How to sell by phone - this question interests many. The final stage of the conversation during the time is the sale of the product. It is not always possible to reach this wonderful moment, and at the same time especially responsible. It would seem that 80% has been completed and the matter remains small. But, it turns out, not everything is so simple. Many managers know that feeling when they do not know what phrase to say in order to sell. At this moment, a quivering indecisive state often covered. Such nuances significantly reduce the chances of concluding a deal. Therefore, the final stage of a cold call must be carefully considered in order to avoid such awkward moments.
To increase efficiency, I suggest working on ending the conversation. First, let's work on the bugs.
How to sell by phone - unacceptable mistakes
- Loss of control over the conversation. This oversight happens when the manager loses his composure and confidence. AT telephone conversation it is very well heard. The specialist begins to hesitate and shows weakness. It only takes a few seconds for the interlocutor to break loose or take the situation into his own hands. Then all the colossal work done down the drain.
- I see a purpose, but I do not see obstacles. This mistake is typical for overconfident people. The manager rushes like a tank, which for many clients with a mild character works with a bang. But even in this case, you can frighten off the interlocutor. Just squeeze a little, say an awkward phrase, or unacceptable in this conversation. The most annoying thing in such a situation is that the operator does not even understand his mistake and resorts to it again and again.
How to go to sale?
In a face-to-face conversation, it is much easier to catch the right moment to make a deal. But everything is much more complicated. Especially when it comes to. How to sell over the phone in the end?
- Gradually get down to business. Don't cut off that smooth storyline that you've been talking about. If you abruptly move from presentation to sale, then the client may take it negatively. Your personal interest will immediately become noticeable. And this is unacceptable. Your task is to smoothly lead the interlocutor to the conclusion of the transaction. To do this, you need to direct his thoughts in the right direction. This will help you avoid surprises.
- Sure. Do not lose control over yourself and the situation until the last word. You must lead the conversation, guide the client to the right conclusions, take a dominant position. Be confident in yourself, your abilities. You also need confidence in the product you are selling and in the company you represent. Then you will be able to convey confidence to the client. If you are already approaching a sale, say a logical phrase with confidence in your voice. For example: “Will you buy a blue or red pen?”. That is, you are sure that the client will buy, it cannot be otherwise! You do not leave the buyer without the right to vote, giving him a choice. Expressing self-confidence, it is necessary to show respect for the client. He must feel important. So it's important to strike a balance.
- Notice the signs of the client's readiness to close the deal. Recognizing this is possible only if the manager listens very carefully to the client. The interlocutor can show readiness to buy even at the beginning of the conversation, during the presentation of the goods. Therefore, be vigilant and do not miss the moment. But it may not come at all. From the very first minutes of the conversation, it is necessary to study the client. Then it will be easier for you to recognize interest and manifestation of need. There are several signs that indicate the readiness of the buyer to conclude a transaction. You can read them further in the text.
- Effectively complete cold call. What indicates the successful completion of a conversation with a cold client? Of course, sale! If all the previous recommendations have been followed, then you have every chance to end the conversation with a deal.
Signs indicating a desire to buy
How to sell by phone, at what point to make an offer? Follow the signs!
- The client goes into details. If you hear that the interlocutor moves from superficial information to more detailed information, it means almost “yes!”. At the same time, the client asks additional questions expressing personal interest. The main task of the manager is to proceed to the conclusion of the transaction. Avoid broad answers so as not to delay that long-awaited moment.
- If a potential buyer interprets the proposed product for himself, this is a loud statement about the desire to buy. He already associates the product with himself, personal affairs, plans something. In this case, the client asks about the results that he can achieve. Or clarifies the benefits that will be received with the purchase. If you hear such questions, proceed to the conclusion of the transaction.
- The potential buyer is silent. If the silence on the other side was heard at the end of the presentation, or after objections, then the client is ready to buy. You have the final word. This sign is the most common. As a rule, the client is silent after the successful responses of the operator to objections. He considered. Don't let his thoughts drift. Do not allow long pauses at such moments. Just unobtrusively move on to the sale.
- The customer asks specific questions about the purchase of a product. For example, how payment is made. Or if he specifies how he can get the product. Be careful - questions are the most insidious thing. After all, they may hide an objection. You need to be alert and give answers that match the questions. Agree, it would be stupid if the operator perceives the objection as a signal of a desire to buy.
Effective end of a cold call
A crucial moment when every word, intonation, tone is important. Just one phrase, after which the client buys. How to sell by phone, what to say to sell?
There are several options. Below are examples of the most active ones. When choosing the form of the question, start from the individual characteristics of the client. Keep in mind that each phrase is only the basis from which the manager can build. Adjust phrases for yourself without changing the essence and effect.
Selling phrases:
- Provide a choice. A very effective phrase for many clients when cold calling. The question, in this form, leaves the interlocutor without a choice, but at the same time provides it. That is, the manager does not allow the possibility of a client's refusal. He prompts him to choose a purchase option. For example: “Do you want to buy a phone in gold or silver frame?”. However, such a phrase will suit suspicious customers, or almost agreed. For a business person, it is better to use the following option.
- Ask directly. The phrase is risky because it provokes the same direct answer: “yes” or “no”. But for some clients, it's perfect. If the conversation is conducted with a business person who requires specifics and straightforwardness, then it is better to ask in this form. For example: "Are we making a purchase?" or "Name, will you buy?"
- Presentation end. In this case, you briefly repeat the presentation, focusing on the benefits that most interested the client. Such a conclusion dispels possible fear, adds confidence to the client and reinforces the need. Such a question must be correctly formulated. It is necessary to build on the interests of the buyer. “Buying a brand new phone that will make you the coolest person on earth right now?”. Or, in the first half of the sentence, you include brief presentational information, with the necessary emphasis. And in the second, the selling phrase itself: “With all these benefits, do you want to buy a phone now?”
- Urgent purchase. You can end the conversation with a deal if you add urgency to the offer. “There are only two goods left at the old price, the new ones have already come at twice the price. Do you want to buy now?". This question acts as a powerful stimulus to purchase. After all, everyone wants to save money, buy cheaper. Therefore, the marketing world is filled with "discounts" and "special offers". Use it.
- Comparison. Not all, but many people watch how things are going for someone. They look up to someone. Or they themselves strive to be an example. If we are talking about a company, then in this case it is even easier. After all, competitiveness is important for all enterprises. Help them with this. “Such and such a company also had doubts until they tried our product in practice. Now their performance has increased by 50%. Surely your interlocutor will not want to stay behind and will say the main final phrase himself.
- Clarifying phrase. It is used in case of negative end of the conversation. This method is for a hopeful manager, as a circle is for a drowning man. If the operator has refuted all the objections or bypassed them altogether, it is appropriate to ask a clarifying question. "Why not?". The client may continue to be stubborn and respond negatively. Still, try to get a logical answer. Ask like this: “Name, your opinion is very important to me and I need to know the exact reason for your refusal”. Thus, you show respect for the interlocutor, add honor to him and win him over. Worth a try, why not?
- Second call. Maybe one of your cold calls ended with a reassuring “I’ll think about it” don’t rush to despair. The conversation is not over yet. And you have every chance to finish it with a sale. Call the client back with a very important information. It may suddenly appear special offer. Or maybe you want to report important data that you forgot about last time. Basically, find a reason. Only real and important. When you call again, do not try to block the deal with questions like “Did you think?”, “What did you decide?”. Briefly repeat the presentation, recalling the thoughts that the client expressed last time. It will be easier for you, because such a buyer can no longer be called “cold”. You are already familiar. Use previously discovered information to your advantage.
These recommendations are not 100% guaranteed to sell. However, they significantly increase the chances of effectively completing a cold call. We hope this article has helped you get closer to understanding such a complex issue as how to sell by phone. Successful sales!
The telephone, as a way to communicate with a client, is used in almost any business.
I can imagine companies that today do not yet use social networks to attract customers, do not use the site and landing pages, do not set up direct, do not advertise in the media or on local TV. But I can't imagine that there are companies that don't use the phone to communicate with customers.
The phone, when used correctly, turns into a fairly effective sales and customer acquisition channel in any business.
The effectiveness of telephone sales is quite high for two reasons:
- the costs of organizing telephone sales themselves are quite modest: you only need a telephone, an employee (who will make calls. Or maybe it’s you yourself), good CRM(this is optional, but highly desirable in order to get the maximum result from the work. Moreover, CRM is also free).
- the ability to get a quick result immediately after the organization of work on this channel. As a result, appointments can be made, applications completed, registration for free events, sale of paid products and services. It all depends on the specifics of the business. The main advantage of selling by phone is quick results. And applications. and appointments - all this can be obtained in just a few minutes of talking with a client on the phone.
And everything seems to be beautiful, but there is one BUT.
Sales by phone will become effective in your case if you properly organize the work through this channel. If you use advanced sales technologies, effective scripts and sales methods.
Otherwise, telephone sales may fail miserably, managers whom you instruct to make calls will quit or convince you that all clients are already working with someone and they do not need anything.
In this article, I will give you 5 tips to help you increase phone sales in your business.
1. Learn to easily overcome the secretary.
There are many ways and technologies to overcome secretaries. In my trainings, I usually give 10-15 tricks that are guaranteed to work in any situation. For example, I like a technique called “Pass that…”
The essence of the technique is when the secretary answers your call and begins to conduct a “primary filtering procedure”, asking questions like “Who is asking him?”, “And on what issue?” etc., just say, "Please tell me this is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR COMPANY]."
This technique is so simple that even a beginner can easily use it. Moreover, the effectiveness of this technique is quite high - even trainee trainees who have not worked in sales for a single day, easily overcame the secretarial barrier with the help of this phrase.
Please note that with this technique, you do not explain the essence of the issue to the secretary, you simply voice your Name and ask to be connected to the manager. The main thing is to do it confidently and correctly.
2. Specify the decision maker's name before calling and address him by name from the very beginning.
On the one hand, I do not want ignorance of the decision maker's name to stop you and reduce the number of your calls. If you cannot find out the name of the decision maker before the call, then call without knowing the name - there is nothing to worry about, and you can easily clarify the name using simple tricks.
On the other hand, due to the increased competition in the field of cold calls, high-quality preparation and increased call personalization are of particular importance now. That is why I recommend that you clarify the name of the decision maker before making calls and address the manager by name from the first seconds of communication.
How to clarify the name of the decision maker, I told in the article.
3. Use the PTS Technique to Make Your Call More Effective
A few years ago, while working on the 10 calls - 10 sales course, I analyzed hundreds of different call records (which I personally and my colleagues did) in the hope of developing a single algorithm for a successful phone call.
I noticed such a trend - those calls that began with identifying points of contact with the client always ended more productively, and the course of the conversation itself was more positive and friendly.
I came up with a technique that I called PTS (show points of contact).
The essence of this technique is that at the beginning of the conversation (after the presentation and clarification of the opportunity to talk now), you must first show the client the points of contact. That is, what already connects you (your business) and the client's business.
The difficulty is that these points do not always lie on the surface, and in order to find them, you need to know some tricks or use your imagination.
No need to make banal mistakes and say the following phrases:
- I'm calling you to offer our services...
- I'm calling about collaboration...
- I'm calling to tell you about our products...
These approaches practically do not work today. Start the conversation by identifying common ground. There are many options, connect your imagination 🙂
For example, you can start a conversation like this:
TCP: pilot project with the client's business
I am calling you because you are construction business in Kazan since 2000, right? And our company has just launched a pilot project to work with reliable construction companies region that...
PTS: company website
Ivan Ivanovich, I am now on the website of your company and I see that you are actively developing and are currently in development interesting projects. I just wanted to discuss one of them with you...
Such a beginning of the conversation has much more to further communication, compared to the banal "offers of cooperation."
By the way, hundreds of people who began to use this technique in their calls sent me their positive feedback and share their successes. Therefore, I can confidently say that this technique will work for you and help improve the efficiency of calls in your company.
As for the TCP options themselves, there can be quite a lot of them and, ideally, they should be selected specifically for your business, for the specifics of your situation.
4. Organize system sales by phone
Consistency, in my opinion, is the most important component successful sales by phone. If you organize system sales by phone in your business, then you will inevitably get an increase in sales.
At the same time, consistency should be in different directions: cold calls, warm calls, and incoming calls.
- Do you use CRM system to record calls?
- Does your business have a sales funnel?
- How are your employees' calls recorded?
- Do you use records for subsequent performance analysis?
- What is the call conversion rate of you or your employees?
- How do customer objections get in the way of selling the target action?
- How do you form a customer base for calling and determine target customers?
Answer these questions for yourself and you are guaranteed to see areas for further development.
5. Get your voice right
Not text on a piece of paper or on a monitor screen, but your voice. Much more depends on your intonation, the pace of speech than on thoughtful responses to objections (although this is also important).
AT recent times I see a real obsession with telephone sales scripts. It feels like managers and entrepreneurs are sure that if they had a good script, sales would immediately skyrocket. Unfortunately, it is not.
I once developed scripts for selling SME products for a bank. I myself tested this script, communicating with clients, before passing it on to the bank's network employees. And the script was good. Clients quite easily agreed to a meeting.
When it came to using the script by different employees, we saw a huge difference in performance. The reason for this deviation lay on the surface: low-performing employees spoke indistinctly, were lost, and their voice sounded uncertain. Others, voicing the same phrases with good intonation, achieved much more.
Keep this in mind - even the most thoughtful sales script will not allow a “mumbling” employee to sell effectively over the phone.
Sell beautifully and easily!
- Write your ideas and tips in the comments!
- If the material is useful, like and share with your friends!
Sincerely, Oleg Shevelev
P.s. I will tell you the latest tricks in the field of telephone sales on my own. Details here. I invite you right now, because the set will be small, and some bonuses will disappear in the coming days.
Friends! The main thesis of this article is: “Selling services over the phone is not a sale.”
On this you can finish and disperse. Thank you all for your attention! ☺
Well, jokes aside, let's talk in more detail about sales by phone. The above statement is quite sufficient, but we will analyze it together in more detail and prove its unconditional correctness.
We are all well aware of situations when we have to “sell” our mega-services over the phone or we ourselves receive similar “super-offers”.
Annoying sellers, working on a wonderful script, tell us their truth through a headset or a telephone handset and, it would seem, say sensible things.
But it's so annoying, isn't it? ☺
And this is the main reason why such buyer-seller touches no longer work.
We are being told from all sources, proven and reliable business docks and sales gurus, that we need to build a funnel, write SELLERS (and in this very word, some kind of intangible magic seems to be happening, that any text, call it that, will lay “golden eggs ” ☺) scripts and tirelessly monitor managers or their own performance in this process.
On the one hand, there is a grain of truth in this. After all, the optimization of the internal processes of a company, a separate department or personal efficiency is a necessary and correct thing.
And there is nothing wrong with such automation and optimization, in more detail I tried to describe this process and clearly tangible Profit for the manager individually and the company as a whole, in my last article
But we're here to learn how to sell our services over the phone.
Unfortunately, there is a very serious mistake in the wording itself.
Just a sale, in the modern sense of people who call or who are called, is very different from the one that everyone is used to and has just learned to use for their own good.
And everything changed again.
The main idea that will really help you and which, I think, should be promoted to the masses as soon as possible, to micro, small and medium-sized businesses, is no longer necessary to sell.
It just doesn't work.
But, friends, calm down, everything is in order.
Even in this ever-changing time, we can be efficient and get the number of customers and/or sales, money, etc. we need.
The first and only thing to remember is that in the sale of services you do not sell, and the interlocutor does not buy.
Your task is to establish partnerships, to become for this person not just a seller who is chasing his commission (and such a stereotype has already become very strongly entrenched in people's heads). Your task is to become that person who has the resource, skills and abilities that will bring now or will bring certain dividends in the future all the time.
Your task, in this first or already 10th conversation with your future potential partner, is to build just such a relationship.
And it works.
In the sale of services (for ease of understanding, we will still use this term, since we are already used to it;)) everything is more complicated than just in the sale of a product, a specific, tangible and visible product.
You want to buy a light bulb/sofa/building material/machine for a workshop/car/a charter plane, etc., you come to a store or an online store, choose the one that suits you in terms of characteristics, expectations, price, and make a purchase.
When a person makes a decision for himself or feels a clear need for a service, but has not yet made a decision or even realized that your service will help him, it is very difficult for him to understand how to really calculate what he will buy, for which he will give his hard-earned, earned ruble.
That's why possible client tries to find internal “pillars” that will help him to understand everything and make an informed decision. And these “columns” are not always really needed or correctly placed.
Therefore, the seller’s task is no longer to overcome contradictions and accept his offer as the only true one (and we are all sellers to one degree or another, everywhere and always, we sell services, goods, thoughts, solutions, our proposals, etc.)
Let's drop the obsolete b2b, b2c and even b2g.
And let's try to use, already to some extent mentioned by other people, but not popular among the masses (at first I thought that I came up with it :), but it turned out, no, there were already such thoughts) the system of working with clients according to the h2h scheme ( human 2 human).
Be an interesting partner, find common ground when the client will really be useful to you, and you will be useful to him.
And excellent, pleasant people work there, and, working with them, we not only earn money together, but also get great pleasure from the process as well.
Working on the h2h system leads exactly to this.
Thus, you do not sell to everyone in a row, but find a person and the person finds you, with whom you can already mutually beneficially cooperate and provide your services.
And that, my friends, is real magic.
I hope I was able to convey the main idea, and it will help you to look at the whole process a little differently.
Just try it, you will feel how everything in this process starts to work in a completely different way.
Next time we will analyze in more detail what developments in the entire history of mankind will be useful in this difficult, but very entertaining process.
I will give more precise tools on how to work in such a new way and, most importantly, make a profit.
Thank you for your attention ☺
If you have questions or just want to discuss this topic, I will be happy to wait for letters on
and in telegram @alexanderiq
Arunas Evgeniya
1. When talking to a secretary, ask for help. Who is the best person to talk to about this? When is the best time to call? Get yourself an ally!
2. Before you receive an incoming call - smile, put on a smile. The client calling you should feel that his call is really welcome!
3. Involve the customer in the buying process. For example, the phrase: “Please take a calculator and we will calculate the benefit of the offer.” Works much better than: “I will calculate now ...”
4. Whenever talking with a client, set a date for the next call - this will help you never lose touch with him and make the client permanent.
5. If you are tense, before calling, do the following exercise:
Drop your head on your chest and roll it first to the right shoulder, almost touching it, then to the left. Repeat several times, slowing down a little. Then straighten up, stretch and yawn heartily. After that, your voice will sound in a new way!
6. Be sure to write down everything you promise the client - and always keep promises as quickly as possible. There is nothing worse in business than ignoring customers.
7. When arranging a call, take any (even a small promise) from the client, for example: decide on a product model, or sketch out a list for an order.
8. Be a consultant! Help the client. You really have to delve into his problems and solve them.
9. Drink warm tea between calls - this is good for ligaments.
10. Always praise yourself for great results - this will push you to new victories!
11. Set yourself the exact time at which you sit down to the phone every day. And stick to that time every day. Discipline, and especially self-discipline, is necessary to achieve results.
12. Don't guess when is the best time to call, when the client has lunch, when he finishes work. For example, many managers are just more loyal after the end of the working day, when there is no fuss around; many quite loyally talk at lunch over a cup of coffee - at this time there is just no influx of calls. Don't guess - sit down and call!
13. If you sat down to write beautiful letter and send an e-mail - better call. This method is much faster and more efficient.
14. Sometimes it's better to ask the client directly "Is there a chance we'll work with you this year?" rather than waste your time constantly calling back a client who can't tell you a clear NO.
15. All technical issues such as: filling out reports, sending out commercial offers, etc. - allocate to a separate time block, and do not try to do it along the way - you will see how your productivity will grow. When you call the company for the first time, try.
16. Go to the "main"! It is better if the manager or the head of the purchasing department sends you to a specific employee. Then you can safely say: “Ivan Vasilievich, your leader, asked me to send this proposal to you ...” - this is already a guarantee that your proposal will be considered.
17. After send to customer offer- be sure to call him back. Ask if he saw everything, if he understood everything - this will make the client remember you again, and you will also be sure that your offer has found its addressee.
18. Try this approach when calling: "We specialize ... and describe the benefits for the client (the result that he will receive)." To understand if this is right for your business, I would like to know a little about your situation. Say…and ask an open question.”
19. Let the client know that you really want to work with him. Other equal conditions, wins the one who is most enthusiastic about the order.
20. Love your customers - and they will love you back!
Given the large number of offers, selling your service can be quite difficult. Even if sales are based on advertising campaign it must be well planned. In addition, online advertising is present in abundance today and making your offer unique will require a fair amount of creativity. However, there are situations when you need to sell urgently and in large volumes. The reasons here may be different - the dependence of services on seasonality, or you have launched a promotion that urgently needs to be conveyed to your regular customers… There can be a huge number of reasons why it is necessary to act urgently. For such a task, one of the most popular services of modern call centers is the best suited - selling services by phone.
Successful sales of services by phone are made according to the scenario
The effectiveness of telephone sales largely depends on the training of operators, as well as on the scenario or script for selling services by telephone. A pre-prepared communication scheme prepares the operator for a conversation based on the specifics of the services offered, target audience(taking into account the portrait of the buyer), the nuances of the offer, and so on. The more factors that are taken into account when writing a script, the higher the likelihood that services will be sold. That is why, when ordering sales services over the phone, providing the information you have collected about customers and potential buyers will be very helpful.
Provide maximum information about services
In order for customers to feel interested in the process of selling services over the phone, they need to be involved in this interest or infected (in the pleasant sense of the word). For interest to arise, you must first provide Full description all the benefits of your call center services. Moreover, in such a form that the operators could really be inspired by this. For example, when selling the services of an Internet provider, the operator, in addition to all the technical data, will ask the person on the other side of the wire if he is not bothered by waiting too long for a movie to download or frequent failures in the current service provider. In return, he will be ready to offer arguments in favor of his proposal - for example, high speed downloads, new hardware that works flawlessly, and so on. At what he will do it with complete confidence, conveying the same mood potential buyer. Thus, in order for sales of services by telephone to really bring the expected profit, the customer also needs to work hard. This is confirmed by the fact that pressure does not affect the modern buyer - arguments and facts do. The more information operators know about the service, the greater your chances of success.
In addition to one-time telephone sales orders, this option can also be ordered on a long-term basis. And thinking about strategic planning, you can use a number of other useful options, including marketing research and development of loyalty programs.