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10 More Tips On Preparing For The Call

Written by: Linda Mattacks

Article Overview: Many people don’t find prospecting easy or enjoyable yet they need to do it to bring in business. The following tips apply equally to the telephone or face-to-face and are designed to help your calls be successful...

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10 More Tips On Preparing For The Call

1) Avoid using ‘jargon’ – sometimes we’ve become so comfortable with the products or services we’re selling that we don’t realise we’ve inadvertently slipped into using specialised language

2) Don’t be too friendly with your customers or prospects – you’re dealing with them in your professional capacity, you’re not there to be their best buddy

3) Be specific and factual - don’t exaggerate or generalise – if you do you won’t be believable

4) Quantity of sales calls is important - don’t swan off after one good call - maximise on a ‘good run’

5) Quality of calls is even more important – one lady was regularly attempting 50 telephone calls a day, making on average one-minute contact with 30 decision makers and getting knock backs from 99% of them – now she’s having proper conversations with them and is getting positive results on over 75% of her calls – sure the number of calls has gone down somewhat but which would you say is more effective?

6) Speak in a conversational manner - don’t be either theatrical or in too much of a rush – The first just isn’t believable; the second is normally down to nerves – trying to get the call over with as quickly as possible – be normal!

7) Only try to engage your customer or prospect in a sales conversation when it’s convenient for them to listen and take part fully – try asking them if they have a couple of minutes right at the beginning of the call – you’ll be surprised at how that little courtesy alone differentiates you from 95% of your competitors!

8) Have a specific sales goal in mind when making the call – and, no, it shouldn’t be “I’m gonna sell this guy something”

9) Keep searching for new customers… but don’t ignore your ‘regulars’ – it costs a lot less to sell more to an existing customer than it does to a new one, so don’t just assume yours are happy to continue dealing with you, find good solid reasons to be in regular contact in a way the suits them

10) Listen (and look out for) hints and clues that will help you to identify the type of character you are dealing with – remember it’s down to you to tailor your approach to suit the style and comfort zone of each one

Hope these tips help you.

Happy hunting!

Linda

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Home > Sales > Linda Mattacks > 10 More Tips On Preparing For The Call
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About the Author: Linda Mattacks
RSS for Linda's articles - Visit Linda's website

"Linda Mattacks is one of those rare professionals who combine deep strategy-awareness with a thoroughly practical approach to business marketing. What's more, she is as much a hard-nosed and sales-driven results seeker as she is an intuitive people person who understands what makes everyone tick. She has built a wealth of experience in sales training, business research, marketing campaign planning and project management. Linda has helped organisations of all types and sizes in the UK and Europe to learn more about their customers and markets, and turn that knowledge into revenue. Her mature and human manner has won her both business partners' and colleagues' complete trust, which has opened many new opportunities for all involved.” - Jaakko Alanko - MD McCann-Erickson, Business Division, London, England ... Linda Mattacks is a trainer and mentor. She has developed Selling For Business a suite of courses that combine the sales, research and contact marketing skills that enable individual entrepreneurs and small businesses to compete successfully with large organisations. Please visit www.sellingforbusiness.com for more details or www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk for lots of tips and ideas...


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