Training
March 2010
Keep in touch with effective use of the phone
One element of successful business, one for which CEOs around the world share enthusiastic agreement, is that of communication. Today, we live in a world where life’s pace has increased exponentially. We now have face to face, telephone, text, e-mail and social networking. Associated with each of these varied forms of communication comes the need for the appropriate skills, if we are to maximise their use and effectiveness.
A standout for me in the area of communication is the telephone. Next to a face to face meeting, I believe the telephone is crucial to building rapport, especially with client relationships. Whatever your position in the company, from CEO to new starter, positive use of the telephone should be a priority for everyone concerned.
I will in this article be talking about what I call ‘positive phone behaviour,’ as it applies to the direct sales industry.
In the process I will borrow from the myriad of studies on the subject, add in my own personal experience, then marry these findings to the best learning in the world, which is data gained from actual field tests and workshop hands-on experience.
Surprisingly, the upshot, when all the fancy acronyms, the theatrics and the jargon are stripped away from professional use of the telephone, the bottom line principles for its productive application, turn out also to be the simplest.
PREPARATION + PRACTICE = POSITIVE PROCEDURE
Rewarding phone behaviour does not come about by chance. It is a combination of a number of learned procedures and developed skills. Foremost is the realisation that in today’s direct selling commercial world, the majority of us still get to hear the caller but not see them. This means that one major component of good communication and one perhaps regarded as the most important – body language – is absent. So you need to look at the remaining two components more carefully.
- The words you use
- Your tone of voice.
In fact, according to research your tone of voice NOT specifically what you say is the most important part of any phone conversation. As high as 80 per cent of the listener’s interpretation of your spoken word will be based upon your tone of voice. Now that’s scary!
That means a good attitude and a pleasant disposition are key elements before you say a single word.
By combining a friendly, respectful attitude with the appropriate conditioned response to a variety of situations you have the very stuff of which customer friendly reputations are made.
Our workshop entitled, ‘Positive Phone Behaviours’ deals with all facets of telephone use, including, the greeting, positive phrases, inter-departmental responses, transferring the call, placing a caller on ‘hold’, offering alternative assistance, taking messages, and even handling complaints.
Here, in the limited space available I will outline the steps essential for you, your Distributors or your Consultants to make a telephone ‘outgoing/cold’ call. I have selected the ‘cold’ call because calls to known clients present little or few obstacles. It should be mentioned though that respect and rapport are enhanced when we apply the same rules, whether the client is known or not.
For most people, the making of a call to a friend or a colleague comes as second nature. In most cases the telephone conversation will be informal, even chatty with both parties putting down the phone feeling good about the conversation. Now consider a ‘cold call’ and the stress free experience can change for all concerned. The
conversation can seem stilted, often scripted, with the recipient’s experience, being one of confusion or worse, resentfulness, a result of feeling ‘talked at’ as opposed to being ‘talked with.’
With that said, a few basic rules need to be laid down in order to provide guidelines. These rules are what I call ‘conditioned attitudes’ and ‘conditioned responses’, so named because practice will provide you with the right response for most situations. There is nothing wrong or insincere with knowing in advance how you will respond in certain situations. You are going to have to say something, therefore why not respond with words that will have the most positive effect in advancing your purpose.
SIX RULES FOR POSITIVE PHONE BEHAVIOUR
- Smile
- Personalise your introduction
- Seek permission to speak
- Have a valid reason for calling
- Be flexible
- Next step
Let us examine each rule in a little more detail:
1. Smile
…before you pick up the phone. Take a moment to collect your thoughts. Check your attitude. This is a business call, and a smile shows through in your voice. A friendly tone conveys warmth and creates an instant impression. Give yourself a break. Take the pressure off. Repeat to yourself, “My sole purpose is HOW to help this person. Without that focus my time is wasted, there will be NO positive outcome, and NO win-win solution.”
2. Personalise your introduction
Avoid changing who you are when you make your call. There’s no need to be on ‘stage’ or to sound like someone else. Just be your everyday relaxed self, as if you’re calling a friend. People know when you’re being genuine, and when you’re not.
“Hi is that Mary Smith?
“Yes”
“Hi Mary this is Frank Webb from -------- I was hoping you could help me out a moment?
“How can I help you?”
“I am just giving you a call to see if you are……(develop two of three specific problems that you know your product or service solves and then choose the one problem that you think will interest the person you are calling).”
3. Seek permission to speak
When you seek permission up front to speak, and get it, you are free to continue. If you are refused then you have an opportunity to call back when it would be more convenient.
No one’s time has been unduly wasted.
“Mary, I just need two minutes of your time, would now be okay?”
“I can spare a minute.”
“Thanks, I do appreciate that.”
4. Have a valid reason for calling
The abuse of RULE 4 is the cause responsible for more aborted outgoing phone calls than any other. It’s why cold calls are so often treated by clients as time wasting, even suspicious. If you do NOT have a valid reason which implies a genuine customer benefit then you should NOT be making the call.
5. Be flexible
Don’t try to keep the conversation in a linear sales script, generate a spontaneous conversation based on the problems you can help the other person solve. If you get an objection, ask the prospect to elaborate on what concerns them, let them talk! Once armed with specifics you are in a position to overcome to their satisfaction.
6. Next step
Save trying to sell your product or service until you are face to face, have a next step in mind. Preferably, the setting up of an appointment.
“I know you’re busy right now Mary and I appreciate it.
Could we arrange a convenient time when I could let you see firsthand, the ----- this offers you. I can also share feedback with you from other users. Would you be free later this week?”
“No this week’s right out. Have to be sometime next week.”
“That’s fine, would Monday first thing suit, say 9.00am or would 10.00am be better?”
Remember to offer an alternative.
And that same day, confirm the appointment in WRITING, with an email, SMS message, thank you card or personal letter. Along the lines of:
Hello Mary,
Thank you for making time available on the phone today. I look forward to meeting you in person at your office/home on Monday next, the 5th Feb. at 9.00am, to discuss how …can help you ……. Until then, thanks again.
Sincerely,
Frank Webb
The 6 RULES for outgoing calls are simple, they are logical, and they make perfect sense. Remember the 4 Ps?
PREPARATION + PRACTICE = POSITIVE PROCEDURE
Reading the 6 RULES through once or twice won’t achieve the desired result. They need to be internalised. Professionalism requires persistence. Practice, and rehearse your phone attitude until they become part of you. Do that and 30 days from now you and your sales team will be enjoying a whole new understanding of what positive phone behaviour is all about.
The best part is that, from now on, outgoing calls will be less threatening, more fun, and best of all more productive in a financially rewarding kind of way.
How bad can that be?
IJMS are UK based and help direct sales companies sell more and spend less. They work anywhere in the world.
