Ten Quick Tips to Improve Your Business by Phone!

1. Call preparation:
Make sure you know what you’re going to say, when and why! The last thing you want is to be on a call to a client and not know what’s going to fall out of your lips next. Make sure you create at least a short guide so you can map your way through to a successful call.

2.Call review: This is where we learn what works!
Try and review your good calls. Forget the bad ones or what didn’t go well and focus on what we did do well. Was there a phrase you used that your prospect or client liked? Did the timing and pace of delivery go as planned? What could you do better? Then you can incorporate these points into the next call. Develop and evolve what works for you.

3.Introductions: Don’t mess about!
On a business to business call don’t ask if they have a couple of minutes, they answered the phone so they must have. Secondly try not to ask how they are today. You need to get to the point and not sound like a run of the mill tele-marketer.

4.Use a successful formula for your introduction: Tell them; who you are, where you’re from and the reason for the call and then ... ask a “hot-button” question. The great Alan Pease explains a hot-button when pressed should make a good prospect or client interested in what you have to say. Create your own hot-buttons and use during the call.

5.Call disciplines: Manage time and continuity for better success.
If you have several or many calls of a similar type to make, keep focused. Try not to make one call, have a break or do something else in between. Also, where possible keep similar types of calls together. This helps your flow. Start and finish the calling session in one go. You’ll get continuity, warmed up for calling and more confident as you push on. Plus, you get through what must be done!

6.Have you seen our website? Its www ....
Instead of just blurting out a web address or even a contact point you might want someone to call, ask them “have you got a pen handy?” Most people scramble around and find one or just say “Yes”. Guess what they do now when you tell them your web or number? Yup, they write it down!

7.There’s a problem: About service, product, money or objection.
Use two of the most powerful words you can ever say on the phone. If you are faced with conflict, pricing problems, complaints or anytime there is an uncomfortable issue, Just say “I Understand” Do you know how difficult it can be to argue or even get cross with someone who understands?

8.How to soften your qualifying and questioning: 
Sometimes we need to qualify a prospect or just ask a customer a question about their needs, maybe even about our own delivery of service. Try to bridge with phrases like; “and we wondered John ... if you ever felt ...” or you can use third party examples like; “I was speaking to a business owner the other day and he said to me, ... “Matthew ... we turnover more than 800,000 dollars a year” ... would you say your company was similar John?”

9.Be prepared for all the objections:
You know you’ll get a few and after all, haven’t you heard them all before? Even though they’re said in a different way, most are familiar. Too busy, no budget whatever they are and whichever you face in your business, be ready and have a quality response. Nothing works all the time but handling objections effectively will always increase your sales.

10.Just before you pick up that phone: Imagine!
As you punch in the number to call your prospect or client, ask yourself this. What would it be like to receive a call from me? How do I sound to others? Do I sound the way the prospect expects to hear me? Is my tone okay and not too selling? Am I too fast usually or too slow? Imagine ... and then you’ll hear yourself on a call.