Follow These Guidelines to Ensure Success
Whether you are making a cold sales call, or calling a current customer to update them on your progress, you want to present a professional appearance and leave them feeling good about their choice in hiring you. Below are 7 guidelines to help you keep the call productive and successful.
Don’t Say “I” When You Mean “We”.
You’re potential client doesn’t want to think that you are the lone person in a dark little hole of an office typing out code on your old Macintosh Plus, so don’t make it sound that way. Use “we” and “the team” and “my SEO group” when you are referring to jobs that your staff will be handling.
Don’t Let the Call Turn Into a Long Chat.
You need to be a little personal and get to know your client, but try to keep the conversation on task and sum up all the decisions made during the call, before you hang up.
Assess via Conversation
Now that I’ve told you not to have a long chat, I will say you should not barrage them with a list of questions one after the other, to find out more about their business and the job at hand. Rather, you should have a conversation wherein you ascertain what you need to know. This way, you will also establish a bond with your client and an atmosphere of team work.
Check Your Ego
If the client says something that makes you start inner dialoguing, you are going to miss what they are saying and wreck the call. Leave your own inner critic out of it. Really listen carefully to their points and concerns and re-state them to be certain you are correct. Then discuss how they will be addressed.
This Isn’t Therapy
Keep the conversation to what you will be doing to help particular aspects of their company. You can’t be a soundboard for every frustration they might be having or the conversation becomes useless for both of you and a big waste of time. So keep it on track and focused on your job for the client. Be empathic, but focused.
Stay Positive but Real
Maintain an upbeat, positive relationship with your client or potential client, but don’t sound like a traditional salesman. Be authentic, care about the client and it comes through in your voice, your choice of words and your demeanor. Real people (your clients) respond to real people (you).
Use Basic Phone Etiquette
If you are new to making sales calls or calls to current clients, discuss the how-to with your superiors or do some research so that you observe proper etiquette. There is a host of information out there on how to make the call, how to transfer a call, how to end a call, etc… and you want to follow known parameters while still applying the other 6 guidelines listed here. Use of proper etiquette demonstrates professionalism and respect to the customer.
In conclusion, you want to maintain a productive flow in the conversation and transfer information between you and the client while maintaining a friendly, professional demeanor. Treat the customer like you would want to be treated – keep it human and you can’t go wrong.