and his phone sales tips, of how you touched base on topics in phone sales courses, and other things basic to selling over the phone. I’m guessing though that the clearest picture among those mentioned is your cute trainer and his phone sales tips, which includes smiling and being in proper posture as you take calls, and his execution of those tips thereafter.

Proper posture or smiling when speaking over the phone may seem trivial, phone sales tips you may do without. But practicing them can make all the difference when selling over the phone. Important calls are better handled when standing up. Should you opt to sit down, make sure that you maintain a good posture; seating ergonomics will surely benefit you in the long run.

Practicing proper posture or standing up when making an important call makes your voice stronger, clearer, and firmer, hence making your statements more believable and sincere. That in turn will have your clients take you seriously; communication with them will then be easier.

Here is another tip to add to what you have learned from your phone sales training: Free yourself of visual distractions when selling over the phone. Nonwork-related websites open on your computer and your mobile phone buzzing with personal messages may pose as distractions. Speaking to someone over the phone may require more focus than speaking to someone who is right in front of you. It may take more effort to give your complete and undivided attention. Clearing your computer and desk with unnecessary things will help you focus on the conversation with your client.

Aside from clearing your desk of unnecessary objects is to place in it necessary tools; that is, you have a notepad or MS Word ready for you take down notes with. Jot down the name of your client, of his company, and other information. It is advisable that you don’t rely on your memory too much; those notes may just be the handiest thing you have.

With your sales prospecting techniques and phone sales training, the phone sales tips you learned, the phone sales skills you developed, and the phone sales courses discussed to you, you are sure to perform better and gain more when selling over the phone.



This is a Guest Post by Shaun Gisbourne of the PhoneMentor Program.

Having read about how getting one new client can cost more than 8 times what it costs to retain an existing one, it struck me that whatever clients feel about the experience they receive, it’s also very likely that prospects feel it too. Unbeknown to you, clients could even be talking to your prospects about you!

It can be argued that clients will tell other people about experiences with you (bad more than good), and that among the people they tell, some will be potential prospects. That, however, is far from being the full story. The attitude that you take towards existing clients will, to a greater or lesser extent, be reflected in the way you treat new prospects too.

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This is a Guest Post from Julian Blee, of Fat Cat Ideas.

I may rattle some cages with this article, and this is not something I try to do. However, there is one thing  that drives me mad in sales and that is a sales person that thinks that because they are over friendly they will get a sale. Anyone who adopts the ‘smother them in love’ policy really hasn’t thought the sales process through.

Let me explain to you using a real life example that I am sure that everyone one of you can relate to. My mobile phone rang this morning and when I answered it I heard a bouncy over friendly voice say, “Hi I am calling to speak to Julian Blee, this is Barry from ……… (a popular mobile service provider), am I speaking to Julian…?”. I am immediately alerted to the fact that this is more than likely a telesales call. I am automatically on the back foot and feeling defensive and thinking of how I can begin the ‘getting rid of them’ process. Needless to say the conversation was a cold call from a mobile phone service provider attempting to better my current package.

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Here’s Part 2 of a guest post by regular Telesales Magic contributor Paul Archer of Archer Training, based in the UK. Paul completes this two part look at how to effectively listen on your sales call by looking into beating distractions.

Eliminating Distractions

One of my first sales jobs was working as a financial adviser for a busy estate agent in a major city.  My desk was right by a large picture window opening up to Guildford High Street.  On a Saturday or a busy lunchtime, hundreds of people would walk by, some would stare in at me. Cars and trucks would drive by and there would always be some movement going on outside.And meanwhile I had to use the phone to speak with customers.

I also recall the very next day being told in the morning that the company I worked for was up for sale.  Suddenly the external distraction of the window didn’t matter, as my head was full of internal distractions this time to prevent me from listening to my customer. Its so difficult selling on the phone when the world is full of distractions.

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Check out this guest post by Karen Andrews of Shine Sales Solutions. Karen has the uncanny ability to get right in there on key issues for salespeople, which we love here at Telesales Magic!

You feel as though you have done everything right. You’ve connected with your prospect well, they have explained their business issues and you are working directly with the person who has the authority to make the decision. They have given you all the right buying signals but the only problem is you can’t get them to sign on the dotted line and now they aren’t returning your calls.

In order to wake up a stalled sale, you must first diagnose the reasons behind it. The problem may not be that the sale stalls, the problem is that we just don’t recognize it soon enough and waste valuable time and resources on dead-end opportunities.

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In this guest article from Paul Archer, of Archer Training, we look at a practical strategy to use to help you deal efficiently with problems and issues raised by customers.

Ideal for sales support people particularly when on the phone, customer service specialists, account managers handling existing client accounts and anyone who deals with customer issues. You’ll find lots of little tips and ideas that can help you improve this vital area immediately with some specific tactics to adopt when pacifying the odd irate customer plus how to give bad news, not everyone’s favorite sport.

Removing the Emotion
Have you ever had to deal with customer problems and queries particularly when they start getting a little heated? Your blood pressure builds, you start becoming defensive – all those human emotions of dealing with stressful situations can get in the way of handling the issue competently.

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