Closing a sale is no easy feat. It is filled with hurdles and issues that come from just about any direction. And what makes a great sales agent is turning those hurdles and issues into opportunities. But what makes a greater sales agent is being keen on reviewing and learning more about telesales (e.g., making the most of his telesales training, recalling sales prospecting methods, reviewing topics in phone skills training courses, joining telesales training workshops, and delving into telesales training manuals).

That may take a lot of practice (and a few lost clients even) but one way to start is going over previous calls. A mere review of the calls made and spotting the errors in them can do wonders to the next calls you will be making. Upon that review, you will observe how you have applied what you learned during your telesales training (and may get a good laugh at it too), and notice how you have applied those trained methods with apparent rigidity.

We’ve all been through that path, I guess: having our fair share of crappy job performances. I’ve had my fair share of screwups. Just recently, major mistakes of mine came flooding back to me as I was on my way to a local printing company to conduct a training program there.

Exiting the highway toward Como Avenue, I found my thoughts drift back to the days when I was a sales trainee at Xerox. Back then I covered the 55414 zip code. It’s where I learned and unlearned lessons that are still inculcated in my mind to this day. It’s where I also developed a lot of skills useful for any job.

Lesson 1: How to Get Unstuck

After my telesales training program at Xerox, I was given the task of following Jim Farrell for a number of weeks in order for me to learn more things. Then came the day came for me to be on my own.

I first worked at Quality Products. When I arrived there, for some reason, I found myself not wanting to get out of my car; I wanted to stay inside its comfort. I was frightened, feared that my sales career was over before it could even begin.

Half an hour passed, and I still stayed inside my car. From nowhere, the film Sound of Music popped into my head, specifically the song “I Have Confidence.”

I began humming the tune, then murmuring the words, and eventually singing the song out loud. These were the lines that captivated me the most: “I have confidence the world can all be mine.

They’ll have to agree I have confidence in me.”

I didn’t find those lyrics realistic but they did lift me from my “stucked state.” I opened my cold call plan, went over it, and practiced my statements over and over.

I was then able to finally get out of my car and went in the office. True to the song, I did gain my confidence and, in a way, the world did become mine—by being able to make 20 cold calls and getting a few potential clients.

Throughout the years, I have come across issues, difficult situations, and other problems (that were hopeless. They seemed to be then at that time) because I still didn’t have sufficient knowledge and experience. The realization that came to me then was the impossibility of knowing everything before starting. That is why it is good to resort to your telesales training, recalling telesales tips and the telesales training courses, reviewing your experiences during your telesales training workshops, and reading more telesales training manuals. Another valuable lesson was that for me to find the answers, I have to be constantly moving, not stay stagnant.

Lesson 2: How to Get a Hold of Higher-Level Decision Makers

Trussbilt was one of my prospects while cold-calling. The company ceased operations for a couple of years already. Trussbilt was replaced by the printing company I was to conduct the sales training program on. The sense of déjà vu was all over me when I entered their office.

During that time, I was working Tinsey, an assertive woman who informed me that she was in charge of the copier decision. After meeting Tinsey, I came across a telesales training manual that said that it is the higher-ups that a salesperson should be working with, not with their subordinates.

I had an administrative assistant for a contact. I knew the situation had to be remedied at once. I called Mr. Big and scheduled a meeting with him. I then prepared myself to assure a well-done job.

Unfortunately, I was not able to take advantage of this opening. I came across Tinsey, who was accompanying a guest of her boss. Upon seeing me, she demanded to know the reason I was there.

I said, “I’m here to meet Mr. Big.” I didn’t have confidence in the approach I was taking. Tinsey got furious and yelled at me. I was being yelled at like never before.

I was stunned, got scared, became woozy, and fell to a faint in the middle of the lobby.

I opted to stop doing business with Trussbilt and forget about Tinsey. I learned that it is improper to go around people you work with without them knowing. It may be a natural human reaction, but anger is what usually comes up.

Today, in order for me to get to the people that I need to work with, I inform my potential clients this: “In working with my clients, it is important for me to speak with the sales VP, the marketing directors, and the regional sales directors.” That has been one of the things I learned from my training and telesales techniques I learned from first hand experience. Doing so avoids problems that can render your sales efforts useless.

Lesson 3: How to Be Direct with Your Offer

The Kaplan Company was nearby Trussbilt. When I entered one of the offices of the Kaplan Community, I noticed that there were thirty women preoccupied with order entries and customer service issues.

I informed the front desk personnel that I wished to speak with person in charge of copier decisions. After checking with her boss, she brought me into his office. The boss told me to sit and that I had 5 minutes to speak.

I said courteously, “If you are busy, I can go and come back another time.”

He replied, “No. You have 5 minutes to convince me to buy your product. Your 5 minutes starts now.”

I was taken aback. My efforts to engage him came out as mumbles. I pleaded for more time to explain but he was no longer interested. Five minutes passed. He stood up and said, “Your 5 minutes is over. You may go.”

That made me furious. I told the boss that he was impolite and inconsiderate. I stormed out of his office, shouting, “I’ll see to it that nobody sells you a Xerox machine. You don’t deserve Xerox.”

I really did blow my top there. Not only did the boss become as furious as me, but he also made sure not to do business with Xerox again. But I saw his point. I lacked the ability to be brief and concise with what I had to offer.

I was used to establishing a connection with a client by warming up the call; that made me feel better. That boss was a busy person judicious in managing his time. I fell short of respecting his needs. After that tragedy, I studied ways of being direct with my offer. That experience has taught me a lesson more important today than it was before.

Making sales calls without cold calling sales techniques can be a school of hard knocks. Each time you get knocked down, you have to respond skillfully, knowledgeably, and instantly. You have to get up again, learn from the experience and various online telemarketing tips.

One of the hardest things to do is to see your personal involvement in the situation. But that is also where you get to maximize your growth and that is where you find the key to earning long-term sales and success. Having those experiences gave more meaning to the things I learned from my telesales training and reading various telesales tips.