Small business owners know that the most important function
of the telephone is to bring customers to you, begging for
your service or product offering. So when the phone rings
with a prospective customer on the other end, do you know
how to transform an interested caller into a buying
customer? Here are three phone sales tips to help you
close more sales.
1. Find the need
Don't assume that everyone interested in your product or
service buys for the same reason. Before you attempt to
sell the prospect on how great your product or service is,
ask a few qualifying questions to uncover his buying
motivations.
For example:
"Will you be using this in your home office or your
workplace?"
"How many copies per day does your office normally need?
"What is it about your current copier you are not satisfied
with?"
Once you ask a few probing questions, listen for the
problems, challenges, or frustrations that your prospect is
facing. Your caller is not looking for you to sell him
something—he's looking for you to solve his problems.
Once you know his problem, you'll be able to sell the
benefits of your product or service based on what he needs.
2. Magnify the need
Most people buy for emotional reasons. When you magnify
the need, you tap into his emotional buying motives and
create an urgency to purchase. A few questions or
statements might be:
"Do you have a backup plan if your copier fails right
before a key client presentation?"
"I see how those continual paper jams could hold up copying
projects for hours."
"I'll bet that was an embarrassing situation, not being
able to make a copy for a client because your machine was
down."
By creating the perception that your product is critical to
his success, you are much more likely to win the sale.
3. Answer objections
Objections are the reasons that prevent your prospect from
saying, "So, do you take Visa or MasterCard?" If you don't
find out the objections, you can't answer them—and
your prospect will call your competitor instead. To find
out his objections, ask a few questions like:
"What key concerns do you have that prevent you from making
your decision?"
"How can I help you decide if this is the right product for
you?"
Be sure to answer his objections based on what you know
about his buying motivation, his need. Additionally, try
answering his objections with a question that will lead to
a buying decision. For instance:
His objection:
"I'm no good with technology. I hate to invest in a new
copier just to have problems with it that I can't figure
out how to fix."
Your Question:
"Would you like a free 12-month service agreement with your
new copier?"
4. Close the deal
It's amazing how many small business owners don't make the
sale because they fail to ask closing questions. Closing
questions are designed to bring the prospect to a place of
decision or a call to action.
Ideally, you'll want to ask closing questions through out
the sales process that produce small "yeses" like:
"Would information on product reliability be of value to
your decision?"
"Are you interested in a program that will save you both
time and money?"
"Is timely delivery an important issue for your business?"
Once your prospect gets used to saying "yes," it will be
more natural to say the all important YES at the end.
Listen for buying signals from your prospect and be ready
with many ways to ask for the sale. For example:
"If I could guarantee delivery by the end of the week, are
you ready to move forward with the purchase today?"
"If that price quote is acceptable to you, shall I ship it
today?"
"I can schedule your project for next week, but I'll need
your credit card information to hold your project start
date. I can take that information now if you are ready."
Good salesmanship requires practice, practice, practice.
Think through all possible objections to your service or
product. Write out possible responses and questions that
lead to buying decisions. If you put the time in to think
your sales process through, you'll feel more confident when
a prospect calls you. The more confident you are with your
sales process, the more sales you'll close.
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Deborah Walker is a Small Business Coach specializing in
sales training and revenue growth strategies. Her
career-long expertise as a successful small business owner
provides insight to the do's and don'ts of building a
sustainable revenue stream. Click to learn more at
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