Making sure your sales calls aren’t going unheard
It can be difficult to strike the right balance with sales calls – you have to ensure you are catering to the customer whilst also ensuring you are getting your own point across in order to successfully close the sale. This can prove tricky for even the most seasoned of sales workers.
Luckily, there are a number of things which you can do in order to increase the likelihood that prospective customers will speak to you and remain on the call. The underlying element among all of these is to remain respectful and act like a real human being rather than just yet another sales figure who is pestering them.
Timing is everything
It is crucial to ensure that calls to customers are made at times which are convenient for them. The last thing call agents want to do is make potential clients feel pestered at times when they are extremely busy. This will undoubtedly result in the person on the other line being annoyed or the call being ignored entirely. Although the best time to call varies across industries and from one person to the next, studies have found that the highest rate of answered calls occurs on Tuesdays between 1 and 3pm. In contrast, Mondays tend to be the busiest for everyone trying to catch up on work after having the weekend off.
Set expectations of call duration
Once you have successfully got the prospective customer on the phone, the next step is to make sure they are actually available to continue the conversation with you. It is important to introduce yourself and make it clear why it is that you are calling and on behalf of whom. Opening phrases such as, “Hi, this is Rachel calling from Office Ltd. with regards to our latest summer promotion. Do you have five minutes to chat?” A call recipient is much more likely to stay on the phone when they know the call won’t last too long and prevent them from doing something important. If call agents are respectful of clients’ time and avoid intruding upon their day, calls are far more likely to have successful outcomes.
First give, then ask
Conversations involving sales require the right balance to be struck between give and take. The aim of the call is to get the client talking in order to fully understand their situation and make a sale, however prior to that you must first ensure they are comfortable enough to speak to you in the first place. Personable call agents have proven to be far more successful than those which seem robotic and inhumane. Aim to start conversations mentioning something you may have in common or even something as simple as asking how their day is going. Coming across as a likeable person who strives to build a strong relationship with their clients dramatically increases the success rate of sales calls.
Avoid a script
Although there are a number of reasons that a well-written call script could help ensure sales calls stick to the goals they set out to achieve, with call agents delivering all the critical information, it is key to approach conversations on an individual basis. This means that agents must treat customers like actual human beings, rather than just another client to push a sale on. Avoid pushing the conversation solely to fit your agenda as this will only make customers feel pressured and result in them being driven away. Instead, aim to keep them engaged and make them feel valued by using personal insights to help drive the conversation.