Tip #1: Bring on the Kid in You
Brand enthusiasm is the single most effective skill you can develop to generate sales. Genuinely caring about the product, and convincing yourself, first and foremost, of the value of the product are the crucial first steps to making sales. Much like a method actor might pretend even off-set that they are Abraham Lincoln or a fugitive on the run from the law, you should take the time and energy to develop an understanding and interest in the product you’re selling outside of the phone calls you’re making.
Tip #2: Use Casual, Friendly Language
Making sure that the person on the other end of the phone knows that you are a human being with a life of your own and that you know this about them too, is a great way to make a connection that can lead to a sale. Your enthusiasm for the product is a great starting point, but walking the line between formal, polite language and casual familiarity will help you to effectively communicate the value of your client’s product. People are far more likely to actually listen to you if they think of you not as a robot or interruption to their day, but as a fellow human being.
Tip #3: Practice Your Pitch
Whether it’s doing the ol’ stand-in-front-of-the-mirror or practicing with a friend or family member, getting a little bit of time to hear yourself speak in a setting separate from the phone can give you insights into what you might be doing right and what you should work on. Sometimes, you might not even know the gaps you might have in your knowledge of the product or in the logic you use to sell the product. This can help with the stage fright that sometimes strikes unexpectedly when a customer has a question you might not yet know the answer to–learning how to calmly respond to any query is a hugely important skill in sales calls.
Tip #4: Pay Attention to Tone
A great thing to take note of is how your tone might change over the course of a call or right from the beginning–do you sound stressed or easy breezy? Do you sound genuinely interested or do you have a bit of a bored drawl after a couple of hours of making calls? Keeping your tone natural and easy going while also maintaining professionalism and focus can make all the difference in the effectiveness of a call. If you have a smartphone, try making a few short recordings of yourself in the voice recording app to see how your tone changes depending on the kind of call you’re making. Retaining your composure and tone of voice even if the person on the other end may not do so, is important in retaining control of the call.
Tip #5: Opener
Play around with your hook. The first words you say can impact the rest of the conversation dramatically, so try out a couple of different phrasings and keep a tally of which is most effective.
Tip #6: Rejection’s Bound to Happen
Don’t let rejection, an inevitability in this field, get you down. Learn not to take hang-ups and shut down conversations personally–they happen to everyone. What differentiates you is whether or not you can harness the sensation of rejection as a motivator to improve your sell. Taking occasional breaks to re-calibrate and starting fresh is a tactic that can help you to approach calls with the same energy you had at the beginning of the day.
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