One disadvantage of selling by telephone is the lack of face
to face contact.
When you are sitting with a prospect it is much easier to
read there body language. You can see the look on their face
when they are confused about something you said. You can see
the delight when you hit a hot button for them. You can read
the shifts in their body as they respond to your every word.
All of this non verbal communication is missing when you are
selling by phone.
Selling over the phone puts you at a huge disadvantage
because numerous studies have shown that 55% of what we
communicate is non verbal. This technique will give you back
that advantage you might have lost.
Asking The Right Questions
By asking questions that solicit a response from your
prospect you will get an idea of what is going on inside the
prospects mind. Normally these questions are asked during
your presentation or while answering objections.
Let”s say you are describing how your product or service
will benefit the prospect and you haven”t gotten any kind of
verbal response from them. This is the time to ask a
question like:
Does that make sense to you?
How does that sound?
Are you with me so far?
If you are answering a question or concern you should ask a
question that verifies that you have handled their
objection, such as…
Does that answer your question?
What you are looking for is feedback from them so you can
see what they are thinking and so you know how to proceed.
Let Your Ears Become Your Eyes
In any sales situation it is important to listen carefully
to responses to your presentation and to your questions.
When you ask a question, shut up. The first person, who
speaks, looses. You have two ears and one mouth; you should
listen twice as much as you speak.
Listen for two things. First what they say. When you get a
response listen very carefully to the words they use and
analyze and question them until you are clear what they are
saying. Second, listen to how they say it or the tone of
their voice. Approximately 84% of what we communicate via
the telephone is through the tone of our voice. If they
answer a question one way, however the tone of their voice
indicates something else. Stop and question further to get
clarification until moving forward. Say something like…
It sounds like you still have a concern?
This will show them that you are indeed paying attention and
will get them to further clarify their position. If you get
a very positive response with an I”m with you tone in their
voice, you have a buying signal and should move forward with
confidence.
By asking the right questions and letting yours ears become
your eyes you will find your closing ratio on the phone will
increase and so will your sales.
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