When They Answer The Phone

What do you do when they pick up the phone?

After a very brief opening statement, encourage the prospect to speak up first and freely by asking a specific situational open-ended question.

This is a "Where are you now?" question. Such questions start with "How do you currently handle ..... ?" or "What are you doing in the area of ... ?"

The person on the other end will surely know the answer if he is the correct person you should be speaking with.

Keep your focus on what the prospect says by feeding back their answers to them. Move into the areas of "Where do you want to be?" and "How do you plan to get there?" by using a directional statement such as "Let me ask you a question" or "By the way ... "

This type of statement lets you set up your next question. Use questions to control the direction of the call.

Remember your goal or objective of your initial call is to get an appointment. This is not the time or place to try to sell something.

Concentrate on finding what is important or of value to the prospect both personally and professionally.

Get them to agree that you maybe able to deliver this value if they meet with you, and then ask for the meeting.

Do not forget the last part. You MUST ask for the meeting. This is your job not theirs.

Picture yourself as the director of a play and you control what happens when and where on the call.

The key point is this. You want the other person to do most of the talking and yet you want to direct the topics of the conversation to be covered. This is what you do when you get when the person picks up the phone.

After asking your initial situational question redirect the conversation into the areas you need to cover to establish the basis for an appointment.

This not only makes the other person feel heard, it also allows you to control the conversation. The person that asks the questions controls the direction of the call.

If you can master this technique, you will be well on your way to getting more appointments in less time than before.

Copyright 2004 by Intellworks, Inc.

Ron LaVine is president of Intellworks, Inc., a cold calling sales training firm. Subscribe to his free bi-monthly ezine, "Sales Tips for Selling Success". It is loaded with useful advice and tips on how to increase your sales. And you'll get his special bonus report "41 Sales Tips You Can Use Right Now" as well. Subscribe today at: www.intellworks.com.

When They Answer The Phone - To learn more about this author, visit Donald F. Pooley's Website.

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