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Listening
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| After training thousands of inside sales professionals and managers, we’ve come up with the TeleSmart 10 - Sales Booster Series for generating revenue by phone and email. Our sales methodology has 10 essential skills for telephone effectiveness that actually work. This month we’ll be delving into Listening, one of the most underestimated skills in telesales. |
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Hello- is anyone listening out there? Today, we’re bombarded with desktop distractions and multiple phone lines that it’s no wonder why we’re not listening. Especially when we work in a non-visual medium and our prospects don’t have to see that we’re not listening. As you enter a new quarter and new sales month- this is the time to take stock and run a reality check on some of your pending opportunities.
Think it’s a basic skill? Well, let’s see if any of these challenges comes up for you: |
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“When I finally get someone on the phone, I need to move really fast and may fall into some bad listening habits, such as interrupting, assuming their answers, reframing their needs and telling too soon versus selling. What can I do to not fall into these bad listening traps?” |
Remember that listening is not waiting for your turn to talk. We have to become expert listeners when we’re on the phone and demonstrate strong verbal listening cues to prove we are listening. |
| “I had a great conversation with the prospect over the phone and was convinced this was a great lead until I found out the field kicked it back. What happened?” |
Our assumptions can get us into trouble. Sometimes instead of asking, we assume timeframe, budget, decision-makers, competition and find out we were wrong. The reasons we make assumptions are varied- you may have a high comfort level with an existing customer or fear rejection and don’t want to ask. |
| “If someone tells me to call them back in a few weeks, I usually ask them when would be a better time to call them, is that the right answer?” |
It’s the right answer if you want to begin what I call the “3-year phone call” which means you will probably get the same answer for the next 3 years. Drill down by asking precision questions such as, “what will happen from now until then for it to be a better time for our call in the next few weeks?” |
| “I can’t seem to create urgency with my prospect, I’ve qualified the opportunity but just can’t make it happen.” |
The two areas that can make or break a sale is usually the decision-making process and the needs or “pain.” Ask more questions that drive at the pain:
“What’s driving your interest in our solution?” “What functionalities are you looking for?” “What outcomes or problems are you trying to solve?” |
| “What type of note-taking do you recommend?” |
Note-taking is a form of listening and if we type on the keyboard while our prospect is speaking, it may not be the best way to listen- not unless you are typing extremely basic information. Otherwise, take a pad of paper, ask questions and listen to their answer. We have an advantage on the phone that our prospect can’t see us take notes on the call. |
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| Does your inside sales training consist of “smile and dial” techniques that fail to generate consistent revenues? Has your team participated in field sales training only to find that it didn’t translate into a 7 second phone call or email which must carry impact?
TeleSmart provides one complete solution for inbound and outbound call centers at both the manager and team level. Whether you are calling on installed base, enterprise or transactional business, our TeleSmart 10 methodology applies for all. Contact TeleSmart Communications at 415-759-6537, or send an email at getsmart@tele-smart.com
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