7 Ways To Get A Dial Tone
"It was a long weekend. I had two proposals to finish by Monday, a stack of information waiting for the database, and my wife decided that this was the weekend to get the garden planted. If you are a man, and I know I am, when there are that many projects stacked up you have to put your blinders on to get work done. You don't like being disturbed. If I am in the middle of writing, God could call and I would ask to put Him on hold."
I run my own business so I office out of my home. One of the upsides of running your own business is answering your own phone. It really puts you in touch with your customers and you are always sure of what is being said about you because you are the one saying it. It is also a pleasant surprise for clients to get an actual person instead of a phone menu. I can’t tell you how many bids I have won simply because the client got to talk to me directly on the first call. One of the downsides to running your own business is, answering your own phone. On the weekendwhen I needed my blinders on the most, I got the most calls from telemarketers. Thanks to phone sellers, I have five options for a lower mortgage, three chances to join a political party, a couple of guys waiting for me to crack my windshield, solutions for growing hair where I never needed it, and pills to grow other things that I don’t want to talk about
It is easy to dismiss the ineptness of the callers simply because they were telemarketers, who are notoriously scriptdriven. They also play the numbers game, calling everyone in the book and scatter-shooting until the get a hit. Most people say, “I am a lot better at connecting with my customers than a high-school graduate sitting in a cubicle making blind phone calls,” but are you? I have seen many highly trained professionals make the same basic mistakes as coldcalling scatter-shooters. Sales and service professionals can get so focused on what they have to say, and in getting to the close of the call, that they shift into autopilot and start using clichés. This is dangerous because customers can instantly sense when a caller is simply after their money. We can tell as quickly as the opening line.
I call these "Phrases I Hate".
1. I’m with XYZ Company. How are you today? This is usually delivered with a vocal inflection that implies you have been friends for years. My only response can be, “Fine.” Then you can get on with the purpose of your call. If I thought you really cared, I would tell you all about how I overslept and missed my morning appointment, lost the directions to my lunch meeting, and discovered that my cat used my suit as a hair brush, but since you are sitting in a warehouse cubicle surrounded by 300 other telemarketers reading off a script for fifty cents above minimum wage, I’ll spare you the details. Unless we are good buddies, this is not only a weak opening line to any conversation; it is the stamp a weak call. Don’t start the conversation by wasting my time and asking me a question that will not further the point of the call.
2. Is this a good time to talk? “No, I’m sorry it’s not. I usually reserve talking for between 2:35 and 3:17 p.m. You just missed your window of opportunity.” I know this opening line is used as a polite device to acknowledge that I might be busy, but like many bad opening lines, it places the burden on me to reassure you that it is okay to proceed. Instead of getting to the point and letting me decide if I want to talk further, I have to make sure that you feel okayabout calling me in the first place. Frankly, now being a good time to talk is directly proportionate to how valuable your call is to me. If you are calling to tell me I’ve just been awarded a $3 million contract, now happens to be a great time to talk. I’ll tell the Vice-Duke of Lordship to get out of my office. If you’re trying to sell me a time-share condo for my pet rabbit, I don’t see a good time to talk coming up anytime before the Y3K problem pops up. If you want to be helpful, give me a preview of the call and then ask me about my availability. “I’ve got some questions about tomorrow’s meeting that should take five minutes or so. Is that okay?” Instead of starting the call with a question, you’ve made a statement. People always respond better to statements. Statements immediately identify the purpose of the call and the specific needs that you can address.
3. Do you have a minute? “No, you just wasted it.” See above.
4. Is this the person responsible for making the decisions regarding advertising?…long distance phone service?…donations to third world dictators? “No, but now that I know you are an annoying salesperson I’ll be happy to direct you to the one person who would least like to hear from you so at my annual employee evaluation I’ll be sure to get that .005% raise I’ve been dreaming of.” If you are talking to a gatekeeper, the above opening line actually says, “I haven’t taken the time to learn anything about your company. I’m just scatter-shooting and hoping one person won’t hang up today.” Instead, tell me what you have to offer and why youthink it would benefit my company. When I hear that you have something of value I’ll make sure someone in the company knows about it.
5. How is the weather where you are? I have been asked this by countless out-of-state callers. If you are calling a Minnesotan in March, we hate you. If you’re calling a Minnesotan in June, we’re not in the office. You lose either way. Try not to make it obvious that you have nothing more intelligent to say. It would be a better if you said, “I noticed on the news that a big Nor-Easter was going to hit your area. Were you caught up in that?” This type of polite conversation is great only after we have established a relationship, or for dull pauses when we’re waiting for our computers to reboot, but not for the opening line.
6. Did I catch you at a bad time? “Why no, I’ll just tell the burglar that has me tied up to duct tape the phone to my head so we can talk without interrupting his work.” I cannot say if it is a bad time when I don’t know what you want. Don’t ask me to make your phone call okay before starting the conversation. That type of behavior is called co-dependent.
7. How would you like to save hundreds of dollars on office supplies? “Well I would, but I have this bet going with my business partner to see who can waste the most money during the first quarter of the year. Call me back in the summer; I’ll want to save money then.” Do sales-people really think the person on the other end is going to scream, “Oh my God. I’ve been waiting for someone like you to come along and save me from these high prices!” If you are like me, if you get a call that starts with this kind of question you mistrust the person right off the bat. Now they have to work twice as hard to regain your trust. If they have a product they really believe in, they should just say it. “I’ve got an automatic origami machine that is really great. It’s fast, accurate, and really inexpensive. I know that you do a lot of paper folding in your business so I would like a chance to stop by and show it to you.” That is the type of guy I respect because he didn’t use any trick opening lines and didn’t waste my time. I am more likely to talk to him even if I don’t need a lot of origami right now.
Opening lines to a phone call are simple, whether you’re selling something or just making a first contact for business.
Be yourself. My rule is: If you wouldn’t say it to a friend during lunch, don’t say it in a business conversation. People can instantly sense if you are not genuine, and there is no rebounding once they do.
Start with a statement, not a question. You will accomplish the same task in half the time by stating your position rather than asking a lead-in question. Questions are a technique used by sales professionals to get the customer talking. The rule in sales is, “Whoever talks the most, spends the most.” The problem is, customers are getting more and more wary of anything that even hints at a sales pitch. If the relationship isn’t built on genuine trust, we may sign just to get rid of you, but we’ll find a way to back out later. Customers can tell the difference between a leading question and an honest inquiry. Most callers hang up immediately when they hear any of the questions above, so you will increase your chances of success by just being honest and stating your intentions up front. These days, the shock of hearing an honest opening line will be enough to make the sale.
Be friendly, but don’t act like my best friend. I’ve already got a best friend. Even if I didn’t, a salesman for a cheese-grating company isn’t next in line. I answered my office phone one day and the caller immediately said, “Hey. How was your trip?” I was puzzled because I didn’t recognize the caller and only a few friends knew that I had been away. “Who is calling?” I asked. “This is Barb from United Publishing. I heard that you went overseas. That must have been fun!” I didn’t know Barb from United, and was a bit taken aback by her familiar approach. I asked, “What is the call regarding?” “We have a great issue coming out next month and I thought your company would get some great advertising coverage.” You can guess how fast I ended the call. Her ploy of learning an inside tidbit about my life backfired because we did not have a relationship that allowed for such familiarity.
The phrases above have been around for generations. At many of my corporate training sessions I’ll ask the audience if they get sales calls at home or work. Of course, every hand goes up. I’ll ask them if they hear any of the above phrases, most do. They follow up their response with how much they hate the phrases. I finish by asking, “How many of you use the same opening lines?” A lot of hands sheepishly creep up. Clichés can so easily get stuck in our mouths that we don’t even know we are using them. Getting rid of clichés in business is tough. Not getting sales is tougher.
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