For example, 5 years ago, an outside sales representative spent an average of 75% of his or her time calling on clients face-to-face. Today, that figure is reversed for an outside sales representative. Customers are busier, so better “phone time” is essential to success. The job of an outside salesperson is being redefined continuously.

So, how persuasive are you on the phone? If you are in sales, you’d better be great at this! If not, you’ll risk never getting the customer on the phone a second time; yet alone to set an appointment, schedule another phone call, or ultimately close a sale!

Let’s take a look at how our world has changed and what that means to us as professional salespeople:

• There is more global competition
• Customers are better informed
• Companies are distributing the decision making process
• Better one-stop shopping
• Everyone wants to negotiate price
• There is more “public” pricing
• Customers are taking longer to make decisions
• Decision makers are afraid to commit
• That four-letter word “e-bay”

Here are my top three favorite ways to generate more business in a competitive selling environment:

• Polish your skills! Take a course, enroll in a seminar, work with other (better) reps, read, listen to tapes, and practice new ideas on your customers. Expand your world and try some new stuff! (Oh, and you can call us…we can help…)
  
  
• Be quiet and listen to your customers at a deeper level! Those of us in sales love to talk—it’s our greatest asset and our greatest liability. Bite your tongue and let the customers talk without interruption. Study body language, phone voice inflections, and you’ll find that there’s a lot of misinterpretation going on.
  
  
• Tape yourself during your phone calls! Listen to those tapes…do you sound professional, enthusiastic, engaging? Or do you sound bored, distracted, like you are disrespectfully multitasking?

Think about it and listen to yourself.

(c) Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, 678 587-9911 www.salespeak.com