How to effectively sell goods over the phone and conduct telephone conversations with customers. How to sell services to a client: step by step instructions

Every manager should master the technology of telephone sales, since about 70% of transactions originate from a telephone conversation. Moreover, almost every commercial enterprise trying to keep in touch with regular customers, periodically notifying them about discounts and expanding the range, and also widely practice direct search for new customers by phone.



The very technology of sales through the phone can be divided into two conditional types - when the client calls the manager and when the manager calls the client. In the first case, the manager's task is to keep the client and make him permanent, in the second - to find a new buyer, reach out to contact persons, collect basic information, etc. Accordingly, it is best to develop two regulations, prescribing the main points of telephone conversations in them and disassemble with employees tactics of behavior in a given situation.

Client manager
So, first, let's look at the basic technique of telephone conversations in the case when a client calls a company.

Greetings

Before starting a conversation, you must skip a few rings, then pick up the phone, say hello, give the name of the company and your name. Ideally, speak with a smile and keep the timbre in the most pleasant range, which is in the lower register for men, and in the middle register for women.

The tone when answering the call should be as friendly as possible, it must be remembered that at this moment the manager represents the entire company on his own behalf and is responsible for its image and reputation. If you need to switch the client to another employee, delays of more than 20-30 seconds should not be allowed - it is better to ask for a call back.

Talk

At the first exchange of phrases, it is necessary to show interest in the client's questions - listen carefully and clarify the details. It is important to stick to the golden mean here - without delaying the conversation, to delve into the essence of the issue, to give an adequate answer and the necessary information. After the client has learned the information, he is offered a product or service, and this one must be presented as if it ideally fits his requirements.

In a conversation, you need to carefully monitor emotional condition client, you can use psychological methods beliefs and even some Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and you can borrow a lot of tricks from the technique of "live" sales.

If some information is not available at the time of the call, you should take the contact details from the caller, promising to call back by the specified date. At the same time, the term must be stipulated real, since a company that does not fulfill its promises immediately falls heavily in the eyes of the client.

End of conversation

According to the rules of etiquette, the conversation ends with the one who started it. To bring the client to the end of the conversation, you can indicate the results of the conversation. After that, you need to say goodbye, wishing, for example, a good day.

Manager - client
But, in the case when the manager calls the client, while not previously contacting him, it is necessary to use maximum cunning.

The purpose of any sale by phone is to reach the competent person of the manager, or the head of the supply department. Therefore, before calling, you need to collect as much information about the structure as possible. client firm and her needs. This can be done by a series of clarifying calls that colleagues will make (it is important only to do this not at the same time), after reading information on the Internet or getting to know one of the client's employees on social networks.

Starting a conversation

For example, a manager is interested in selling parts for a client's fleet. By collecting information, he learns that the potential client uses Volvo cars, and the director's name is Ivan Ivanovich. The beginning of the conversation may look like: “Good afternoon, can I talk to Ivan Ivanovich? This is from Autolux about problems with a Volvo transmission in your fleet." In this case, the manager has much more chances that he will be connected with Ivan Ivanovich than if he simply asks: “This is from the Autolux company, do you need spare parts?”.

Continuation of the conversation

Ideally, it is good to give the conversation a little informal coloring. For example, after reading on the forums about the problems of Volvo cars from the 2000s, you can start a conversation about them. At the same time, it is important to use open-ended questions, to which the client will give a detailed and complete answer. Talking to the client is the most important thing, let him tell as much as possible about his problems and needs.

What follows is to offer your services as delicately as possible, ideally solving his problems and needs, but at the same time avoiding imposition. It is necessary to imagine that the interlocutor is the same person, in many respects tired of the official form of communication and endless monotonous commercial offers, and base your conversation on this.

End of conversation

It doesn't take much of the client's time. The most important thing is to make contact. Therefore, the end of the conversation should be based on positivity and hope for future cooperation or communication. And do not despair if you refuse - the first time you rarely manage to sell anything. In any case, even the fact that the client learned about the company is very good, and the manager received another point in the experience of conducting telephone conversations.

Telephone sales are not easy to master, requiring experience and knowledge of the psychology of trading. But even experienced managers understand that in this case, the sales statistics will most truthfully reveal the Pareto law - out of 100 customers, only 20 will make contact, and out of these 20, only 16 will turn out to be real buyers. However, a good command of the technique of telephone conversations will enhance the reputation of the company, harden employees and make them more experienced.

Also, a deep analysis of telephone conversations can help in some way. marketing research. And, of course, in any case, profitability will increase if the product is in demand, then the client will even be glad that he managed to make a bargain through phone call, and the seller himself came to him, saving him from wasting time on unnecessary searches.

Telemarketing - sale, marketing of some goods or services using telecommunications. Any sales department in companies of different ranks in 90% of cases begins its work on finding customers with cold calling of its target audience. It is called “cold” because the manager calls a potential client who does not expect a call, is not in the mood for a conversation. When the target client becomes more loyal to the company, shows interest in the proposed product, agrees to a call back, meeting or purchase, all subsequent contacts automatically become "warm".

What rules must be followed in order to hear refusal on the phone as rarely as possible? How to get the client interested? How to move him from a state of indifference to a group potential buyers ready to vote their hard earned money in favor of your business?

Why is telemarketing taking root so hard in Russia and the CIS countries?

We often hear that telephone sales are an energy-intensive, inefficient way that cannot take root in Russia and the CIS countries. This is what non-professionals say, trying to find an excuse for their failures. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, there are rules that must be followed in order to get a serious result.

Why is it so hard to sell over the phone? Because you need to sell not a product, not a service, but only the first meeting with a client. Otherwise, such telephone “sales” by a potential audience are most often perceived as vtyukhivaniya, vparivanie, imposition. Such methods no longer work in today's competitive environment and the increasing culture of training personnel responsible for incoming calls. Most likely, at the other end of the wire they will simply hang up after hearing some direct offer buy something.

Phone sales are faltering because personal meetings, handshakes, eye-to-eye conversations prevail in the Russian mentality, washing transactions and the like. When selling by phone, there is no visual component that can tell so much about the interlocutor.

Cold calls are a powerful tool for promoting a product if they are done by experienced employees who are familiar with telemarketing diplomacy firsthand. They are also indispensable in the case of launching new, unique goods and services on the market, where the offer can captivate from the very first minutes of conversation. In any case, it is necessary to follow certain rules for selling by phone.

Phone sales rules

Every phone call to a potential client should be carefully planned, prepared: you need not just find the phone number and company name in the directory or the Internet, but learn about the profile of the activity, about the problems of a potential client, and the possibilities for solving them.

First you need set a specific goal for the call prepare questions in writing that can identify the needs of the client, collect information about the company.

The sequence of questions should be drawn up according to the formula "from general to particular". It is difficult to understand the client's request, asking him, for example, such a question: "What problems do you want to solve by creating a new site?" Much more important is the information obtained with the help of the question: “When do you expect to open your online store?”.

Questions to the client should not contain provocative undertones in relation to competitors because it is unethical and illegal. At the same time, the relationship of the client to the competitor is completely unknown. What do you miss from your current supplier? At the same time, questions should not emphasize the merits of a competitor. Why did you choose your supplier? It is much more useful to ask specifically: “What is important to you when choosing a supplier?”

Key ingredients for a successful phone call:

Competent speech without errors, hitches and stuttering, excellent diction;

Compliance with the rules of business etiquette;

Ability to quickly find solutions in non-standard situations;

Maintaining a positive coloring of the conversation, smiling when talking, sincere tone of voice;

The ability to convince the listener, knowledge of the secrets, tactics and techniques of telephone sales;

Good knowledge of your product, its advantages and disadvantages.

Finding the person who makes the decision to purchase the proposed product most often causes difficulties. Overcoming the secretarial barrier, access to the main face of the company, which is of interest to the supplier of the product, possibly in many ways. People sell to people, so the keys to the door with "closed" information must be selected individually. “Do you like our offer? Who else has to approve the order?” “The vast majority of our customers make their purchase decisions collaboratively. Who in your company controls the conclusion of new contracts?

A curious example from personal practice. At one time she occupied a solid position, headed the trade of a large department. According to the type of activity, it was necessary to reach a major boss in the city government. He chose a professional secretary for himself, capable of weeding out up to 90% of unnecessary (by her standards) incoming calls that distract the boss from his main activity. It was difficult to get through to him for negotiations. Then I had to resort to a trick: to the secret question “How to report?” answered with the challenge “Beloved woman is calling, connect soon, the question is urgent!”. The boss was a little shocked when he heard my voice on the phone, but I quickly managed to set up a personal meeting and express my admiration for the professionalism of the secretary. The curiosity was that this big boss secretly said that the secretary already knows the voice of his beloved woman, that he himself is distinguished by an enviable “constancy” and does not change women so often ...

If the client expresses dissatisfaction, objects, it is necessary be patient and ask a few unobtrusive questions capable of clarifying the situation. You can not fix the negative attitude of the client to the company. Example: “Your opinion is very important to us. Could you help us by telling us what we should do in this case in order to eliminate our oversight?

Phone rejections are common: it is much easier to refuse a person you don’t know or see. Taking rejection as a personal insult is a big mistake that can cause stress. It is important to teach your telemarketers don't take everyday rejections to heart especially when cold calling. When refusing, the client has nothing against the employee who contacted him by phone, he may not like the offer, the company itself, the product, its price, deadlines, and other factors. Among this list there is no personal animosity towards the caller.

When conducting sales by phone, it is important not to miss a single detail, because all information must be recorded immediately in workbook . The date of the next meeting or conversation must be entered in the diary so as not to forget anything. It is advisable to “draw a line” at the end of the conversation, briefly summarize. “So, you and I are meeting tomorrow at 12 noon at our office at ... Do you need to be reminded of the visit in the morning?”

Once the goal of the conversation is reached, you need to end it.. Idle conversations don't just steal time, they can drain energy, shorten other calls, and cause economic damage to a company.

What not to do when selling by phone

Start a phone conversation with phrases "sorry to bother you" or "You are concerned about the company...". At her firm, she wrote the word “worry” in large letters on a flipchart, crossed it out with two thick black crosses, and wrote next to it: “Our company never bothers anyone.”

Trying to post all the information about the product and the company at once without scouting out the needs of the potential customer.

Use long, obscure sentences, using highly professional terms with which the listener at the other end of the tube may not be familiar.

Give out information, listing the main qualities of the product, forgetting to communicate their benefits and benefits for client.

Argue with the client scold and criticize his opinion.

Resent and ask scandalous questions like, “Who are you?”

Take offense at rejection, try to follow up the conversation, proving the importance and necessity of your proposal, intimidate, blackmail and manipulate his attention.

Be sure that after the first conversation the client will remember you forever, and resent his memory when he once again asks you to introduce yourself.

Familiarize and switch to "you" without the consent of the client.

Reproach the client for delaying the resolution of the issue.

Provide inaccurate, unverified information.

Tips on how to make successful telemarketing in a company

If the company does not have the ability to hire personnel exclusively for telemarketing, you can outsource this work to call centers. In Europe, the USA and many CIS countries, this practice gives a fairly high percentage of independent requests from interested customers who are informed about the holding of some kind of promotions, presentations and similar events.

Before entrusting telemarketing to subordinates, the manager must develop step-by-step instructions and technology for this type of sales, write clear scripts of conversations, response options for telemarketers, the so-called sample script. Ideally, a sales manager or commercial director would need to learn how to sell by phone on their own in order to pass on their knowledge to employees. Remember popular expression Albert Einstein: "If you can't explain something to a six-year-old child, then you yourself don't understand it."

It is important to remember that at the first cold call, the client only needs to interest him and set up a personal meeting, during which to begin to establish contact, explore the need, make a presentation of the product, work out objections and close the deal.

expedient give telemarketing "at the mercy" of specially hired employees with well-placed voices, competent speech, stress-resistant, ready to hear a refusal and not be upset. Many Russian companies to this end, they hire part-time students from specialized universities who are ready to work for a nominal fee, able to sell a few meetings for full-time sales managers. This helps to increase the efficiency of salespeople without distracting them with routine calls to a cold customer market. For students, this is a unique chance to gain some experience, to declare themselves as purposeful employees. As a rule, the most successful of the students over time, company executives take on their staff.

If the company actively sells goods or services throughout the country or abroad, it is necessary to initially reduce the cost of the cost part by concluding an agreement with mobile communication and Internet connection providers on the terms of a corporate unlimited.

Installing an answering machine often negatively affects the company's image, although it is convenient for her. Not every client is pleased to communicate with a soulless device, while the answer pre-embedded in it betrays the absence of employees during working hours.

Quite often I become the very potential client that telemarketers choose to offer their goods and services. Listening to their slurred, incoherent speech on the phone, I frankly miss or get a lot of negative emotions from the unprofessionalism of employees. Is this the goal set by their leaders, instructing them to call the target audience?

Zhanna Pyatirikova, especially for BZZN.ru

The next important aspect of telephone conversations is the ability to concisely and clearly tell the client the purpose of your call and quickly interest him in cooperation.

Alas, quite often, immediately after the presentation, sellers start up a hackneyed and hackneyed song: “We want to offer you ...” and then a tedious enumeration of the characteristics of a product or service.

Of course, the first desire that a client has is to refuse and hang up as soon as possible. It is understandable. None of us like it when something very much is wanted from him. Especially if this desire comes from a stranger whom I have never seen in person. And even more so when for the satisfaction of this desire you need to lay out the n-th amount of hard-earned money. Remember high school physics course?

The force of action is equal to the force of reaction. © Newton's third law

So here. The more you persuade the client, the more he resists, even if your offer is actually incredibly beneficial for him and can reduce costs and / or increase profits by one hundred and forty-eight percent.

How to be?

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Therefore, it is extremely important to interest the interlocutor with your first phrase so that he wants to listen to you further, to consider your detailed Commercial offer or meet (depending on the purpose for which you are calling).

And to get the attention and interest of the client, you should remember a few simple things:

First, give up this "garbage" phrase "We want to offer you ...". This is the same as the “favorite” and rather annoying question of sales consultants: “What can I tell you?”. The answer immediately suggests itself: “I don’t need anything.” After all, such a “frontal” remark puts your interlocutor “against the wall” and forces him to make a decision “here and now”, when he is not yet ready.

Much "softer" and more effective is the wording "We would like to find out the possibility of cooperation ...". Agree, talking about the possibilities does not oblige you to anything yet, therefore, it causes much less stress.

For example:

- We know that your pharmacy is located near the maternity hospital. And we just sell goods that are in demand in such places, for example, pacifiers, bottles, baby powder, etc. We are not working with you yet, so we decided to clarify how interesting it would be for you to cooperate with us.

Second, don't tell the client anything - NOTHING! - about the characteristics of your goods or services. Most people are simply not able to immediately perceive by ear such a number of details and details that are new to them. Remember that it is you, not your client, who works with your product / service every day. And what is familiar and obvious to you may be incomprehensible and tiring for the client. At the same time, it is much easier for your interlocutor to refuse than to make efforts to comprehend the flow of (unsolicited!) information that has fallen upon him.

Instead, be prepared to immediately - in the first sentence following the introduction - name the MAJOR benefit of working with you.

- The wise man says that there is only one rule in the world: a tiny question on which our luck depends. The more often this question is heard, the stronger we will become. Do you understand what the question is, Mr. Green? What does it give me? © From the movie "Revolver"

Think about what is the main "headache" of your potential customer that you can eliminate if he purchases your product or uses your services? What maximum benefit can he extract if he agrees to cooperate? Increasing sales, cost savings, reducing employee turnover, reducing risk, expanding business, fixing equipment failures, increasing productivity, getting things in order, reducing costs?

One million quarter-inch drills were sold, not because people needed quarter-inch drills, but because they needed quarter-inch holes. © T. Levitt

Look at the situation not through the eyes of a seller who has a super-duper product / service, but through the eyes of your client. What will he get in the end?

At the same time, here, as nowhere else, it is extremely important not the number of arguments, but their quality. Save time and thinking of the buyer! Speak to the point and only about the main thing. Remember, you only have 30 seconds to impress and "hook" the interlocutor. Use them effectively!

For example, the first time I talk on the phone with my prospects, I don't tell them that I can develop a sales workflow or provide sales training. But I always say in the first phrase that I can help them increase sales. Almost all companies want this. And this sounded benefit is quite enough for the client to continue listening to me, start asking clarifying questions and eventually agree to a personal meeting.

By the way, if the purpose of your call is to arrange a meeting, try not to reveal the essence of your proposal over the phone, keep the intrigue (remember the “bitten candy” effect). After all, if you tell everything over the phone, the client simply will not be interested in meeting with you.

Or here's another example. A few years ago, a colleague and I were developing an outsourced contact center service to sell. In this scenario, there was this phrase:

- We can help you to increase the quantity several times daily contacts with clients, without "inflating" the staff of your company.

In addition, as a "sweetie" in cooperation with your company, you can offer the client the provision of some exclusive information about the market or the possibility of obtaining privileges from your business partners:

- We have a certain influence in this market, and cooperation with us can help you get additional income. For example, we have competent suppliers who provide our company with certain benefits, and if we characterize you as our partner, you will also enjoy these benefits.

On this I interrupt the story and leave you room for imagination :-). Read the continuation of the topic in the following articles.

You can also purchase and significantly increase the effectiveness of outgoing calls in your company in the first month of using this tool.

Before you can learn how to do business on the phone, you need to learn. There are two extremes that prevent a full-fledged dialogue - feeling like the coolest in the world and feeling like the last sucker.

In the first case, your voice will radiate cheeky self-confidence. You will be constantly brought in the direction of "yapping" and "swearing". You will not conduct a conversation, but fight for the recognition of your indescribable toughness. You will react aggressively to any remark or suggestion that goes against your ideas, defending yourself and defending your "china shop". Of course, you can't do anything like that. At most, you will earn yourself a stomach ulcer and bring a couple of people to a heart attack.

In the second case, your voice will always be asking. Persuading you to do you a favor. Exuding weakness and insecurity. More often than not, you'll get punched in the face as a result of negotiating in that tone. The way the world works is that most living beings react to the manifestation of weakness in another with the desire to "step on the tail" of him in various forms.

How to find the right shape?

How to find the right form, how to choose the right timbre of voice, how to build the right dialogue? - it's a matter of your skill. Mastery acquired through numerous training and repetitions. A martial arts fighter hones his skills by countless repetitions of punches, throws, blocks. Your task is to hone your technique by participating in as many situations as possible. The more phone calls you make, the more experience in telephone conversations you will gain. Moreover, over time - suddenly, one day - you will find YOUR recipe, your negotiating technology. It may be different from the technologies previously known to you, and it will be right!

The fact is that there are no golden templates in this world with which you can succeed in any enterprise. We are all very different. We each have our strengths and weak sides. We are all affected external environment differently. What is acceptable for a tall, brown-eyed brunette when meeting girls may be completely unacceptable for a short goblin. I say this to the fact that ideally you should strive not to repeat other people's methods, but to create your own. Naturally, having passed through the stage of "repeating other people's methods." But having passed it only in order to acquire the experience necessary to create your own, individual technology.

So, in order to learn how to speak correctly, you need to find the right balance between “I am the navel of the Earth!” and “I am the last nonentity!” Concentrate in the middle. If this result is achieved at least partially, you can start teaching telephone conversations.

Fear.

Imagine two situations. You are talking on the phone with best friend- you joke, you laugh, you don't worry about what to say. The conversation flows by itself. You are flowing.

And imagine a different situation. You make a phone call to sell panty ties. How?! Feel the difference. Obviously, in the second case, you will be more constrained and clamped. Bound and clamped by attachment to the result of "sell elastic bands for panties" - this is the time! Bound and clamped by the thought that selling rubber bands for panties is a dumb and ignoble occupation - these are two! Shackled and clamped by fear of an unknown person on the other end of the wire - that's three! And that is not all. Only point number three carries a bunch of different side effects about which a whole book could be written. But this is not our task. Our task is to see the reason that prevents you from talking on the phone, selling elastic bands for panties, as easily and naturally as when talking with your best friend. And that reason is fear! Fear of screwing up, fear of looking stupid, fear of being scolded and other types of fear.

Naturally, by training in telephone conversations alone, you cannot get rid of all the heaps of fears that you constantly carry with you. You need to deal with yourself not partially, but in a complex. This, again, is another conversation. But the fact that telephone conversations contribute to the solution of the problem of your self-improvement is indisputable.

My method.

So, we figured out that you are afraid. How can fear be overcome? Well, yes, of course, there are a thousand and one methods of mental self-regulation, there are hundreds of effective spiritual practices, and so on. But we don't need that right now. We urgently need to solve a specific problem. Get rid of the fear of making phone calls. How?! I found my method. I'll tell you about it, and you look for yours.

My method is simple. Through numerous repetitions of the same task, understanding all its stages and analyzing errors, it is possible to bring its implementation to relative perfection. In other words, than large quantity phone calls I make, the more effective my telephone technology will be. And here the question is only where to start.

And I recommend starting with focusing on the most important thing. On the person to whom your call is directed. Let you not know him - in the case of telephone sales, everything is so - it does not matter. The main thing is to imagine it. What can he do now? What mood is he in at this moment? If it's lunchtime, he might already have one foot in the cafe across the street from his office. If the end of the working day - he is already mentally at home. If early morning - still in bed. Get into the fact that the object you are calling is the same person as you. He has a lot of his own problems and your call can bring concrete confusion into the measured course of his thoughts. Get into it and treat the object of your telephone appeal with sincere understanding.

Be specific and articulate!

For information. Every day, 30-40 people call the office of an average Moscow company that has given its phone number to the media, wanting to sell something. Now put yourself in the place of that secretary who needs to bring only the necessary out of these 30-40 calls to the final addressee. Represented?! What happened? Right. It turned out standard model. Pass only those who speak in a pleasant, velvety voice and clearly state the purpose of their call. Well, if he still jokes subtly and smiles, then it's just a plague! He definitely needs to be connected to the boss - he is our client.

So, before you call with any proposal, you first need to concretize and clearly formulate it. And it’s not enough just to write it on paper and memorize it. You need to make sure that it is only the base model of the constructor, with which you can generate hundreds of other models. Preliminary trainings with friends or acquaintances help very well in this. Everything is very simple. Arranging with a friend on the phone to practice telephone sales. Let him enter into the image of the person you are calling, and you into the image of yourself. Then the opposite is true. Here, train. Practice different models depending on different situations and stretch your tongue.

Awareness.

By the way. Your awareness is very important. Before you sell anything over the phone, read all the materials about the product. Find out all its technical and operational characteristics. Be ready to answer any tricky question. Learn by heart all technical formulations so that they bounce off your teeth like "Our Father". The more conversations on a given topic you have while training, the clearer your wording will be in real communication with a client. The more beautiful and softer you can present your product.

First telephone conversation.

Now to the specifics. Let's consider an example with sale by phone of electronic business cards(EVK). Immediately I want to draw your attention to the fact that the maximum that you can agree on during the first telephone conversation is a meeting. A real meeting in the office of a potential customer in order to demonstrate to him the EVC and their capabilities. Remember that what seems obvious and understandable to you - well, you know your product well - may be completely non-obvious and obscure to a potential client. He does not see all the benefits of the product you offer the way you see it. He has no information about him. Your task is to convey this information to him in a language he understands in an extremely concise, concentrated form and get consent to a meeting. So, the purpose of the first call is to arrange a meeting.

Contact with a source of "danger".

Before you start making phone calls, study all the materials on GSE. Ask all the questions that arise in the course of reading to more experienced comrades. Briefly describe your model for starting a conversation. For example. You dial a number and say: "Hello! Is this the Star company?" To the answer "yes!" you continue: "Put me in with the head of the marketing department and tell me, please, what is his name." Here it is important to understand that talking on the merits of the issue with the secretary or any other random person who picked up the phone is pointless and somewhat dangerous. It is dangerous because the first reaction of an unprepared consciousness, faced with something new, is rejection. And, as a result, the desire to break contact with the source of "danger" by any means faster - unknown information that undermines the sense of self-importance. How often have you met people who, faced with the unknown, ask the question: "What is it? Tell me!" That's just it, much more often they say: "We are not interested!" and hang up the phone or turn their backs.

The first "filter".

So, you have made your request. Most often, the answer to it is the phrase: "What did you want?" or "On what question?" This is the first "filter" that most callers don't usually go through. If you are direct and say "I want to offer you electronic business cards", then you can exercise your patience through the repeated number of polite refusals: "Thank you! We don't need them." If you are more flexible and quick-witted, then you can practice passing this "first filter". There are hundreds of models of its passage. Let's consider one of them.

To the question "On what question?" you can answer: "On the issue of working with VIP clients." First, you're not lying. EVC is really used in work with VIPs. Secondly, the presence in your sentence of the magic phrase "work with VIP clients" can put a secretary trained to "reject" telephone salesmen into a light trance. The absence of “red rags” like “I want to offer” in your speech can lead to the fact that the secretary will immediately redirect your call to the addressee. True, at first he may try to provoke you with a question: "Do you want to sell us something (offer)?" If your voice does not waver at this moment and you calmly answer: “Yes, I have a proposal that I would like to discuss with the head of the marketing department,” the likelihood that you will be connected with him is quite high. If you begin to difficultly explain the essence of your proposal to the secretary, then most likely he will send you "by fax": "Send your proposal by fax." Of course, in this case, you will need to send a fax and call back later. But at the same time, it must be remembered that 99% of faxes sent without specifying a clear addressee are immediately thrown into the wastebasket. Therefore, before sending a fax with an offer, be sure to find out the full name and position of the person who will make a decision on your issue. Information about this person will be useful to you when you call again.

The moment of truth.

It often happens that the secretary asks the question: "What exactly do you want to talk about with the head of the marketing department?" It is important to understand here that this question can be asked for two reasons. Due to the lack of a marketing department in the company and, accordingly, its boss, or due to the extreme corrosiveness of the secretary. With such a development of events, in no case should you sink to the level of that image of a "telephone salesman" that is formed in the minds of most secretaries and crucify the essence of the issue in front of a person about whom you still know nothing.

Therefore, the answer to his question: "What exactly do you want to talk about with the head of the marketing department?" maybe the following phrase: "My name is Vasya Partiszanoff, Khomyak-Trading company. May I know your name and position?" Here comes the moment of truth. Either you hear in response: "I am Katya, secretary" or "My name is Ivan Mikhailovich, I am deputy CEO". Naturally, the models for further continuation of the conversation in these two cases will be different. In the first case, you need to correctly translate the conversation in the direction of "please connect me with the decision maker." In the second case, immediately get down to business.

Hold attention.

Let's consider the second case in detail. If you are lucky and you found the person you need - do not relax. The cherished goal is still far away. The main thing is to determine from the very first words who is in front of you - what kind of person is talking to you on the phone. This can be easily figured out by the manner of communication. If you hear notes of laziness and arrogance in a person's voice, this is one thing. If, on the contrary, fear and insecurity are completely different. You will be able to distinguish such things over time literally by two or three words spoken by a person. In the meantime, focus on the inner voice and do not allow the thought that the person on the other end of the line is more stupid than you.

So, you contacted Ivan Mikhailovich, Deputy General Director of the company you need. What's next? Next, you need to keep the attention of Ivan Mikhailovich for at least 5 minutes. It's not an easy task, I'll tell you right away. The fact is that, as a rule, Ivan Mikhailovich differs little from Katya the secretary in terms of "interest" in the product you offer. Ivan Mikhailovich has a lot of his own problems, often not even related to his work. His task is to quickly find out what you want from him and return to his usual state. Therefore, it is important here not to make a mistake and hit right on target.

From the very first words, you need to indicate the purpose of your telephone visit: "Ivan Mikhailovich! I have a specific proposal, which I am ready to state within two minutes. Is it convenient for you to talk now?" Most often the answer is "Yes! Tell me." If the answer is "No, I have no time now!", Then you should clarify what time is best to call back and write this information in red ink in your diary. At the same time, you need to remember that some Ivana Mikhailovichs use the “Call me back tomorrow” form as a soft refusal until you give up. I want you to be ready for this too.

So you have at least two minutes. But do you know how these "two minutes" can be extended to 10-20 minutes of real time? Everything is correct. The information that you convey should capture the attention of Ivan Mikhailovich. Did you see how Ostap Bender told the inhabitants of New Vasyuki about the creation of the Intergalactic Chess Club? So, about the same you should talk about electronic business cards.

You can start by politely asking if Ivan Mikhailovich is familiar with your product: "Ivan Mikhailovich! First of all, I would like to clarify whether your company uses electronic business cards in its work?" If Ivan Mikhailovich is not familiar with EVK, he will probably ask: "What is it?". This is the question you need. Slowly, with feeling, you need to talk about your favorite product. For example: "An electronic business card is, at the same time, a business card made in the corporate style of your company and a mini CD-ROM, on which presentation information is recorded in electronic form: texts, photos, video, audio. Information can be placed on an electronic business card , corresponding to the length of, for example, 15,000 pages of typewritten text or 300 full-screen photographs. Information from an electronic business card can be read on any computer. "

If Ivan Mikhailovich has heard about EVC, but does not use them in his work, you need to immediately get down to business: "Specifically for your company, electronic business cards can be useful as - (several options for using EVC). Ivan Mikhailovich! I'm ready to drive up to to your office and, within 10-15 minutes, demonstrate the possibilities of electronic business cards, as well as leave you a sample."

It was I who just roughly sketched out the phrases that you can say in a conversation with Ivan Mikhailovich. In a conversation, say, with Zinaida Petrovna from modeling agency these wordings will be different. In other words, get out over time to the level of improvisation. Do not load your speech with templates. Templates are boring and indecent. A person always feels and is annoyed when they are spoken to in a stereotyped way, and on the contrary, he reacts well and responds to lively, improvised speech. Therefore, learn to be alive and real even when talking on the phone!

7 rules.

Further, events can develop according to a thousand and one different scenarios, ranging from total absence interest in the product you offer to the exclamation: "My God! Where have you been before? Urgently come to our office." It is impossible to consider all these situations, of course. Yes, in general, it is not necessary. The main thing is to understand the essence. The essence of what you do.

And the bottom line is that you Firstly, you need to win over the person with whom you communicate.

Secondly you must exude confidence. Have no doubt that your product is needed by the world.

Third You should always listen to yourself through the ears of the person you are speaking to.

Fourth, you must always take into account the interests of your potential client, while not forgetting your own interest.

Fifth, you shouldn't be attached to the result. Whether correctly you understand as it "not to be attached to result"? - that's another question.

At sixth, you must always keep good mood and smile. Remember! - it's all just a game. You don't have to always be the winner. Full participation is enough.

AND seventh, do not forget! - 80% of success in developing your further relationships depends on HOW you talk to a person at the first meeting. The first impression is the most lasting.

In addition, do not overload the client with unnecessary information. Sometimes long negotiations are extremely harmful. The more you give information about your product, the more doubts will arise in it. Learn to answer questions briefly and to the point. But eloquent! Remember also that if you are asked a question, you always have the opportunity to give the answer you need. I'm not here to lie. This is me about being flexible. In order for interest to be shown, it is enough to tell about WHAT you offer and WHY it is needed. Information about HOW it works is often overwhelming. Save it for curious clients.

That's all. This is definitely a drop in the ocean. Just basic truths. But even if you master them perfectly, your future success is guaranteed. Good luck, future master of telephone conversations!

Chapter 7
YOUR TELEMARKETING PRESENTATION

As a company representative, you are also a telemarketer. You are "trading" the firm and yourself whenever you make a "cool" call, make an appointment, or demand payment. You may be able to increase your firm's sales. A person who specializes in telemarketing has much more skills than people who call on an occasion. Anyone who does business by phone would have a lot to learn from professional telemarketers. If you want to make the most of every phone presentation you make, focus on the points in this chapter.

Get client consent
You have now established that you are not talking to a potential customer who may be using your product variety, but to real client, which definitely uses your product variety or something similar. Now you can take the time to convince him or her to buy your product.
Summarize the most important information received from the client. Even if you are sure that you heard everything correctly, there is still a chance to make a mistake in something important.
Now you need to get the client to agree with you. This is another task that you solve by summarizing the information you have obtained. If you accurately understood and conveyed the information you heard, his or her natural reaction would be agreement. A great way to do this is to start with a verification question. For example: "Do you agree that the reliability of these pumps seems to matter more to your customers than their price?"
Look for your client's sore spot. If you've done a good job of probing the client—which is essential for a persuasive presentation—you've probably discovered some client needs that you can satisfy. However, some of these needs are probably more important than others.
You may think you know what is most important, but be completely wrong. Ask clients to list their needs in order of importance. In doing so, you not only get their opinion, but also involve them in working to solve the problem. This subconsciously leads them to the desired solution for you.

Present the benefits
Now you have identified the most pressing problem for your client, and he agreed with you. The time has come to propose a solution to the problem.
To be as effective and persuasive as possible, you need to explain your way of solving the problem, emphasizing how it will benefit the client and how it will help his business. Put yourself in the place of an employee who makes purchases for this firm. Why would you buy this product? Don't forget the difference between the features or characteristics of a product and the benefits it brings to the user. The sale is carried out due to the profitability of the goods.
Always willingly educate the customer about new offerings and opportunities to use your product or service. Remember that you are a narrow specialist, and the client uses many different products and services. Perhaps he does not even know how to use this product with maximum efficiency and benefit for his business. By showing new ways to use your product, you become part of the client's business. This gives you an edge over your competitors.
On the issue of competition. Make sure you can compare your product or service with similar products and services from competitors if the customer asks. Two rules are very important here:

1. Compare apples to apples
Is it possible to compare two products only by price, if one product lasts much longer than the other? Obviously not. Expiration date and price are important features to compare.
Example: item X is a light bulb with a lifespan of 1000 hours and costs $1. Product Y, a light bulb rated for 250 hours, costs 50 cents. Obviously, to get 1000 hours with product V, you need to spend $2, i.e., twice as much as for product X.

2. Always compete fairly
The customer is looking at you and your product. It is possible that he is very knowledgeable and will immediately understand if you are lying. Would you yourself buy something from a person who lies to you? Doubtfully! Fight hard and aggressively, but do it all honestly.
Let's say you know your product and. very well represent its advantages over the products of competitors. How else can you add value? It should be well understood how you can increase the demand for your product. Salted nuts and beer go hand in hand, as the consumption of one creates a demand for the other. Your product or service can work very well with another product. Always look for this combination - this way you can open up a whole new direction of trading. Never forget what drives sales of your product or service. Here is the formula for a successful presentation:

Product/Service + Use = Benefit

Justify the price
The client now believes in you, and you have demonstrated to him or her how to use your product or service or improve the business. This is all? No, not all. You need to help the customer improve their business by purchasing your product or service. Perhaps the client is also accountable to his boss. The best way to accomplish this task is to justify the price or show how the benefits of using the product will exceed its price.
The excess of benefit over price should be shown primarily by the example of the business area that the client considers the most important. For example, if a client says that his most important task is to increase sales, then you must justify the price in relation to this task. Be flexible. Always remember: what is most important to you may be an empty phrase for the client. Let the client say for himself what is most important to him.
To make it easier to justify the price, you can take the following steps:

1. Determine what aspect of your client's business you are helping
Do you help the sales team by offering to sell New Product? Do you help reduce operating costs by selling long life light bulbs? How are you going to contribute to the client's business?

2. Clearly explain how you are going to help
Will you increase your sales? Will you cut costs? This is important to know. Increasing sales may not be of interest to customers who have worked out a scheme for the production, storage and distribution of products. They may have to buy a million dollar warehouse to store $50,000 worth of new products - not The best way invest. Make sure that your solution is consistent with the customer's plans and does not cost more than the possible profit.

3. Convert your estimated up/down into dollars.
Example: My calculations show that you can save $4,000 a year on your warehouse lighting. You say you have to replace 4,000 light bulbs every three months. Right? (Ask for confirmation.) My long life bulbs you only have to change once a year. All your light bulb expenses will be $4,000 ($1 each) instead of $8,000 (50 cents each) you are currently spending. Am I right? (Here you need to ask again if the client agrees.)

4. Compare the benefit your customer will get to the cost of your solution
Let's show this again with our example of electric light bulbs. Even though your customer will pay $1 for each light bulb, which is double what they are paying now, the real benefit is the lower cost of replacing light bulbs. In general, the process looks like this:
Customer need: Lower operating costs.
Department: Operational.
Your task (feasible): Reduce operating costs for the purchase of light bulbs.
How? By convincing the client to purchase your light bulbs, which are to be replaced once a year instead of four times a year.
Purchasing your own light bulbs further reduces labor costs as less time is spent replacing light bulbs. Take all these specific figures from the customer in order to involve him in solving his own problem.
Probing the client's situation and calculating the benefit, you not only solve the problem, but also justify the cost of purchasing your product. In this case, you must remember the following important rules:
1. Identify and validate customer needs.
2. Get a clear picture of the client's current situation.
3. Demonstrate to the customer the potential benefits of purchasing your product or service.
This takes practice, but by applying these techniques a few times, you can quickly pinpoint the client's pressing issues and get concrete numbers. This information will give your presentation irresistible persuasiveness.

How to respond to purchase objections

Every incoming and outgoing call is potential sale. Every salesperson encounters customer objections in every presentation. And you will have to respond to objections. The most important condition a successful answer is anticipating objections and preparing a response in advance. There are five main types of objections:
1. Request for information. Your client may just need clarification and clarification of information.
2. Protest against the price. It can be not only a matter of money, but also an excuse to refuse a purchase.
3. Personal bias. You may not like the client because of race, gender, religion, etc. In addition, he or she may distrust you because of an incident that took place in the past. Signs of such an attitude may be silence, sarcasm or open hostility.
4. Verification. This could be the person assigned to do the research and provide their superiors with an assessment of your product or service. It is possible that this is the initiative of a person who does not enjoy great authority. Be that as it may, do not rush to finish the conversation. Have patience, but try to quickly determine whether this person will sign a contract or influence the decision maker. If not, then identify who actually makes the decisions and contact them.

Objections and their meaning
Price objections are the most common and most difficult to resolve. All of the customers and industries you deal with have specific requirements and can easily turn to your competitors. Add to this the fact that most of your customers are experienced people, and you get a very dangerous situation that needs to be neutralized. Your ability to calmly and confidently respond to objections can be the factor that separates making a deal from not making a deal.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself when listening to price objections:
1. Is the price - the main obstacle for the client?
2. How much does the client need your product or service?
3. How serious is the customer's protest against the price?
4. Is the client telling the truth?
5. Is the client trying to bring down the price by playing on the competition?
6. Is the client behaving morally?
7. Will the customer make a purchase at the price he wants?

Here are some rules that are helpful in dealing with cost objections:

1. You need to know your client and his needs
The more you know about your customer and their needs, the better you will be able to apply a personalized approach to counter price objections.

2. Anticipate Price Protests
Record all common and even some unusual objections. Prepare answers. This preparation will pay off in full.

3. Point to economy
If your product is more expensive than the competition, make an argument such as saving money due to the high quality of the product and the lack of the need to buy it often.

4. Make the client look realistic
We have what we pay for. A customer who buys a product or service at a ridiculously low price knows something is wrong. Subsequently, he will not receive proper service and guarantees.

5. Point out the risk
If the client has already dealt with you, remind them that it is risky to make a purchase from who knows who. Regarding you, he already knows what to expect, and a new company may not give such guarantees.

6. Convince the client that your product is the most valuable
Do not slander your competitors, but only show the quality and benefits of your product or service. The more benefits you discuss, the easier it will be for the customer to make their own decision, preferably a positive one, about your product or service.

7. Give yourself some extra charm
To stand out from your competitors, do something for the client beyond what the competitor does. low prices cannot compensate. Treat the client's business as if it were your own. Call him for ideas on how to cut costs or make work easier. These are advantages that a competitor with low prices will not be able to resist.

8. Avoid the reputation of being "easy to give in"
Retaining clientele requires respect from clients. Lowering the price may raise the suspicion that you yourself are not sure that the quality of the goods or services corresponds to their price. This will lead to a dangerous spiral of constant price reduction. Have pride in your product or service.
You can use the method of "half cost". Ask the customer if they would buy your product or service for half the original price. If the answer is positive, you can respond something like this: “Now I will prove to you that the product is good enough to pay full price for it.” However, in most cases, customers continue to refuse even at half the cost. This could be one of two reasons:
1. A high price is usually the first objection used to dismiss a purchase. This is an almost automatic reaction and not always sincere.
2. Clients need further information. They probably don't know enough about your product and service and what benefits they will get from using it. This is your chance to enlighten the customer and sell the product at the same time!
Here are some other types of resistance:
- "Send me the information by e-mail." This person is probably too busy or not interested in this product at the moment.
- Postponement. To effectively deal with this kind of resistance, you need to determine the motivation of the buyer.
Here are some typical motives for buyers:
Need for approval. Approximately 50% of buyers fall into this category. They want the approval of others. With such people, the prestige of the company, product or service should be emphasized.
The need for reliability. Another 25% of buyers are looking for reliability because they do not like to take risks. They need to be convinced that there is no risk in buying your product or service. When speaking with such buyers, reliability and minimum risk should be emphasized.
Desire to guess. The remaining 25% belong to this category. These buyers are looking for benefits. To approach them, focus on increased productivity or efficiency, other features of your product that allow you to make a profit.
When dealing with such clients, the main thing is to find out what drives them - the desire to make a profit or the fear of incurring losses. By identifying which desire prevails, you can appeal to it and seriously reduce the likelihood of further delays. At the same time, you should listen very carefully to what your client is focusing on.
Here are some tips on how to stir up each of these types of clients:

1. Needing approval
- Refer to the history of the successful sale of goods to another buyer.
- For plausibility, name the names of other customers.
- Give opinions of other buyers.
- Hint that you with your product or service provide opportunities that no one else can give.

2. Looking for reliability
- Inspire that your product is of high quality, and the company is reliable. In addition, try to convince the client that you can personally be trusted.
- When comparing with the goods or services of competitors, emphasize the advantages of your product or services, but do not criticize competitors.
- Give examples of unsuccessful use: "Company N tried to use a lighter slate, but it quickly broke."

3. Profit Seekers
- Be frank. Do not mask controversial issues. Discuss them openly.
- Focus on the effectiveness of the product in action. Such clients usually want to know everything thoroughly.
- Talk about cost only when asked. You may even have to lower the price a bit.
- By identifying what drives your client, you can hit right on target and significantly increase your chances of success.

Blank Answers
Once you've identified what type of objection you're facing, you need to give a strong, persuasive answer. There are many ways to deal with objections, but here are just a few of the more successful ones:

1. Imaginary agreement (if...then)
Enter into an imaginary contract with the client.
Answer: "If I could show you that my light bulbs actually save money, would you try?"

2. Link to the experience of other customers (...but then they saw...)
Objection: "It's too expensive for you."
Answer: “I understand you perfectly, many of my clients felt the same way. But then they saw that my light bulbs lasted 20% longer and ended up being 10% cheaper than regular bulbs.”

3. Question
Objection: "It's too expensive for you."
Answer: “Is it too expensive? Compared to what?

4. Reversion
Turn the objection inside out.
Objection: "It's too expensive for you."
Answer: "Yes, indeed, they are too expensive."
Objection: "What do you mean?"
Answer: “Because my light bulbs last 20% longer than the competition, they must be 20% more expensive. But they're only 10% more expensive" so you're actually saving money."

5. Denial
Openly deny the client's claim. Objection:
"Your prices are too high." Answer: "No, it's not true."
Objection: "Why not?"
Answer: “Because my bulbs last 20% longer and cost only 10% more. You are actually saving money."
Little caveat. Try your best to avoid an argument. This technique is best applied when you already know the client.

6. Consent
Agree with the client, but only partially.
Objection: "It's too expensive for you."
Answer: “Yes, I have 10% more expensive. But given that my light bulbs last 20% longer, what I suggest is the best option.

7. Explanation
Justify the increased price of your product.
Objection: "It's too expensive for you."
Answer: “Let me explain why mine is 10% more expensive. We use special durable filaments, which have a higher cost. However, our light bulbs last 20% longer, so you save on buying fewer light bulbs.”

1. Objections are an inevitable and important part of the selling process.
2. When responding to objections, you must control your emotions.
3. Many objections are actually caused by the fact that the client is not yet convinced whether he should buy.
4. If the client changes objections under your pressure, this means that the objections are not real and are only a cover.
5. With this shift in objection, you should step back and find out more about the client and their needs.
6. Your client may have one or more valid objections. However, they often need to be specified. After clarifying the objections, it is usually best to translate them into the form of questions, then answer them.
7. Your answers should be determined by the nature of the objections, which can be specific or general.
8. Special objections are specific to your product or service. Technical data, features of operation, performance, service contract - all this is the subject of special objections.
9. At the same time, universal objections usually concern price and competitors. They must be answered by explaining the advantages to the client and showing the high quality of their product or service.
10. If the client, sooner or later, agrees that you have eliminated all objections, this may mean that he is ready to buy. At this point, try to move on to ending the conversation.
11. Always get confirmation from the client that your answer to an objection has satisfied him or her. To do this, use simple phrases, for example: “Is this enough?”, “Is this important to you?”, “Is this acceptable to you?”.
12. Remember: if there were no objections, sales agents would not be needed. If your company didn't do business in sales, you wouldn't be hired there. Whatever position you hold, you are a sales representative of the company. You are needed to eliminate objections.

Common Sales Problems and Mistakes
In this book, you've learned how to positively, actively, and consciously build your phone presentation to maximize your chances of success. Following these recommendations, you will begin to act more successfully than an example. However, one topic remained untouched - these are black holes, known as bugs. Sometimes even a small mistake can go down the drain all the previous painstaking work. Therefore, knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do. Here are the pitfalls:

Five Death Sentences Sale
While any sales pitch can have many various mistakes, five types of mistakes are made more often than others. Here are five mistakes that can ruin your entire presentation or sign its death warrant before you even comb it. Remember and do your best to avoid these mistakes.

1. You don't get the right person to talk to.
Sales reps very often talk to the first person to pick up the phone. Even if this person wants to help, they may not have the authority to make any purchasing decisions. Unfortunately, this is often only discovered when the sales rep is trying to close a deal and is told "I should ask..." or "You should talk to...". Be sure to know who you are talking to. Is he or she empowered to make decisions? If not, who is authorized? This saves a lot of time.
Not everyone has that power, but some do have the power to keep you out of the decision maker. However, they can also be approached. There are still people who indirectly influence decisions and can also fail your attempt to sell a product. Sometimes it takes a special "policy" to get these people involved in your process, but it pays off.

2. You talk about features, not benefits
This second sentence is due to one of two reasons: over-enthusiasm or ignoring the client and his needs. Certain characteristics of a product or service enable the customer to enjoy the benefits of that product or service, but these characteristics alone say nothing to the customer. If we are talking about new enhancements to the Model X, sales reps should explain it in terms of benefits and benefits to the customer. You know the benefits of a particular technical data, but the client may not. Confirm it! Interpret in the client's language, not your own.

3. You win the argument
Each of us has had occasion to regret what was said. It could have been said in anger or simply by mistake. Such extra talk is nowhere more costly than in trading. Even if the client is difficult to communicate with or annoys you with their flippant remarks, it's not worth risking the success of the deal for a few minutes of satisfaction when you start an argument or splash out emotions. Control your emotions. As the proverb says, "Don't win a battle to lose a war." Your client has the final say, so make sure they say yes.
A little caveat. It is up to you to judge when a client is in trouble and when he or she is infringing on your rights. If you don't protect your dignity, no one will do it for you.

4. You don't ask to buy
People, especially strangers, rarely tell each other what they would like to hear, but show it. Your client may have listened to the entire presentation, objected several times, and now he is convinced that your product or service is really capable of meeting his or her needs. Will he or she now start talking about buying? Hardly! Since most of our communication consists of signs and hints, it is likely that with their help you will be informed of the client's intentions. The client will let you know that he is ready for the question of the purchase. If you do not ask, the client will not go forward. Moreover, he or she will lose interest or trust in you if you continue to avoid the bottom line of the conversation. Very soon, you will completely overwhelm the sales process without asking the client about his decision.

5. You talk too much
This last death sentence is very closely connected with the previous one. Some salespeople take silence as approval. While the client is silent, the sales agent continues to speak. In fact, the client is waiting for a chance to signal the sales agent to end the conversation. But as the client speaks, this "window" begins to close, and the client begins to cool down. Soon he or she loses all interest and may even feel annoyed at being wasted time. Be alert to these customer signals (discussed above) and keep the purchase question at the ready. If the client says no, this is your opportunity to eliminate another objection. After answering a few "nos", you leave only one answer: "Yes".

Most Common Mistakes
Five Death Sentences almost always results in a customer abandoning a purchase. However, sales agents can make other mistakes that create difficulties or lead to failure. They are not so serious, but also very undesirable. Here are the four most common:

1. Price reduction
Many salespeople think that lowering prices automatically increases demand and sales. This is wrong. The price in most cases is associated with the quality of a product or service and implies the corresponding value of the product. By stating, "Your price is too high," customers usually ask for further information about the value of the product or service. By automatically reducing the price in response, you send a signal: 1) My product is not as good as I said; 2) Since I was wrong on the first point, I cannot be trusted on everything else. Now you have two trust issues - to your product and to you personally. By doing so, you yourself have planted yourself in a hole from which it is almost impossible to get out. You will win in every way if you insist on the price of the goods.

2. Announce instead of sell
If you are well aware of your product or service (and you should be), then you can admit one of fatal mistakes- Decide that your customer can translate the new characteristics of your product or service into new benefits for themselves and their business. By making this assumption, you are just announcing new product features instead of starting the sales process.
The process must start each time from the same starting line. Unlike you, the customer is not an expert on your product or service. Explain how the new product features will help his or her business. And do not take the knowledge of the interlocutor for granted. For your sales presentation to be effective, it must be easy to understand.

3. Sale-imposition instead of sale-care
Each of us is familiar with the image of a brisk sales representative who speaks in a patter and imposes his product, forcing everyone to shy away. Once this type was common, but now obsolete. Now clients have become more enlightened, sophisticated, you can’t confuse them and you can’t convince them with the help of this style. They look for salespeople who respect their wishes, are a reliable source of information, can help a problem, and prioritize the business success of their clients. In turn, customers place orders in firms that seem to them the most reliable.
Be part of your clients' business and appeal to their needs. Then your chances of success will increase significantly. If you don't believe me, take a look at any service system, of which there are currently about 800. Companies understand that taking care of the needs of the customer - from cooking a turkey to cleaning a carpet of grape juice stains - is much more important. old obsessive style. Solve your customer's problem and you'll make a sale.

4. Things don't get done
It is now clear that each client requires an individual approach. For a sales rep, one of the main ways to stand out from the “herd” is to follow through. This implies a few rules for a sales rep who wants to succeed. For example, if the sale includes delivery and installation of your product, then several advantages are achieved by this. This allows you to make sure that every detail of the product functions properly - the moment that is most disturbing for the client. If something is wrong, then there is a chance to fix the problem and avoid customer dissatisfaction. Equally important is the impression you make on the client:
- You act professionally and personally ensure that the transfer of goods is carried out properly.
- You care about the well-being of the client. This alone separates you from your competitors and gives you a long-term advantage over them.
But the matter does not end there. To show clients that you don't forget them, you can keep a special calendar of significant dates and wish clients happy birthdays and various anniversaries. Such personalization is rarely practiced, but it pays high dividends.

Final Do's and Don'ts
In conclusion, let us recall some “shoulds” and “shoulds”. These are trifles, but, adding up, they form the overall impression that remains of you with the client.

1. Repeated calls
This is an obvious courtesy, but it's amazing how casually so many people treat repeat calls without realizing how annoying it is. Try to call back exactly at the agreed time. For example, you promised to call back at 4 p.m., with the latest information about the delivery time of a late shipment. Even if you haven't received any new information, call at 4 o'clock and remind the client that you are calling as promised. The client will remember that you keep your word.

2. Fear of saying “I don’t know, but I’ll look now”
No client requires you to know the answer to every question, but it always requires honesty. If you don't know something, say so, and then find the information the client needs.

3. Activities not directly related to sales
Few things irritate a customer as much as an unwillingness to provide assistance that is not directly related to sales. Too many salespeople are unwilling to turn down services for their clients unless they lead directly to a contract. Clients are not stupid. They see through the fake and, most likely, will place an order in another company. Help your customers as much as you can and within reason, and then customers will help you with their orders.

4. Signs of courtesy to "small" people. Remember to be polite to secretaries and telephone operators, try to remember or write down their names. These people can have a decisive influence on their boss or screen calls, incl. and yours. One company lost $300,000 due to the fact that the operator taking the calls was transferred to another job and could no longer weed out the competitors of this company.

5. Anger when a customer refuses to buy
The client may have a lot of reasons not to make a purchase, contrary to your desire. Your task is to find out why and try to change his or her decision. Remember: there is no such thing that every call is crowned with a deal. However, if you are angry or upset, it seriously reduces your chances of selling in the future. Keep your emotions in hand, because you will have more than one chance. Keep a positive attitude, develop your plan, and you will win next time.

Chapter 8
CONVERSATION ENDING TECHNIQUE

When we talk to a person face to face, the conversation sooner or later naturally comes to a logical end. In a telephone conversation, we are deprived of visual signals that play key role when interacting with another person. That is why it is sometimes so difficult to end a telephone conversation; we do not know how to complete it so that the interlocutor does not experience discomfort.
It's important to remember two things here:
1. It is in your power to maintain control over the conversation, regardless of who started it.
2. Avoid awkward endings. You can show purposefulness, but this does not hurt the feelings of the interlocutor.

1. Try to make a smooth transition
It is just as unacceptable to cut off a conversation abruptly as it is to delay its completion. When you abruptly end a conversation, you force the interlocutor to wonder what in his words caused a sudden change in your behavior. He inevitably comes to the conclusion that he said something that caused you a negative reaction.
Make a plan in advance in which you give yourself time to gradually end the conversation. Do not hold out until the moment when you have to leave for a business meeting and notify the interlocutor that you are forced to stop talking.

2. Don't hesitate
It has long been known that hesitation creates awkwardness and discomfort during a telephone conversation. Feeling your indecision, the interlocutor, regardless of your reasons for ending the conversation, begins to think that some problem remains.
If you want to end the conversation, take the following steps in a firm, professional manner.
Summarize the conversation to show the interlocutor that it is time to end.
- Retell the conversation to convince the interlocutor that you heard and understood what he said.
- Ask the client's opinion: "Miss Jones, do you approve of this plan?" or: “Mr. Kent, I am ready to start the project immediately. Are you satisfied with the scheme we discussed?”
- Try to end the conversation: "Mrs. Smith, now that I have received this information, I need to immediately check the statistics."
Repeat action plan. It is very important to re-list the steps agreed with the interlocutor so that both of you clearly understand what needs to be done and who is responsible for what. Repeating this plan may lead you to end the conversation:
- “I'll drop you a message on Friday. May I call you before this time if I have any questions?”
“So, we'll meet on Thursday to transfer the money to Anderson's account. I'll start researching right now."
Release the interlocutor. Ending a conversation is sometimes very simple:
- "Okay, I know you're busy. Thank you for your help".
“Thank you for your time. you gave me a lot useful information. Now I won't detain you any longer."
Such phrases not only allow you to end the conversation, but also show the interlocutor that you respect him and value his time.
Let the caller hang up first. It may seem like a small thing, but by letting the other person hang up first, you give them a sense of control over the conversation. It also prevents you from hanging up without knowing that the other person wants to add something else or even agree to the purchase.
Finally, by giving the customer the first opportunity to hang up, you save them the sound of disconnection.

telemarketing
Now that you've mapped out your sales pitch from opening and probing to eliminating objections, it's time to look at some patterns for the closing part of the conversation. This part consists of two important elements:
1. Recognition of signals about readiness for purchase.
2. Technique to end the conversation.

Recognition of ready-to-buy signals
During a sales presentation, you should listen for such signals. You may receive signals shortly after you introduce yourself, or during a telemarketing presentation, or you may not receive them at all. However, one must constantly listen to the conversation in search of these signals. What are they like?

1. Silence
When silence occurs at the beginning of a conversation, it is usually not a signal of readiness to buy. The client may wait, because it is not yet clear to him whether what you are saying is worthy of attention. But if you posted information, answered a few objections and hear silence on the other end of the wire, then proceed to the end. Silence can mean that all objections have been eliminated and the client is ready to say yes.
2. Questions
Questions like: "How fast will it install?" or “What do I need for the workshop?” say that the customer, apparently, has already decided to buy. Questions regarding the timing of delivery, installation, warranty, service also indicate a desire to buy. If there is doubt or coolness in the voice of the client asking these questions, be on your guard. Perhaps the objection must first be eliminated.

3. Usage plans
If your client says something like, "I can use this on a project I'm starting next month," or "It can help me balance my extensive balance sheet," try to move on to completion. After all, the client himself says that your product will help him. Remember, since you can't see his or her face, you have to listen to the signals.

4. Small details
When a customer starts asking for minutiae about your product, it may indicate a willingness to say yes. "What color better fit? or “Should we look at the ads for 8 oz or look at 12 oz first?” - Here are examples of questions clarifying small details. Resist the temptation to give too long answers and move on to the conclusion.

Proven Ways to End a Conversation
Once you've got the signal that the customer is ready to end the call, move on to the actual sale. The reason for failures in an attempt to sell a product is most often the inability to ask the client about his decision. There are many ways to ask this question, but among them the following are the most effective:

1. End with a direct question
You ask a direct business question, such as "Will you buy?" or “Can I write a check?” For purposeful, sane clients, this is the best approach. Be as direct as they are. However, by ending the conversation in this way, you run a 50% risk of getting a “no” answer.

2. Completion with acceptance
Here you make the assumption that the client has already decided to buy your product or service and it remains only to clarify the small details. At the same time, you ask this question: “Do you want to buy a red table or do you prefer a white one?” This technique relieves the client of the emotional burden of the main choice and is often very effective in dealing with the least aggressive buyers.

3. Completion with forced choice
You give the client a choice, such as "Which size is better - 12 oz or 16 oz?" Although the forced choice option is very close to the assumption option, it is still up to the customer to decide what he is buying. Your business is only to offer two options.

4. Completion-incentive
You encourage the customer to hurry up with the purchase. Sample: "On next week prices are expected to rise, but now you will buy again at the old price” or “If you buy now and you don’t like it, you can return it within 30 days for a full refund.”

5. Narrative ending
If hesitation is heard in the interlocutor's voice, you can bring the situation with another client and your product or service. For example: “XYZ did not use our light bulbs at first either. But when they began to use them there, it gave a saving of six to eight thousand dollars a year in operating costs.

6. Completion-summary
This is where you summarize your telemarketing presentation by highlighting the benefits of the product or service. After that, your closing phrase should sound something like this: “Mrs. Jones, with all these pluses, is there any reason for you to buy now?”

7. Completion in the form of a second call
This method will help to cope with the objection of the type: "give me time to think." When you call for the second time, first apologize for forgetting to tell him or her something. Add what is important. Once you've laid out this new information, reiterate the key benefits you talked about in the previous presentation, and this time add "Remember, you agreed that..." and so on. In other words, briefly repeat the process. Remember that the main thing here is not to ask the client what he or she thinks about this.

8. Completion like "Why not?"
If you have answered all of the customer's explicit objections and after that he or she is no longer affected by normal termination techniques, try this approach: "Mr. ___, you clearly have some reason not to buy. Would you help me a lot if you could tell me why you don't want to buy?"
None of the above methods works 100%. Likewise, not every customer gives clear signals of readiness to buy. However, by knowing these signals and using these conversation termination tactics, you will dramatically increase your chances of success. Another, and last, small warning: as soon as you ask about the purchase, shut up. Many sales agents do not benefit from excessive verbosity, but, on the contrary, fail the sales procedure. Let the silence work for you. It is the client's task to answer your question.
Remember that your manner of ending the conversation makes a certain impression on the client, which will also affect the success of the next contacts. Maintain a positive impression” to ensure repeat business.

Chapter 9
IMPROVE YOUR MESSAGE RECEIVING

While many offices now have voice mail, answering machines, and other state-of-the-art audio equipment, it is often necessary or desirable for a client to talk to a "real" person. More and more more people realizes that technique, no matter how perfect it may be, cannot replace "personal contact". Therefore, receiving messages is still one of the urgent tasks of telephone professionals. Vague, inaccurate, or incomplete messages lead to trading failures, dissatisfaction on the part of clients, and, even worse, on the part of the boss.
Here are five ways to make your job of receiving messages more efficient:

1. Seek complete information. It may sound trite, but so many phone messages suffer from incompleteness. They lack the client's full name, exact telephone number, and indications of the client's business area, whether the caller is expecting an answer, and if so, what answer.
One of the worst mistakes is the habit of relying only on the caller's message, without specifying the details. For example, leaving a message to your boss: "Call your sister" can lead to misunderstanding. What if the boss has two sisters? How does he or she know who to call?
To avoid these misses, ask each caller for the information you need. It should include the following items:
- Name and surname.
- Organization (firm, company, etc.).
- Phone number, including the locality code, if applicable.
- Purpose of the call.
- Desirable form of response (make a return call, etc.).
- Special information (will call back after 2 p.m.).
- Time to call.
Find out this information consistently. If the interlocutor does not want to meet halfway, explain that without complete information it will be difficult to make a return call.
Don't forget to note the time the call came in. This can be important for your boss and any other person who must answer the call. So, from here you can find out the following important points:
- How quickly the call was answered if the call was in response to a previous call from your firm at an earlier time of the day.
- How long the customer waited to receive information or place an order.
- When is the best time to answer a call made from a different time zone.

2. Accurately write down names and surnames. If you are in doubt about the spelling of the last name, ask. Do not be shy. The client, on the other hand, will be flattered that you take the time to spell his last name correctly.
Listen carefully to how the interlocutor calls himself. Is that Bruce Brown? Or Mr Bruce Brown? Or Mr Brown? It may be essential for the person who must answer the call that you indicate this. This helps him or her choose the right form of address. Therefore, you must listen with a "third ear" and hear how the client wants to be addressed.
If you addressed someone incorrectly, apologize and take note of the correct name, surname and title; then continue the conversation.

3. Avoid telephone "games of hide and seek". Each of us knows how annoying it is. Message left. You make a return call, but the one you need is not found. Then he or she calls you, but this time you are absent...etc.
Hide-and-seek games can be almost completely avoided if:
- Give the caller a time to catch the person of interest: "Mr. Jones is usually in the office between 1 pm and 2 pm." Offer to call back at this time.
- Ask the caller what is the best time to call back.
These simple actions save a lot of time and effort for everyone, including you, and once again support your professional image.

4. Express a desire to help. If someone calls your boss or an employee of the organization, but does not find them in the office, ask if there is anything you can do to help. This achieves two goals: 1) you will know the purpose of the call, 2) there is no need for your boss to call back. Even if you weren't able to help, the information you received might be useful to the person who will answer the call.
Here is an example of how you can save valuable time:
Caller: "Is Mrs. Grant here?"
You: “Yes, but most of the day she will have meetings. Should I send her a message, or is there anything I can do to help you myself?"
Caller: "Okay. I'm calling on a job ad for your company. I would like to apply for admission."
You: “Mrs. Grant is currently collecting applications for this position. Let me give it to you full name, title and address, and you can send her an application today.”
Mrs. Grant will be grateful that you did not interrupt her once again, because she would have said the same thing. The person who called is also satisfied, because he received the necessary information and the opportunity to act immediately. Finally, and you saved yourself time, because the applicant for the position will no longer call back to find Mrs. Grant.
If you anticipate a large number of calls to fill a position, you might suggest doing this type of screening for the hiring manager. Get basic information from him or her regarding the position or location where the company is hiring.

5. Assess the mood of the caller. The advice to indicate the mood of the interlocutor when receiving a message may seem strange, but still think about it. If you had to make a call back, wouldn't you like to know in advance that you will meet with hostility?
Indicating the mood of the interlocutor is especially important in the sales or customer service department, since here the creation and preservation of good relations with customers is a decisive success factor.
You can fix the mood of the interlocutor different ways, depending on how much time you have. You can either mark meaningful words and phrases, general attitude, or build a five-point scale of attitude (from positive to negative).
If you have time, and the other person seems especially upset, you can try to get to the bottom of the problem. Some start talking about it without question! Any information will help the person who will have to answer the call.

The best way to post
When leaving a message, provide complete information. Re-read the list of points to be clarified when receiving messages. Use it as a guide when posting your own. Thanks to the completeness of the information, you will save other people's time and nerves. However, try to be brief and stay within 30 seconds. The longer the message, the more difficult it will be to write it down accurately or listen carefully. The more you talk, the greater the risk of misunderstandings.

Final Thoughts

People who communicate on the phone are at the forefront of modern business. They greet customers, sell products, hold meetings, confer with customers, and perform a myriad of other vital business functions.
If you are also on the front lines, then your job is to listen, respond and communicate effectively. When you do a good job, you communicate much more than just facts or information about a product or service. You demonstrate the image - yours and your company.
Good telephone communication skills play a very important role in the perception of your company by the people who call there. The way you managed to demonstrate your communication skills on the phone will tell these people a lot about your professionalism, about the organization of your company, about its attitude towards customers and employees, about your attitude towards the company.
Every day when doing business on the phone, remember what information you should inspire your interlocutors. Evaluate your effectiveness not only by the information that you openly give to your interlocutors, but also by implicit information perceived at a deeper level.