By Alan Pease

Selling by Phone - the Allan Pease Way

Which small business owner wouldn't like to increase their sales? And the most effective way to do this is to increase your customer base. This usually means you need to see more prospects and your greatest tool for this job is the telephone.

So what are you waiting for? For so many small business owners, making cold calls on the telephone to get appointments with people they have never met is a terrifying prospect, and rated right up there with the fear of public speaking. The reason why people fear making appointments by telephone is because no one likes being rejected. It is important to understand that this feeling of rejection is perfectly normal. It won't go away so you have to learn to stop wasting time worrying about it. The prospect may be out, tied up on another call, in a meeting, or can't be disturbed. Even if you do make contact, there is no guarantee that you are going to get a 'yes'. In fact, it is more likely that you will get a 'no'. Calling people by telephone to make appointments is very much a numbers game; the more calls you make, the more appointments you will get. It's called the law of averages. Once you accept this simple principle, you are well on your way to success. Getting in front of people depends on persistence, the quality of your telephone technique and practice. The most important rule of all when making appointments is that you are simply trying to sell the appointment, not the product. Leave the selling until you see the prospect face-to-face. A successful telephone campaign relies on discipline. Set aside an amount of time each day when you are going to do nothing else. The most effective time to do this is usually the first two hours of the business day 9am - 11am.

Six Golden Rules for Successful Selling by Telephone

1. Start with a clean desk. The only things that should be on your desk are your diary and your proposed telephone script. Avoid anything that will distract your train of thought and do not smoke or drink while you are phoning.

2. Chain yourself to the desk. Do this mentally as once you have started phoning it is important not to lose momentum. Don't get up halfway through and make a coffee.

3. Don't put the phone down. Once you have started calling, don't replace the handset - just click off. By keeping the telephone in your hand, you will avoid the mental process of having to force yourself to pick up the phone again to make the next call.

4. Use a timer between calls. Once you have started phoning, you should allow yourself no more than one minute between calls.

5. Use a 'do not disturb' sign. Hang it on your office door if you have one and keep people - and distractions - out. If this is not possible, try wearing a 'do not disturb' hat. Let people around you know how important it is that you are not interrupted during this time.

Of course, not all calls will go smoothly and there will no doubt be a number of objections raised, including 'I have a friend in the business'; 'I'm not interested'; 'I can't afford it' and 'I'm too busy'. There are a number of ways that you can overcome objections but there is one answer which can overcome most excuses: "That's OK [say the person's name]. We find this is the case with most people, even before we ring." This one statement tells the prospect that you not only know his objections, but that you expected him to say it. Then go on to explain that the purpose of your call was purely to ask for the courtesy of seven minutes of their time to outline your idea/product or service to him, and as you are going to be in his area at 3pm tomorrow would he be in for 7 minutes? No matter how many objections you get, the purpose is not to play 'ping pong' with the person on the other end of the line. You mustn't get too sidetracked with one objection after another. The whole purpose is to get the appointment. So practice hard, and you will be amazed at how easy it becomes AND how successful you become in making appointments by telephone!

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