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.

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.

Think about it: Imagine you’re speaking with a prospect who reveals an issue that you’ve already had a very difficult time dealing with for one of your existing clients. As you recall that experience, the prospect will be able to detect your response; vocal, physiological or otherwise, and on the basis of that they will gain an impression of how you will likely respond when it comes to helping them resolve that issue. If your response is to sigh, shift uncomfortably in your seat, scratch your head, pull a face or attempt to change the subject, chances are the signal you’re giving is discouraging from the prospects’ viewpoint and you’ll not be entrusted to help resolve their issue. They in turn will never recommend you to others for anything.

Whenever it has become clear that an experience with a client has proceeded less than smoothly, keeping the lines of communication open may be a challenge as both parties can become defensive, a natural and instinctive human reaction. Nevertheless, the lines of communication must be kept open, it is crucial as otherwise there can be no way forward to progress to a satisfactory conclusion for anyone. Failing to acknowledge unresolved issues and avoid working on them only makes the problem worse.

It is for these reasons and more that keeping the lines of communication open with existing clients, in the form of short surveys, pre-arranged telephone conversations and (where necessary) meetings, is so vital to successful outcomes for both you and your clients.

Assuming that clients and/or prospects are happy simply because you’ve heard nothing negative from them is very dangerous. What are you doing today to find out how your valued clients feel? What will you do to ensure that you know what they really want from you? Is your prospect waiting for you to be pro-active and prove yourself worthy of their business?

If you never call, you’ll never know…

Shaun is author of the PhoneMentor program, delivering practical resources and solutions for businesses, Subject Matter Experts and other SME’s to capitalise on their use of the telephone.

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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.

They may have been able to offer me a phenomenal package that would have had me howling at the moon in delight, but the fact of the matter is that people do not like to be sold to, so I completed the getting rid of them process and ended the call. I won’t go any further into what dialogue was exchanged, but I will look at why his pitch didn’t even have a chance to blossom. There were 3 primary reasons why it failed within 15 seconds:

1. Over friendly
2. The need to confirm he was talking to me clarified he didn’t know me
3. Each sentence was doused with a heavy dose of ‘upward inflection’

Let’s look at these 3 common mistakes…

Being too friendly, to someone that you actually do not know can result in the complete opposite.

1: Over Friendly
This is a common misconception that being super friendly towards people when cold calling will somehow assist you in the ‘getting to know you’ process. This is an approach that was outdated, but is still taught by a huge population of unskilled sales trainers throughout the telephone sales industry. If someone walked up to you in the street with a beaming smile and said “Hi how ya doing, do you have a few moments?” I am sure that you would be rather unnerved and suspicious of their motives. The same goes for the telephone. If you’re calling clients or potential clients for the first time, when you get through to them please don’t act as if you are their best friend and be over familiar and over friendly as that approach just doesn’t work. The only sales people that should do this are those that sell Happy Meals.

Zig Ziglar says, “Sales is a process and not an event.” As it is a process certain things need to be done in order to get the order. One thing that you should never do is be over familiar. No one likes over familiarity, and there isn’t a better way of becoming over familiar than being too friendly to someone you don’t know, too soon.

2: Am I Talking to You?
Talking to someone you don’t know, as if they are your best friend is bad enough. But talking to someone as if they are your best friend and then having to ask if you’re talking to the right person just makes you sound stupid. I fully understand that it is essential that you must confirm that you are talking to the right person but there is a better way of doing it and I will come to that in a few moments.

3: Upward Inflection
For those of you that don’t know what upward inflection is, it’s the upward direction of the voice’s pitch that’s usually placed at the end of a sentence. For example; if you saw someone that you were fond of and you hadn’t seen them for a while you may say; “Hi, how are you?” Because of the nature of the greeting and the friendliness in your voice you would more than likely apply upward inflection at the end of the sentence.

If that’s not clear in your mind yet try saying aloud to yourself, “Hi, how are things going?” (Don’t try this exercise on a busy train or tube as people stare. Trust me, I’ve done it.) Before you start talking to yourself, let me ask you to do this twice. Firstly say it as if you’re pleased to see someone, picture someone you like, someone who makes you smile. Secondly, pretend that you are saying the same thing to someone that you are not keen on. It shouldn’t be someone you despise, just someone that you wouldn’t really want to get stuck in a lift with. You will find that the happier you are to see someone, the more upward inflection there is on the end of your sentence. You will find that when you are not super pleased to see someone, you can still be polite, but you won’t have the over-friendly upward inflection at the end of your sentences.

That type of upward inflection is fine when you’re talking to a friend, but when you are talking to a potential client for the first time it screams ‘TELESALES.’ Nothing will inform the person that you are a sales person quicker than upward inflection. One other characteristic that upward inflection carries with it is a lack of confidence. Upward inflection at the end of any sentence hints at the fact that you are not 100% confident of what you have just said.

I will give you an extreme example of this. My fiancée is from New Zealand and when we have dinner parties our house is usually full of the booming voices of all of her Kiwi and Australian friends. One thing that is very noticeable about both these type of accents is the consistent presence of upward inflection. This is not a slant on their incredibly boisterous accents in any way shape of form, but an observation of ‘upward inflection’ in full friendly swing.

I was introduced to an Australian guy a few weeks ago at a Christmas party. I told him that my name was Jules and he said, “Nice to meet you mate, my names Terry.” The upward inflection was so extreme on the end of his sentence that I noticed that it actually sounded as if he wasn’t sure that his name was in fact Terry. Of course he knew what his own name was, but I am simply pointing out that upward inflection can even add an element of uncertainty to someone telling you their own name. If it can have that effect of someone telling you something of unquestionable truth, imagine the effect it can have on the first few lines of your telephone sales pitch.

We have covered the following 3 aspects of a dying sales pitch:

1.    Being over friendly
2.    Confirming that your speaking to the right person
3.    Upward inflection

I know that some of you are thinking that I have gone crazy because we all know that those 3 points that I have mentioned are in certain degrees absolutely imperative for a good opening pitch. It’s important that you build a rapport with your client. You need to be friendly to your potential client, you also need to confirm that you’re talking to the right person, and well, Jules you’ve already said that upward inflection can sound friendly, and friendliness is a good thing. So if all of these things are good, why are you saying that these 3 points will kill a sales presentation?

These qualities and actions are necessary in order not just to open your sales pitch, but also to continue through your presentation and to close the deal. However these skills, and many others need to be used in a certain order and with certain degrees of usage. The reason that they will kill a presentation is because they are used in the wrong order and in too high dosages. I like a hot curry, but if I order a Phaal the heat is just too extreme and it ruins everything, including the lining of my oesophagus.

Too much of anything in most cases just doesn’t work.

You are right in thinking that the 3 points I have been questioning are in fact quite important. But the thing that needs to change is the upward inflection. If your change the upward inflection to downward inflection you are in a whole new ball park concerning your voice and how you come across on the phone.  If the opening 15 to 30 seconds of your call is delivered with downward inflection it adds a new aura of seriousness to your presentation.

Downward inflection carries a sense of confidence with it. It tells the listener that you have something serious to say. Let’s face it, if the prospect doesn’t buy from you, you get no commission, if you get no commission you can’t pay your rent, and if you can’t pay your rent well, that is serious, isn’t it?

Let’s go back to the beginning of this article when I mentioned that I was called by a sales person this morning with a bouncy and beaming voice. What if the person said exactly the same thing, but this time they inflected downwards. It doesn’t matter if you are Tigger himself; downward inflection will make you sound more serious and it immediately gives you more kudos. If you sound serious, people will listen to you. And believe me, in your opening gambit, that’s exactly what you want to happen. You want the prospect to listen to you and actually weigh up in their mind whether they want to give you some of their valuable time or not in order for them to hear more about the offer you have just briefly summarised in your 30 second long opening pitch.

Try this exercise when you are selling over the phone today. Try opening a client with upward inflection, and then the next one with downward inflection. 9 times out of 10 the downward inflection will get you further.

Remember that sales is a process, and in order to get to the sale you must travel through that sales process in a structured fashion. You need to get to know your client and they need to get to know you. So if you are the most bubbly, bouncy and boisterous person, start off with some downward inflection, otherwise too much too soon can scare the client off.

Julian Blee has been in the sales business for 20 years and is currently the ‘fattest cat’ at UK firm Fat Cat Ideas, a company that offers sales orientated SME’s a range of no nonsense, jargon free, sales training, marketing and copy writing services.

If you like this post, you might like these other telesales and telemarketing tips:

Telesales Urban Myth #1 – Ignore No’s, You Can Always Deal With Them at the End!

Telesales Urban Myth #2: – You’re Quite Chatty, You Should Be In Sales!

Telesales Urban Myth #4: “You’re a Good Salesperson” is Not a Compliment!

5 Quick Telesales Prospecting Tips!

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.

External Distractions

I’m always amazed when I’m coaching people who use the phone all the time, how many distractions there are that can prevent you from listening 100% to the customer. There’s always people coming up asking if you want a cup of tea, people wandering around, some people making lots of noise.  A general buzz.

A useful exercise is to make a list of all the external things that can cause you a distraction and then make some decision about what you can do about them, so as to minimize their effect.  Here are a few examples:

•    Distractions on desk
•    Distractions on screen
•    Noise in the office
•    Colleagues interrupting
•    Watching colleagues

Internal Distractions

Equally annoying are the internal distractions that dominate our thoughts. The fact is we speak at about 150 words per minute, but think at 750 words a minute.  So you can see why our head is always so full of words and self talk.

So how do we fill the gap? Here’s some examples of internal distractions:

•    Daydreaming – half listening though mind wandering off
•    Filtering – hearing what you want to hear
•    Making assumptions – you know what they mean already
•    Rehearsing – thinking about what you are going to say next
•    Placating – right…yes…I know…absolutely…you are being nice and agree with everything

Easier said than done, but the key here is to understand your internal distractions – identify them and then make a decision to fix them.

Summarising to Listen

Because using the telephone eliminates the body language side of communication we have to accentuate certain other communication skills to make up for this.
One of these is the art of summarising.

Observation of excellent call handlers and telephone salespeople shows that not only do they summarise what’s been agreed at the end of the call, which many of us do, but they regularly summarise throughout the call. Summarising throughout the call can:

•    Show the customer you have listened
•    Allow you to keep control of the call
•    Helps you direct and signpost the call
•    Shows empathy with the customer
•    Helps to interrupt long-winded customers.

So how do we summarise?  That’s like saying how do you eat Cornflakes for breakfast?  It’s easy. You poor in the cornflakes and then follow up with the milk.

Likewise summarizing is not difficult… You start one with a phrase such as:

•    “Let me see if I’ve followed you so far….”
•    “OK, let me recap….”
•    “Let me check…”
•    “Let me check I’ve got everything….”
•    “What you’re saying is…”
•    “Can I just go over your main issues….”
•    “Can I stop you and make sure I’m with you…”

Then you summarize and ask the customer if I missed anything. Remember to summarise a little bit more during the call and not just at the end.

Paul is an international speaker, trainer, author and coach based in the UK.  He specialises in rapport selling and rapport sales management and can ignite his audiences large or small.  Find out more about Paul by visiting his website www.archertraining.co.uk

Related telesales tips and cold calling tips:

How to Listen Effectively on a Telesales Call: Part 1 of 2

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Is your new Telesales & Telemarketing Tips & Tactics Blog doing okay so far…?

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Preparation – The Key to Successful Cold Calling & Telephone Selling!

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.

Little connection to a critical business issue - How is your product or service addressing a business issue for your customer or prospect? For each opportunity in your sales pipeline answer this question:

Why does your prospect want to buy this product or service?

If you cannot communicate how your solution can: 1) Improve revenue, productivity, qualify or efficiency, 2) Save time or money, or 3) Solve a critical problem, challenge or frustration that the business is facing, you can expect your sale to stall. Business owners and Senior Executives only spend time on matters that directly impact their business. If cannot identify a business reason and you want to jumpstart the sale, try to meet with your prospect again to discuss their critical business issues rather than your solutions.

Customers Are Busy
The end of a sale often becomes difficult when your customer or prospect stops returning your calls and emails, overnight. It appears as though they have lost interest and the sale has gone cold…Or has it?

Many of us find it difficult to get everything done during work day or experience unexpected problems which take our focus elsewhere and your customers are no different. In fact, the better the prospect the busier they are likely to be.

It is important not to panic at this stage and let the customer or prospect fall away or to annoy them with endless phone calls and messages.

Keep momentum by maintaining regular contact, acknowledge your client is busy and perhaps ask them when would be an appropriate day or time for you to call and follow-up.

“I Want to Think it Over”
That old chestnut! When a customer says, “I want to think it over,” this may not always be the case. Some are actually saying “thanks but not thanks” to avoid a potentially negative and uncomfortable situation and some genuinely do want to think it over or talk to their business partner. The important thing is to know the difference between the two.

Some people just need a little push and a little help to make the decision. They may find making decisions difficult and are afraid of making the wrong decision. To many, no decision is the best decision.

When the prospect says, “I want to think it over,” it is important to acknowledge and respect what the client says. Smile and say “that’s a good idea, this is an important decision and I completely understand your need to think about it” which will help the prospect to relax.

It’s important now to leave things for a while, or you will lose this person as a prospect and begin the never-ending game of phone tag and follow-up!

Karen Andrews is the Director of Shine Sales Solutions, based in Australia, and has over 10 years experience in managing new business development campaigns for companies. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Studies in Business Management & Human Resource Development.

More telesales tips and cold calling tips:

Is your new Telesales & Telemarketing Tips & Tactics Blog doing okay so far…?

How to Deal with Customer Problems on the Telephone

How to Listen Effectively on a Telesales Call: Part 1 of 2

5 Quick Telesales Prospecting Tips!

How to Support Telesales Cold Calling with Great Follow-Up Sales Emails!

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.

I took up mini rugby refereeing a couple of years’ a go and experienced this many times. Occasionally when I made a decision which went against the coaches and parents’ views, I began to feel pressure build up inside especially when the same parents voiced their concern over my decision.

This blood pressure build up clouded my concentration and affected the way I went about the rest of the match. In the same way handling intense customer problems where they might be a little agitated can have a similar effect. I improved my knowledge of rugby laws, took some courses and this knowledge helped me. Likewise we can ensure our own product knowledge, understanding of the computer system and general confidence can help us to handle customer problems.

But the real breakthrough for me came when I heard these words from an experienced referee:

“Be sure of yourself, take your time, move purposely, act deliberately, be decisive with your communication, ignore the calls from the touchline, blur them out of your mind and above all remember that there is no game without the referee.”

This strategy advice changed my game enormously and removed much of the emotions.

Like a lot of difficult situations the best thing to do is to plan in advance how you’re going to tackle them when they occur. You’ll be amazed at how quickly this can take the pressure of the moment and let you deal with the situation deliberately and professionally without emotions getting in the way.

The Strategy:

L – listen
A – acknowledge
P – probe
A – answer
C – confirm

Listen
Telephone listening needs to be noisier than the face to face kind. Let the customer spill out their problem or issue and invite them to empty out before moving onto the next stage.

Use verbal nods to show you’re listening “I see”, “go on”.

Concentrate on the caller and try to eliminate any distractions around you both external ones and those that go on inside. Remove the emotions that might be building up inside you. Remember the customer is not getting excited with you, just the company you work for. Get yourself into 3rd person position to build empathy; this is where you can see both yours and the customer’s point of view.  Then you’ll appreciate their excitement.

Finally remember to summarise the problem that they customer has given you using a phrase such as “let me make sure I’ve got this right then…”.

Acknowledge
More empathy building going on here. Acknowledge that you’ve heard, have understood and can see their point of view. This is often enough to placate them until you’ve solved the problem as it buys you time.

Use reflective statements here such as:

“I understand what you’re saying”
“I can appreciate how you feel about that.”
“I’ve been through that as well and it was terrible.”
“I see where you’re coming from”
“Gosh that must be awful”

Probe
Now’s your opportunity to probe a little more to ensure you have the situation clear in your mind. Ask some searching questions to isolate the problem or issue to make sure you have it all wrapped up. Asking a question or two also gives you valuable thinking time so you can chew over the problem a little more.
Care with your questioning though as deliberate precise questioning can be construed as interrogation and if your customer is getting a little irate this can turn up their blood pressure.

Use open questions here and soften them by putting a soft fronter to them. Sometimes just by putting a few words at the beginning of a question can really soften its impact and make it far more palatable.  Words such as:

“May I ask….”
“I’d be curious to know….”
“I’d be very interested to know…”
“Tell me…”

Or any other words that suit your style. Telephone experts usually have a full voice range able to effortlessly move from low to high pitch at will. Most of us have to learn this. Deliver a question by lifting your voice a tiny bit at the end of the question.

Answer
Now’s the time to answer the customer’s issue or problem. It may be that you’ll have to go away and find out, speak to someone else or whatever is needed to get the answer.  Make sure you obey the golden rule of under promising and over delivering. Give a timescale to get back to them but allow yourself some buffer just in case.

Sometimes you have to give bad news and here’s some ideas to deal with this particularly difficult task, which many of us dread and will put off.

Three steps to give bad news:

1. Tell the truth
2. Reflect feelings
3. Take charge for the next step

Tell the truth as it is. Don’t flower it up to make it sound less imposing.  Get to the point and give the facts and use as little language as you can.  Don’t waffle the answer. You can mix up the bad news with some good news using the word “but” to separate them.  “But” puts emphasis on the next part of the sentence for example:

“I’m afraid our product doesn’t have that feature but it does allow for unlimited claims in the future”
“Your clawback period will be 3 years but once you’ve achieved this level of business we can reduce this to 1 year.”

Then reflect feelings which you’ll get.  Go silent. Wait and they will respond.  Reflect, reflect, reflect but be careful you don’t agree just respect their position and situation.

Once you’ve reflected feelings launch into next step mode. Your customer will want to hear what’s the next step so take charge and outline where you can go from here and what can be done in the future.  Think actions.

Confirm
Finally confirm that all is OK or that you’ve helped as much as you can.

LAPAC is really useful and does work. The key parts are the acknowledging and probing which calms your customer and gives you thinking time.  It shows the customer that we want to take some time with their issue and do what we can to help.

Use it, practise it and next time you find yourself getting high blood pressure, just stick to the strategy and you’ll soon find the emotions leaving and you can concentrate on answering the query or handling the problem. Just as I now do with my little junior rugby players when the coaches and parents start debating my decisions on the pitch. But I have to say the little ones are darlings on the pitch, it’s the parents who sometimes need to do some growing up.

Rant over!

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.paularcher.com, where you’ll also find his own sales blog, too!

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