Putting the telephone to work for you

Matt Lynch is the national sales director of LYNKA Promotional Products. John Lynch is president of LYNKA.

Ring, ring!

"Hello, my name is Dean Bumpkin and I'm selling life insurance."

"I see. Well, to be honest, I'm not interested." (Click)

"Uhh, umm, I'm sorry, thank you anyway. Have a nice day."

Whoever likes selling by telephone, please raise your hand! What's that? 1.2 million sales professionals in Poland, and not a single hand in the air? What's going on here? If you can't sell on the phone, then you should think twice about a career in sales. But never fear - the "Sales Brothers" are here. And we are ready to help!

If you don't like telephone cold calling, you're not alone. But in tough economic times - like we're facing today - it's a proven fact that the only way to increase sales is by increasing the number of customers. And that means more prospecting. For you and almost everyone else in your chosen career, prospecting effectively by telephone can be the difference between success and failure. We'll spell out a few guidelines here to help you increase your batting average on the telephone.

Set aside time. One of our top sales reps, Artur, once admitted: "You know, sales reps would rather do anything instead of making calls...write letters, prepare offers, even clean our desks." Put prospecting at the top of your list, not at the bottom. Set aside time each day to make 10 calls to new prospects, regardless of how busy you are.

Get organized and get pumped up! Clear your desk. Have your calendar ready. Get yourself in the right frame of mind. Then, make a warm-up call: call one of your best clients first, someone with whom you have a great personal relationship, and just chat. Their openness will help you get psyched for the next calls. Finally, schedule a block of time for calling. There are real economies of scale in prospecting, both physically and mentally, so try to do at least 10 at a time.

Getting through the gatekeepers. Sometimes the hardest part is getting through the secretary. Our old friend, Australian sales consultant John Levine, advocates the "two-call approach". The first call is to gather information, and to become friendly with the gatekeeper. During that call, find out when are the best times to call the decision-maker, as well as whatever you can learn about him or her. You might follow up that first call with a short e-mail or fax, thanking the gatekeeper for their assistance. For all this preparation work, though, the second call is the real thing. By now, you have your number one potential nemesis as a strong ally. Your new relationship will also help insure that you make your way to the decision-maker.

What's the goal of your call? This may be stating the obvious, but why are you calling? Are you promoting a special deal or calling to introduce a new product line? In many cases, it's not to make a sale, but to set up an appointment. Aleksandra from our Gdańsk office likes calling the prospective client to inform them that she will be mailing out some information, and will follow up with a call in a week. She swears this increases her call success substantially. The goal should be to move the conversation/relationship forward.

The call. In general, we advocate a more natural approach, and not a "hard selling" approach to prospecting. Speak clearly and loud enough to be heard. We notice that a lot of sales reps don't want to be heard by their co-workers, and end up whispering on the phone. Wrong!

The call consists of five parts; here they are:

Gain attention. Do this with a smart lead-in statement. Say the client's name in the introduction as in, "Hello, Mr. Kowalski? Yes, Mr Kowalski, I was thinking about your company and called to see if you were aware ..."

Introduction. This is your 30-second commercial. State your name and the company you work for: "My name is Elmer J. Fudd and I am account director for Warner Real Estate. We were recently named Poland's leading commercial real estate broker by Immobilia magazine. Perhaps you've heard of us before?"

State the reason for calling. The client is busy so don't waste their time. You need to get to the point within the first minute or you could lose them. Provide some new information at this point, i.e. "I am calling because we have a brand new service that could save you a lot of time, and I'd like to set up a short meeting to tell you more about it. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. When would be a convenient time to meet?"

Ask a question. It's important to engage the client and there's no better way than an intelligent open-ended question. "I understand your company has locations all over Poland. Do you mind me asking, how have you located new office space until now?"

Schedule an appointment. If your goal is an appointment, then end the conversation with your goal accomplished. Try not to have this put off. If the prospect seems hesitant, try setting the appointment in two weeks' time. Most people are more protective of their "immediate" future schedule, and less so about the "distant future", which for most busy executives is 2 weeks.

Don't get all stressed-out about this: remember, it's just a game. If you get rejected, so what? Don't take it personally; and besides, there's nothing lost except 3 minutes of your time. After you're turned down, be exceptionally polite and good mannered: thank the client for their time, and let them know that you'll be calling again in the near future and/or will be sending out information by post.

Then just pick up the phone and call the next lead on your list. And remember, like it or not, this is the only way you're going to increase your sales. Besides, what have you got to lose? Pick up that phone, and start dialing!

What's your favorite "war sales story"? Share it with us and maybe we'll include it in an upcoming article! Write to us at saleseye@lynka.com.pl.