Yipes! I just got off the call with a salesperson who was attempting to sell me a conference call system. It was such a boring call, I almost fell asleep waiting for her to figure out how to answer my questions. Where do these people come from, anyway?

Whoever hired this woman must have been in a drug-induced state to allow her to make outbound calls. And whatever made him/her think she could engage, build a relationship and even quote a deal, was certainly more than one could ask for. Note to all salespeople out there: If you want to sell to a SALES manager/VP or C-Level executive, don't call UNLESS you know how to make an impression on the telephone. Otherwise, don't bother to call. Practice on a colleague, cousin, or even your dog. Your success may be better with one of them. But do not make that call before practicing. Here's what went wrong and a few suggestions if this looks familiar to you:

 

1. She was the slowest speaker I've heard in a millennium. I'm not a slow speaker and so it was painful to have to wait for her to respond. If your customer talks fast, speed up or you'll lose the customer in the call.

 

2. I think she was multitasking. Her head was down, I could tell. Was she typing or just checking email...I'm not sure. Whatever it was, she should have stopped it. Your customer is the most important person in the world on a call.Keep YOUR head up during your calls. You'll sound better.

 

3. She didn't ask me ONE question. I controlled the call (death for any salesperson to let the customer control the call with questions). I kind of felt sorry for her, so went ahead and asked her to tell me what she was selling (hey, I tried to help her out!) But, alas, she ran into a monologue using their product names. I had no idea what the names meant, so had to ask her that, too. Tip: don't assume your customer knows your product names. They haven't been through your product training and probably haven't memorized your website. Use terms that anyone can understand without the brand names.

 

4. When I asked about pricing, she fell apart. Maybe it was her first call, I don't know. She said she needed her calculator. After punching in some numbers, she quoted me $450. For what? I still wasn't clear what I was going to get for the "bargain" of $450. Then, she said I could get a discount from that. For what? I just said "ok" to get her to be quiet. Your tip here is never to quote a price unless you know what you are talking about. Also, if you offer discounts, throwing out the idea during a first call is the equivalent of giving up your hand in poker. Why do that?

 

5. OK. Now we were getting close to the end (thankfully) of the call. I asked her to email a quote to me. Again, pleading to get her off the telephone. She said she'd send it. Never just send stuff. She doesn't even know what my needs are. Why? She didn't ask. Before sending anything to a customer, make sure you know what you need to send. 

 

6. She asked if it was OK to follow up with me. "Sure", I said. She failed to set a date and time. Make sure you pin down your customer so that the date is firm. That way, your customer will know what is coming up next.

 

Lastly, if your name is Nina and you are reading this...please don't call back until you've read our book. (SELLING TO ANYONE OVER THE PHONE). You can use a few tips.

 

(C)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com, 678 587-9911