How to offer your services over the phone. Basics of telephone sales

There is no business without sales. An employee who owns effective cold calling techniques is valued by the company's management and receives a good salary.

Cold calling is one of the most difficult yet effective sales methods.

What are cold calls on the phone

Cold calling is the initial phone call to potential customers who have never worked with your firm before, in order to attract them into the ranks of your buyers.

The client is not waiting for a call. The call is called "cold" because the interlocutor on the other end of the wire treats him coldly. Even if he needs the offered service or product, he needs to try hard to get him interested.

The cold sales technique is complex and requires effort, experience, and good knowledge of the product or service being offered from the salesperson.

Video - how to make cold calls, examples for a manager:

Mastering the technique of cold calling is not easy due to the many barriers that must be overcome in order for the call to end effectively. Often you have to listen to the refusals and objections of the interlocutor, unwillingness to talk.

All this affects the mood of the manager making cold calls. To make such calls more effective, you need to constantly train and improve.

In what cases are used

This active sales tool is essential for B2B sales. AT recent times cold calls have become more commonly used in working with ordinary people.

Cold calls are needed:

to constantly increase the number of new customers;
when starting a new project, to inform the market that a new organization has appeared;
to update a large database of potential customers: when there is a list of potential customers, and those that are most beneficial for work are selected from it.

Cold calls in Russia are more often used in the following business areas:

forwarding companies - advertising rarely works, and customers are scattered throughout the country and abroad, there is no possibility of a personal meeting;
advertising agencies, magazines, print publishers - use calls to find new advertisers;
manufacturing companies selling goods for business - to find new markets, expand the customer base;
wholesale companies selling goods for organizations;
real estate agencies - for the purpose of selling commercial real estate.

Conversation scheme

To cold call was successful and gave the desired result, you should prepare in advance for the conversation and draw up an approximate scheme. The conversation itself can be divided into the following stages:

call to the secretary, switching to the decision maker (DM);
getting to know the decision maker, representing your company, establishing contact;
clarification of needs, presentation of the company, product or service, processing of objections;
end the contact and make an appointment.

Video - how to overcome the fear of making cold calls:

Do not call all customers in a row indiscriminately. Before calling, you should study in detail the potential client, his portrait, possible needs. According to only 20% of customers give 80% of the profits.

How to bypass the secretary

In working with organizations, there is often an obstacle between the sales manager and the person who makes the decision - the secretary or personal assistant. A lot of calls pass through it throughout the day. Often people who call offer something.

In order not to distract the manager, the secretary does not connect with him, but answers that nothing is needed and hangs up, even if the product and service are really useful for the organization. The larger the company, the more difficult it is to get around the secretary.

In such cases, techniques are used to bypass the secretary. Here are some of them:

find out the name of the decision maker in advance and, when calling the secretary, ask to be contacted the right person calling him by his first and last name. The secretary will decide that the call is repeated and will connect without asking unnecessary questions;
use swiftness and suddenness, with a confident tone, say: “Hello, connect with commercial director". Further questions should be answered briefly and confidently. For example, to the question: “Who are you?” we answer: "Serey Ivanov." "What company?" - "Company A";
make sure that you call not the first time. You can say: “hello, company A, switch to the purchasing department”;
call at a time when the secretary is not in place. It can be lunch time, the end of the working day, or 30 minutes before the start.

To get the result, you should follow the following rules in communicating with the secretary:

speak confidently;
no need to tell the secretary about your proposal, as he does not make decisions;
before calling the manager, you should find out his full name, this will help to bypass the secretary much faster.

Video - how to get around the secretary when cold calling:

How to start a conversation with a decision maker and get him interested

The conversation with the decision maker is the most important stage of the call. The overall result and prospects of working with this company depend on how it goes. When you first call, you should not try to sell. The main purpose of the first telephone conversation is to collect information to draw up a profitable offer and an appointment.

Here is an approximate scheme of a conversation with a decision maker:

At the beginning of the conversation, you should introduce yourself, designate your company. Briefly describe what she does. It is better not to mention the position of a sales manager, as it causes unnecessary associations in the decision maker, the fear that something will be imposed on him.

After the introduction, it will be right to clarify whether the person has time to talk. You can start like this: “Hello, my name is Sergey, I represent company A, which produces raw materials for companies like yours. Are you comfortable talking now?

If the decision maker says that he has time, then we continue the conversation on the sales script. If not, then you will have to clarify what time it is convenient to call him. You should offer the person several options for the time of the call so that he can choose from them. We call back at the agreed time.

At the first conversation, you need to arouse the interest of a person: tell about your company, the benefits of working, say that you work with the same companies as the one you are calling. Try not to talk about numbers and a specific proposal, this information should be left for the meeting.

Basic rules for talking to a decision maker:

the main purpose of the first call is not to sell, but to get to know each other, to interest and make an appointment;
the recommended duration of the call is no more than 5 minutes, as the time increases, the effectiveness of the call decreases;
you need to speak confidently, smile when talking, as the client feels the mood of the caller;
your interlocutor should be called by name;
pledge successful sales- to feel the mood of the client and be able to adapt to it.

To make a presentation that might be of interest to the decision maker, offer something interesting that makes the product stand out from the mass of other offers and explain how the client will benefit from the offer. It could be:

promotion or super offer;
cost reduction;
increase in sales;
time savings.

Dealing with customer objections

At the very beginning of the conversation or after the presentation, objections can be heard from the interlocutor. The main types of cold calling objections are:

“we already have everything”;
“we are not interested in the offer”;
"I don't have time to talk to you";
"Submit an offer, we'll consider it."

Having heard such phrases, you should not convince the client of the opposite and prove the benefits of your offer. This is a common mistake and can lead to termination of the conversation.

To avoid objection:

from the beginning of the conversation, try not to give reasons for objections, ask more, be interested in the situation of the interlocutor, his concerns, which can be solved thanks to the product or service you offer;
if an objection has been raised, it is necessary to answer them easily, causing the interlocutor to be interested in continuing the conversation.

To the client’s answer: “We already have everything,” you can answer: “I understand that you do not want to change anything, everything is debugged and works great for you. But we can make an offer for your company that will be profitable, because new is development.”

Video - how to deal with objections:

How to make an appointment

Having worked through the objections, it is necessary to end the call by scheduling a meeting, which is main goal first cold call. You can offer several options for the time so that the client does not have an alternative - to meet or not. You should also clarify the nuances:

date and time;
place;
meeting participants;
discuss the purpose of the meeting;
receive confirmation from the client.

At the end of the conversation, you need to leave your contact phone number, once again talk about the meeting and say goodbye on a positive note.

Cold calling scripts

A call script is a pre-thought-out or programmed sequence of a conversation with a client, established by the company. It is convenient to use ready-made modules during the initial call to the client. Distinguish between rigid and flexible scripts.

Video - 24 tips on how to create your own cold calling script (part 1):

Rigid- are used when selling a simple product, where there are not many options for customer responses. Such a script does not require the operator a large number knowledge and skills.

Flexible- used for complex products that involve ambiguous offers. Such scripts require managers to be creative and prepared.

Video - 24 tips on how to create your own cold calling script (part 2):

When developing a script, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the industry, the peculiarity of customers. Standard familiar phrases annoy people, cause rejection, so you should develop a unique script that is different from other organizations, which will arouse the opponent's interest.

How to organize: full-time managers or a call center

An entrepreneur may face the question - what is better to organize: cold calls based on their organization and include them in the functionality of their managers or provide a call to the call center. To determine this issue, allocate and consider all the pros and cons of these options.

The main advantages of transferring cold calls to call centers:

there is no need to recruit and train your staff, in the call center the staff is already trained in such calls and has experience in conversations;
no need to write sales scripts;
receive a full report on the work done.

The disadvantages include:

lack of personal control;
lack of specific knowledge of your particular product. Call center specialists manage several projects in parallel, their employees manage only your order and know everything about it;
minimal focus on results. Own staff, if motivated, is more focused on results than call center specialists.

Contacting a call center is beneficial when justified by calculations and cost-benefit ratio. In small organizations, where it is unprofitable to hire an additional employee and train him, it is worth contacting a call center to increase sales.

Video - an example of a cold call according to the scheme:

If the organization has a lot of employees who communicate with customers, then investing in systematic training and motivation of their own staff brings good results over time.

In this case, it is better to choose the option of training your own staff and including cold calls in the functionality of your employees. At the same time, managers should be financially motivated to achieve good results.

Pros and cons of cold calling

The main benefits of cold calling are:

saving time and money, due to the absence of the need to travel when first meeting with the client;
faster communication by phone compared to correspondence;
the ability to understand the client's reaction on the phone to the information received;
the opportunity to ask clarifying questions in a conversation, to eliminate misunderstandings;
the opportunity during a telephone conversation to lay out cheat sheets in front of you and required documents and look into them if necessary.

Cold calling also has limitations that need to be overcome:

the interlocutor perceives the call as a hindrance, distracting him from his affairs;
it is easier for the client to refuse or come up with excuses over the phone;
the opponent can end the conversation at any time and hang up;
it is impossible to track the reaction of a person, since gestures, facial expressions are not visible, it is possible to draw conclusions about the reaction only by intonation;
there is no way to back up the words with graphs, images;
when making a phone call, there is a high probability of misinterpretations.

Conclusion

Mastering the technique of cold calling does not come to most managers immediately. This requires experience, patience, constant learning and motivation.

Having learned the technique of conducting such sales, writing scripts, methods of working with objections and other elements of a cold call, an employee improves his financial situation and increases the profit of the company in which he works.

A short summary will help you understand the difference between the two.

What should you pay attention to when the act of acceptance of work performed.

With the help of cold calls, it is unlikely that it will be possible to sell equipment for the production of self-tapping screws; in such cases, several meetings will be required.

Video - examples of real cold calls by phone for the purpose of scheduling meetings:

Many sellers have to sell non-material goods, in other words, services. Services cannot be seen, touched or touched. Perhaps this is why many buyers underestimate the service and consider the price for it too high. In addition, it is not easy for the seller, who did not always even see the result of the service being sold. How to sell services?

Why sell services?

Very often sellers are forced to sell services along with the main product. Moreover, in many companies, sales of services pay more than sales of goods. Not all sellers understand what this is connected with, and management does not always tell employees why they should sell services.

The fact is that a service is a high-margin product, that is, the profit from the sale of a service is much higher than from the sale of a product. For example, the mark-up for an air conditioner can be zero; during the season, an air conditioner can even be sold at a minus. But with the installation of an air conditioner, the company will receive a high profit, which will pay for everything.

The specifics of the sale of services

As everyone knows, people can be conditionally divided according to the priority method of obtaining information into:. Some people get all the necessary information through sight, some through hearing, and some by touching the object. Naturally, we are talking about a method of obtaining information that is more convenient for a particular person, the one that he will choose if this choice is given to him. A full-fledged person can use all three methods, but there is always a more convenient one.

The problem with selling services is that for visuals and kinesthetics we have almost nothing to offer. It is clear that the seller can talk a lot and beautifully about the product, but it’s physically very difficult to show or give to touch, the product of which is not there. In addition, the seller must believe in the product being sold. But, if he sells a product that he himself cannot touch and test in action.

Service is a much more personal thing, sometimes even delicate. Accordingly, when do you think about how to sell services? You should, first of all, be guided by the specifics of the sale of services. And she literally says this:

The service must be of high quality, otherwise it will not be possible to sell it for a long time. If the service is of poor quality, then the market will soon find out about it and stop buying this service, and a negative opinion of the population will form in relation to your company. A vivid example is the Eldorado company, which has been selling PDSs for many years (this is an additional guarantee), the service turned out to be of poor quality, and in the end the company learned a negative thing about the brand, and the service had to be redone.
Better quality. New service will not sell itself, the seller must be a highly qualified specialist. Especially for B2B and in general.
Work with an audience of visuals and kinesthetics. Create product visualization: brochures, flyers, posters, give sellers folders with a presentation. Make your product material. If you look at the manufacturers of antiviruses and other software, you will see - that in stores they put up boxes in which there is not even a disk, just the license key of the program itself is downloaded from the Internet. But the client buys a box, he can pick it up and understand why he sometimes pays a lot of money.
Provide security guarantees for the client. The provision of many services involves personal contact between the client and your employees. Clients are not only afraid of being deceived, but also want to maintain confidentiality. Therefore, it is very important to explain to the client that with you he will receive an individual approach and complete security.

Sale of services by phone

(also called this type of sales) - this is one of the most difficult types of sales of services. Now quite a lot of companies work in this area, they sell: banking services (loans, deposits), forex and various investments, installation of meters, connection to Internet providers and much more. But how to effectively sell services over the phone?

Here are the main points to consider when organizing sales of services by phone:

In view of the high competition, good ones are needed, especially for.
Sellers must own not only, but also know the product they offer, as well as the current competitors.
Pay special attention to such stages of sales as and, since active sales imply a low percentage of those who agreed immediately.
. Paraverbal communication is the language of voice intonation, and a telephone salesperson must be proficient in this art.
Provide the required number of calls per unit of time. The bottom line is that in telephone sales is always low and in order to achieve good results you need to make a lot of calls.

In general, you need to understand that no matter what service you offer, if there is no demand, you just need to find a client. And often this can only be done by trial and error, although you should not forget that you need to watch how competitors work.

How to sell services, taking customers away from competitors

Business does not tolerate the weak, and if today you have a lot of customers, then you should not rest on your laurels. Remember that your customers will always be happy to be taken by a competitor at any opportunity. When selling services, it is very important to be able to take a client from competitors. Many service markets have long been divided and the so-called free market almost gone, so poaching customers is sometimes the only way increase service sales.

We arrange a promotion specifically for a competitor

Every competitor has both pros and cons. It is on the shortcomings of a competitor that it is worth building a targeted marketing policy. The simplest thing is to give more to customers who came from a competitor than to everyone else. So Internet providers, when switching to a competitor, compensate the balance, offer free connection and setup, give a month for a trial.

Dumping

Dumping is a decrease in value below the market. Price dumping tactics are used to force out small and weak market players. But dumping can also serve as a good promotion. The truth is to be wary of those customers who came to you just for the price. Because they tend to disappear quickly when cheaper options appear.

Black PR

Black PR tactics are used not only in politics, but also in business. Smearing a competitor in front of customers is something that can bring in a lot of profit. Here small example shitty PR:

“One well-known PR man received an order to reduce the level of prestige of a Moscow restaurant-club that has an impeccable reputation among the capital's elite. Naturally, at the entrance to the club there was face-control and several hefty bouncers. Of great importance was the fact on which the visitor arrived. The owner of the Zhiguli could simply not be allowed there. What did he do? One Saturday, when the main visitors gathered in the club, his people, dressed as VIPs, came to the club in luxury cars, then went inside. At the height of the evening, they went to the toilet and changed into homeless people. In addition, in their bags there were perfumes with a special characteristic aroma of a person who had not washed for six months. The smell was specially generated for this promotion. Drenched from head to toe, they walked into the hall and sat down in their seats. People started to shy away from them. Oddly enough, the guards did not immediately realize what to do, because these people were already inside and ordered dinner, and some were already eating dinner. And while none of them violated public order. In any case, when they realized something, it was already too late, the bulk of the elite public left the restaurant. Their administrators fussed about these "homeless" and were interested in how they got into the club, etc. Then they were politely pushed out. One guard tried to hit such a bum, but two newspaper reporters immediately appeared and photographed this moment. The next day, newspapers published photographs of homeless people in the premises of this club, and it was said that the audience in expensive restaurants sometimes looks unconventional. There was also an interview with one of the "homeless", who claimed that he received a large alms and decided to relax in a restaurant. In the following days, to maintain the image, a special person brought aromatic balls to this club, capable of emitting an unpleasant odor for a long time. They hid in various places of the club and constantly reminded visitors of the arrivals of homeless people. When the administration introduced a system of thorough tracking of visitors for these balls, it was already too late - the club acquired a dubious reputation among the “party” and it moved to another place. This is certainly not the most beautiful example, but it shows the method in action.

Leverage competitors' mistakes

Competitors often make mistakes and you need to be able to capitalize on them. So, for example, in the same telecommunications, when a provider has interruptions or the entire network “falls down”, competitors do not doze off and whip up panic through the media.

Instruction

Greetings.
When greeting the interlocutor, if possible, address him by name, and be sure to introduce yourself. It should be a name and briefly describe yourself and.
For example: " Good morning, Sergey Petrovich! My name is Alexander, I am the manager of the Ilanda company. Wholesale of kitchen appliances.

Showing concern for the client.
Be sure to take care of his convenience by asking if he has a couple of minutes of free time.
For example: "Could you give me two minutes of your time."
If the client is too busy, ask what time is best to call back so that it is convenient for him.

"Throwing a fishing rod."
Locate the client to yourself by making a small firm.
For example: "In business circles, yours has established itself as a reliable partner. We would like to offer you cooperation on favorable terms."
This way you will be able to interest the customer in the conversation.

Use the top acquisition model. In addition to the initial call and clarification of contacts, the cameraman conducts initial negotiations, initiates the sale, scrupulously identifying the future intentions of the potential customer. In fact, it is already collecting the parameters of the first trial emerging client, and also collecting information on the possible scope of future work with a new consumer.

Format the cold database beforehand. For example, select contacts of companies not only with the required specialization, but also with a given parameter, for example, "company employees". large holdings, network companies- can be immediately transferred to the corporate department (the so-called "long-playing" sales).

Master the techniques for identifying the “needs” of a potential customer. Often managers make a mistake - immediately proceeding to the “presentation” stage, wasting their time and causing negativity with unprofessionalism.

Important - the presence in the sales department of the client CRM-system. CRM - literally "Customer Relationship System", which records all incoming information about the consumer, and also reflects the "Plan of Further Actions". But you can record all the information in a regular Excel file so as not to waste time.

At the moment of "cold" attraction, fix all the "input" information about the potential client: format; specialization; development plans. In the future, this will save time on working with less promising customers.

calls and sales

Conventionally, all attempts to sell something over the phone are divided into two categories: “cold” and “hot” calls. “Hot” calls are calls to customers from our own database. These are people and organizations with whom you have ever worked, that is, contact has been established, and you simply offer them new services and goods or notify them of your promotions.

Cold calling is an attempt to find new customers. These are primary phone calls to those people and organizations that have never worked with you, during the conversation you can introduce yourself and make your own offer.

Why are these calls called cold calls? No one knows for sure, but it can be assumed that the point is how the potential client reacts to the manager's call: usually the reaction is rather cold. Old customers are more friendly to calls, because if they have already used your services and were satisfied, then they are probably not averse to continuing cooperation.

Why are cold calls so coldly received?

Firstly, if an organization operates in a large city and has existed for several years, then there are a lot of such calls per day. Even if you offer something worthwhile, imagine what it's like for a person to listen to various offers several times a day!

Secondly, it's not often that managers who make cold calls really offer something worthwhile. Companies often have specific needs, but they are usually addressed as quickly as possible. What is the probability that the manager will make a “cold” call at the very moment when the client has a need for his service or product? Of course, not 100%.

Thirdly, it takes time for the manager to make his trade offer. And if there are a lot of such calls per day, then imagine how much it takes to listen to someone's offer, and then politely refuse.

Effective cold calls

If you want your cold calling to be truly effective, you need to follow some strategy.

To make a competent call, conduct preliminary preparation. Once you figure out the size and nature of your prospect's business, you'll learn a lot about whether or not they need your product. And the awareness that you demonstrate in a short phone conversation will allow you to break the ice that will be there even before the person picks up the phone.

Do not set yourself the goal of calling as many customers as possible during the working day. Better choose fewer companies, but those who are really your potential customers. This will give a much greater effect.

Customer bases who previously purchased the proposed product or were interested in its properties, features, characteristics. These buyers or customers are not only familiar with the seller, but are often interested in purchasing a product or service, so the manager's task is greatly simplified compared to cold calls, when negotiations have to be carried out with complete strangers. The effectiveness of hot calls also significantly exceeds the effectiveness of cold calls, but it should be remembered that this technique is more often used in current activities, it is almost impossible to use it for business development.

Rules for making hot calls

Hot phone calls are usually made by the sales department in accordance with a certain internal algorithm of the company. This algorithm is not rigid, but it is important to negotiate in a logical sequence. The main rule is to constantly remind the client about the benefits of the product being sold, the benefits of cooperation with a particular seller. The manager's task during a hot call is not only to complete the next transaction, but also to keep a regular buyer or customer, leaving him a positive impression of the purchased goods and services. If this task is not performed, then the likelihood of the client moving to competing organizations that can find and attract him as a result of professional cold calling or other methods increases rapidly.

Who Should Negotiate?

Many companies are looking to cut their own personnel costs, so they use traditional operators to make hot phone calls. Practice shows that such savings lead to the loss of a part of regular customers, since professional manager in sales constantly stirs up the buyer's interest in the purchased product, performs several tasks simultaneously. An ordinary operator will not be able to achieve such goals due to the lack of relevant skills, as well as ignorance of the specifics of interaction with customers. The maximum task for him may be the conclusion of the next transaction, which does not mean effective retention of the client.

Sources:

hot calls

Before you can learn how to do business on the phone, you need to learn. There are two extremes that prevent a full-fledged dialogue - feeling like the coolest in the world and feeling like the last sucker.

In the first case, your voice will radiate cheeky self-confidence. You will be constantly brought in the direction of "yapping" and "swearing". You will not conduct a conversation, but fight for the recognition of your indescribable toughness. You will react aggressively to any remark or suggestion that goes against your ideas, defending yourself and defending your "china shop". Of course, you can't do anything like that. At most, you will earn yourself a stomach ulcer and bring a couple of people to a heart attack.

In the second case, your voice will always be asking. Persuading you to do you a favor. Exuding weakness and insecurity. More often than not, you'll get punched in the face as a result of negotiating in that tone. The way the world works is that most living beings react to the manifestation of weakness in another with the desire to "step on the tail" of him in various forms.

How to find the right shape?

How to find the right form, how to choose the right timbre of voice, how to build the right dialogue? - it's a matter of your skill. Mastery acquired through numerous training and repetitions. A martial arts fighter hones his skills by countless repetitions of punches, throws, blocks. Your task is to hone your technique by participating in as many situations as possible. The more phone calls you make, the more experience in telephone conversations you will gain. Moreover, over time - suddenly, one day - you will find YOUR recipe, your negotiating technology. It may be different from the technologies previously known to you, and it will be right!

The fact is that there are no golden templates in this world with which you can succeed in any enterprise. We are all very different. We each have our strengths and weak sides. We are all affected external environment differently. What is acceptable for a tall, brown-eyed brunette when meeting girls may be completely unacceptable for a short goblin. I say this to the fact that ideally you should strive not to repeat other people's methods, but to create your own. Naturally, having passed through the stage of "repeating other people's methods." But having passed it only in order to acquire the experience necessary to create your own, individual technology.

So, in order to learn how to speak correctly, you need to find the right balance between “I am the navel of the Earth!” and “I am the last nonentity!” Concentrate in the middle. If this result is achieved at least partially, you can start teaching telephone conversations.

Fear.

Imagine two situations. You are talking on the phone with best friend- you joke, you laugh, you don't worry about what to say. The conversation flows by itself. You are flowing.

And imagine a different situation. You make a phone call to sell panty ties. How?! Feel the difference. Obviously, in the second case, you will be more constrained and clamped. Bound and clamped by attachment to the result of "sell elastic bands for panties" - this is the time! Bound and clamped by the thought that selling rubber bands for panties is a dumb and ignoble occupation - these are two! Shackled and clamped by fear of an unknown person on the other end of the wire - that's three! And that is not all. Only point number three carries a bunch of different side effects, about which you can write a whole book. But this is not our task. Our task is to see the reason that prevents you from talking on the phone, selling elastic bands for panties, as easily and naturally as when talking with your best friend. And that reason is fear! Fear of screwing up, fear of looking stupid, fear of being scolded and other types of fear.

Naturally, by training in telephone conversations alone, you cannot get rid of all the heaps of fears that you constantly carry with you. You need to deal with yourself not partially, but in a complex. This, again, is another conversation. But the fact that telephone conversations contribute to the solution of the problem of your self-improvement is indisputable.

My method.

So, we figured out that you are afraid. How can fear be overcome? Well, yes, of course, there are a thousand and one methods of mental self-regulation, there are hundreds of effective spiritual practices, and so on. But we don't need that right now. We urgently need to solve a specific problem. Get rid of the fear of making phone calls. How?! I found my method. I'll tell you about it, and you look for yours.

My method is simple. Through numerous repetitions of the same task, understanding all its stages and analyzing errors, it is possible to bring its implementation to relative perfection. In other words, than large quantity phone calls I make, the more effective my telephone technology will be. And here the question is only where to start.

And I recommend starting with focusing on the most important thing. On the person to whom your call is directed. Let you not know him - in the case of telephone sales, everything is so - it does not matter. The main thing is to imagine it. What can he do now? What mood is he in at this moment? If it's lunchtime, he might already have one foot in the cafe across the street from his office. If the end of the working day - he is already mentally at home. If early morning - still in bed. Get into the fact that the object you are calling is the same person as you. He has a lot of his own problems and your call can bring concrete confusion into the measured course of his thoughts. Get into it and treat the object of your telephone appeal with sincere understanding.

Be specific and articulate!

For information. Every day, 30-40 people call the office of an average Moscow company that has given its phone number to the media, wanting to sell something. Now put yourself in the place of that secretary who needs to bring only the necessary out of these 30-40 calls to the final addressee. Represented?! What happened? Correctly. Got the standard model. Pass only those who speak in a pleasant, velvety voice and clearly state the purpose of their call. Well, if he still jokes subtly and smiles, then it's just a plague! He definitely needs to be connected to the boss - he is our client.

So, before you call with any proposal, you first need to concretize and clearly formulate it. And it’s not enough just to write it on paper and memorize it. You need to make sure that it is only the base model of the constructor, with which you can generate hundreds of other models. Preliminary trainings with friends or acquaintances help very well in this. Everything is very simple. Arranging with a friend on the phone to practice telephone sales. Let him enter into the image of the person you are calling, and you into the image of yourself. Then the opposite is true. Here, train. Practice different models depending on different situations and stretch your tongue.

Awareness.

By the way. Your awareness is very important. Before you sell anything over the phone, read all the materials about the product. Find out all its technical and operational characteristics. Be ready to answer any tricky question. Learn by heart all technical formulations so that they bounce off your teeth like "Our Father". The more conversations on a given topic you have while training, the clearer your wording will be in real communication with the client. The more beautiful and softer you can present your product.

First telephone conversation.

Now to the specifics. Consider the example of selling electronic business cards (EVCs) over the phone. I want to immediately turn your attention to the fact that the maximum that you can agree on during the first telephone conversation is about a meeting. A real meeting in the office of a potential customer in order to demonstrate to him the EVC and their capabilities. Remember that what seems obvious and understandable to you - well, you know your product well - can be completely non-obvious and obscure potential client. He does not see all the benefits of the product you offer the way you see it. He has no information about him. Your task is to convey this information to him in a language he understands in an extremely concise, concentrated form and get consent to a meeting. So, the purpose of the first call is to arrange a meeting.

Contact with a source of "danger".

Before you start making phone calls, study all the materials on GSE. Ask all the questions that arise in the course of reading to more experienced comrades. Briefly describe your model for starting a conversation. For example. You dial a number and say: "Hello! Is this the Star company?" To the answer "yes!" you continue: "Put me in with the head of the marketing department and tell me, please, what is his name." Here it is important to understand that talking on the merits of the issue with the secretary or any other random person who picked up the phone is pointless and somewhat dangerous. It is dangerous because the first reaction of an unprepared consciousness, faced with something new, is rejection. And, as a result, the desire by any means to quickly break contact with the source of "danger" - unknown information that infringes on the sense of one's own significance. How often have you met people who, faced with the unknown, ask the question: "What is it? Tell me!" That's just it, much more often they say: "We are not interested!" and hang up the phone or turn their backs.

The first "filter".

So, you have made your request. Most often, the answer to it is the phrase: "What did you want?" or "On what question?" This is the first "filter" that most callers don't usually go through. If you are direct and say "I want to offer you electronic business cards", then you can exercise your patience through many polite refusals: "Thank you! We don't need them." If you are more flexible and quick-witted, then you can practice passing this "first filter". There are hundreds of models of its passage. Let's consider one of them.

To the question "On what question?" you can answer: "On the issue of working with VIP clients." First, you're not lying. EVC is really used in work with VIPs. Secondly, the presence in your sentence of the magic phrase "work with VIP clients" can put a secretary trained to "reject" telephone salesmen into a light trance. The absence of “red rags” like “I want to offer” in your speech can lead to the fact that the secretary will immediately redirect your call to the addressee. True, at first he may try to provoke you with a question: "Do you want to sell us something (offer)?" If your voice does not waver at this moment and you calmly answer: “Yes, I have a proposal that I would like to discuss with the head of the marketing department,” the likelihood that you will be connected with him is quite high. If you begin to difficultly explain the essence of your proposal to the secretary, then most likely he will send you "by fax": "Send your proposal by fax." Of course, in this case, you will need to send a fax and call back later. But at the same time, it must be remembered that 99% of faxes sent without specifying a clear addressee are immediately thrown into the wastebasket. Therefore, before sending a fax with an offer, be sure to find out the full name and position of the person who will make a decision on your issue. Information about this person will be useful to you when you call again.

The moment of truth.

It often happens that the secretary asks the question: "What exactly do you want to talk about with the head of the marketing department?" It is important to understand here that this question can be asked for two reasons. Due to the lack of a marketing department in the company and, accordingly, its boss, or due to the extreme corrosiveness of the secretary. With such a development of events, in no case should you sink to the level of that image of a "telephone salesman" that is formed in the minds of most secretaries and crucify the essence of the issue in front of a person about whom you still know nothing.

Therefore, the answer to his question: "What exactly do you want to talk about with the head of the marketing department?" maybe the following phrase: "My name is Vasya Partiszanoff, Khomyak-Trading company. May I know your name and position?" Here comes the moment of truth. Either you hear in response: "I am Katya, secretary" or "My name is Ivan Mikhailovich, I am deputy CEO". Naturally, the models for further continuation of the conversation in these two cases will be different. In the first case, you need to correctly translate the conversation in the direction of "please connect me with the decision maker." In the second case, immediately get down to business.

Hold attention.

Let's consider the second case in detail. If you are lucky and you found the person you need - do not relax. The cherished goal is still far away. The main thing is to determine from the very first words who is in front of you - what kind of person is talking to you on the phone. This can be easily figured out by the manner of communication. If you hear notes of laziness and arrogance in a person's voice, this is one thing. If, on the contrary, fear and insecurity are completely different. You will be able to distinguish such things over time literally by two or three words spoken by a person. In the meantime, focus on the inner voice and do not allow the thought that the person on the other end of the line is more stupid than you.

So, you contacted Ivan Mikhailovich, Deputy General Director of the company you need. What's next? Next, you need to keep the attention of Ivan Mikhailovich for at least 5 minutes. It's not an easy task, I'll tell you right away. The fact is that, as a rule, Ivan Mikhailovich differs little from Katya the secretary in terms of "interest" in the product you offer. Ivan Mikhailovich has a lot of his own problems, often not even related to his work. His task is to quickly find out what you want from him and return to his usual state. Therefore, it is important here not to make a mistake and hit right on target.

From the very first words, you need to indicate the purpose of your telephone visit: "Ivan Mikhailovich! I have a specific proposal, which I am ready to state within two minutes. Is it convenient for you to talk now?" Most often the answer is "Yes! Tell me." If the answer is "No, I have no time now!", Then you should clarify what time is best to call back and write this information in red ink in your diary. At the same time, you need to remember that some Ivana Mikhailovichs use the “Call me back tomorrow” form as a soft refusal until you give up. I want you to be ready for this too.

So you have at least two minutes. But do you know how these "two minutes" can be extended to 10-20 minutes of real time? Everything is correct. The information that you convey should capture the attention of Ivan Mikhailovich. Did you see how Ostap Bender told the inhabitants of New Vasyuki about the creation of the Intergalactic Chess Club? So, about the same you should talk about electronic business cards.

You can start by politely asking if Ivan Mikhailovich is familiar with your product: "Ivan Mikhailovich! First of all, I would like to clarify whether your company uses electronic business cards in its work?" If Ivan Mikhailovich is not familiar with EVK, he will probably ask: "What is it?". This is the question you need. Slowly, with feeling, you need to talk about your favorite product. For example: "An electronic business card is, at the same time, a business card made in the corporate style of your company and a mini CD containing presentation information in in electronic format: texts, photos, video, audio. An electronic business card can contain information corresponding to the volume, for example, 15,000 pages of typewritten text or 300 full-screen photographs. Information from an electronic business card can be read on any computer.

If Ivan Mikhailovich has heard about EVC, but does not use them in his work, you need to immediately get down to business: "Specifically for your company, electronic business cards can be useful as - (several options for using EVC). Ivan Mikhailovich! I'm ready to drive up to to your office and, within 10-15 minutes, demonstrate the possibilities of electronic business cards, as well as leave you a sample."

It was I who just roughly sketched out the phrases that you can say in a conversation with Ivan Mikhailovich. In a conversation, say, with Zinaida Petrovna from a modeling agency, these formulations will already be different. In other words, get out over time to the level of improvisation. Do not load your speech with templates. Templates are boring and indecent. A person always feels and is annoyed when they are spoken to in a stereotyped way, and on the contrary, he reacts well and responds to lively, improvised speech. Therefore, learn to be alive and real even when talking on the phone!

7 rules.

Further events can develop in a thousand and one different scenario, ranging from a complete lack of interest in the product you offer to the exclamation: "My God! Where have you been before? Urgently come to our office." It is impossible to consider all these situations, of course. Yes, in general, it is not necessary. The main thing is to understand the essence. The essence of what you do.

And the bottom line is that you primarily, you need to win over the person with whom you communicate.

Secondly you must exude confidence. Have no doubt that your product is needed by the world.

Thirdly You should always listen to yourself through the ears of the person you are speaking to.

Fourth, you must always take into account the interests of your potential client, while not forgetting your own interest.

Fifth, you shouldn't be attached to the result. Whether correctly you understand as it "not to be attached to result"? - that's another question.

At sixth, you must always keep good mood and smile. Remember! - it's all just a game. You don't have to always be the winner. Full participation is enough.

And seventh, do not forget! - 80% of success in developing your further relationships depends on HOW you talk to a person at the first meeting. The first impression is the most lasting.

In addition, do not overload the client with unnecessary information. Sometimes long negotiations are extremely harmful. The more you give information about your product, the more doubts will arise in it. Learn to answer questions briefly and to the point. But eloquent! Remember also that if you are asked a question, you always have the opportunity to give the answer you need. I'm not here to lie. This is me about being flexible. In order for interest to be shown, it is enough to tell about WHAT you offer and WHY it is needed. Information about HOW it works is often overwhelming. Save it for curious clients.

That's all. This is definitely a drop in the ocean. Just basic truths. But even if you master them perfectly, your future success is guaranteed. Good luck, future master of telephone conversations!

with requests to send some material on the basics of telephone sales to train salespeople in the department. I dug through my archives and found an article that I wrote a few months ago, but have not yet published. I present it to your attention.

There are really basics here. It is very useful to read not only new sellers, but also those. who have been working for a long time. Practice shows. What the basics need to be checked. Sellers tell you that they know all the nuances. But it is worth starting to ask with passion - they swim in elementary things.

For those who are interested in a deeper disclosure of the topic of telephone sales, I would like to offer our Almanac "Sales by phone".

This is a collection of articles and teaching materials in telephone sales - everything you need to build and manage a telephone sales department - how to select personnel for telephone sales, motivation schemes, how to deal with burnout of salespeople on the phone, how to work with customer objections, etc.

200 pages of up-to-date application materials written by professionals and experts in the field.

If your company promotes its products through telephone sales, I strongly recommend you the almanac "Telephone Sales".

Well, let's get back to the article.

ELEMENTS OF TELEPHONE SALES.

Phone Sales Technique: Rule of Three P's - Call, Overcome Objections, Sell.

Today, telephone sales are very common, and managers who master this art are worth their weight in gold. It would seem that this is difficult? I dialed a number, said a long-memorized text, answered a couple of questions and that's it. In practice, everything is much more complicated, and the process of telephone sales has its own characteristics, without knowing which it is easy to fail.

First you need to remember two simple things, without which it simply does not make sense to start a conversation with a client.

The first is your mental state. Not confident in your abilities? Are you afraid of rejection? Do you think they won't talk to you? If so, then it is better to postpone the call until later, when you are alert, active and confident, because these qualities are a third of your success.

The second is information. Without knowing the information, it is difficult to count on success. You must know everything about the product/service you are offering, as well as the client you are calling. Of course, it is impossible to know everything about the client, but it is not so difficult to find out in what area he works, what the name of the organization is, what it does and what its needs are. Ignorance of these things can be regarded by the client as neglect, and in this case it is difficult to count on success.

So you call the client. How should your conversation proceed?

There are three stages.

At the first stage of the conversation, it is important to establish emotional contact with the interlocutors, greet him, state the reasons for your call, and exchange a few phrases. Never start a conversation with clients with the phrase: “Hello, Ivan Ivanovich. How are you doing? ”, Especially if you are unfamiliar with Ivan Ivanovich, and, therefore, you are not very interested in the answer to this question. It is better to say something like: “Hello, Ivan Ivanovich. I call you by next question…”, i.e. let the interlocutor know that you have an important conversation with him.

At the second stage of the conversation, you must argue your statement, explain what you wanted, why the client should buy exactly your product, etc. In a word, to involve the client in a dialogue, during which to try to overcome objections, to find out the reasons for dissatisfaction with the product, if any, to prove that it actually has all the necessary qualities that the client requires.

And at the third stage of the conversation, sum up, consolidate the result.

All kinds of clients are needed, all kinds of clients are important
It would be naive to believe that all people are the same. Each person is individual. As for your potential customers, all of them can be divided into three main groups, each of which requires a different approach.
1. Cool. Such people want to have all the best, and at the slightest suspicion of the “second-rate” service or product, they refuse to cooperate. The task of the manager is to bring to such a client that the product he offers is unique and exceptional, has all possible benefits and will be extremely useful and necessary for the client.
2. Business. Correct, serious, polite and always knows what he wants. Pressing on emotions in dealing with such a client is useless. The emphasis should be on logic, a clear presentation of all information and only reliable data. The more information you have about the client and the product you offer, the more chances you have in these negotiations.
3. Unsure. This customer is not sure that your product is really good and worth buying. Your task in this case is to show your competence, goodwill and confidence in order to be able to manage the client's opinion. Raise his self-esteem, and half the job is done.

Call to the client. 9 rules successful conversation.
There are two scenarios in telephone sales: the customer calls you and you call the customer. Consider the second option, which is the most difficult. When calling a client, absolutely everything must be taken into account, up to the time of the call, since a call in the early morning, for example, is not the best move. This is due to the fact that in the morning most companies hold planning meetings, meetings, so your call will be inappropriate. You should not dial the number in the period close to lunchtime, as well as at the end of the working day.
When dialing a client’s number, it is important to think over your actions in advance, it’s good to sketch rough plan conversation, write down questions that should definitely be discussed. In addition to all this, there are some more points that you need to know.

So, 9 rules for a successful conversation with a client:
1. Correct speech. The only thing that a client can rely on, wanting to form an opinion about you, is your voice and speech. Knowing this, it is worth taking care that the voice is confident, and the speech is correct, excluding all kinds of interjections, "ekane" and other secondary sounds.
2. Facial expressions and posture. Despite the fact that your client cannot see you, try to smile so that he can feel your friendly attitude. Take a comfortable position for you so that no little things distract you from the conversation.
3. Voice. Not everyone knows that voice is one of the marketing tools. Skillfully using intonations, changing the rhythm, timbre, speed of speech, you can direct the reaction of the interlocutor in the direction you need.
4. Convenient moment. Don't force yourself on the client. Remember, at the time of your call, it may be busy. By ignoring this opportunity, you are setting yourself up for failure. Having called the client, it is worth asking him in the very first minute of the conversation whether it is convenient for him to talk now, whether he is busy.
5. Failure is also a result. It does not happen that always and everywhere you will be greeted cordially, there will be refusals. You just need to learn how to find the reasons for failure, then perhaps on the second or third attempt you will succeed. Moreover, the sale on the first attempt is a rare phenomenon.
6. Logic. Do not state your position chaotically, jumping from one to another. It is better to build a logical chain: establish contact - identify customer needs - offer a product / service - overcome objections - take stock - end the conversation.
7. Get around the secretary. Often, many executives only take calls that were missed by their secretary. Those. the main task in this situation is to establish contact with the secretary, explain to him why you need to talk to the manager and why your proposal is important to them.
8. Prioritize. You can, of course, call everyone in a row. But another tactic will be more effective: before calling, highlight key customers. It is better to start with them.
9. Analysis. Every conversation with a client needs to be analyzed. It doesn't matter if it was successful or if you were rejected. The analysis will allow you to look at the problem from the other side, reevaluate everything, mark successful or unsuccessful moves, which will come in handy more than once in the future.

If the secretary became your first interlocutor when calling any company, then your communication with him should be friendly. No negativity addressed to him, references to his incompetence and a request to connect with someone who understands something in this matter. Words like "disturb", "sell", etc. it is better to exclude from the conversation altogether, since your interlocutor may decide that something is being imposed on him.

When you have overcome such a difficult obstacle as a secretary, tune in to a conversation with your manager. The purpose of the conversation is to meet him. Therefore, you should not post all the information at once, you need to interest him, make it clear that meeting with you is beneficial for him. To prevent the conversation from becoming like an interrogation, try to formulate your questions correctly, avoiding those that imply a one-word answer. You need dialogue. Having discussed everything that is necessary, summarize the conversation. To do this, you can use phrases such as: "So, we agreed that ...", "Thus, we decided ...", etc. The last word must be yours. You called, you and end the conversation. And don't be discouraged even if you get rejected. First, there are many clients. Not this one, but the other one. Secondly, rejection is far from being a synonym for failure, it's just that you could choose a bad moment for a conversation, and by repeating the call after a while, it is quite possible that you will achieve your goal.

Objections. And ways to overcome them.

Naturally, such cases when clients agree with everything and immediately offer a meeting or conclusion of an agreement are very rare. As a rule, each manager faces a lot of objections, ranging from high prices to the fact that “in the company N, the conditions are better and the quality is higher, and in general we need to think about it.” Someone takes these words for a refusal, and someone skillfully overcomes objections, achieving success. As practice shows, there is always a way out, and almost any objection can be overcome, the main thing is not to get lost, to have information and skillfully build a conversation with a client.

Consider the main types of objections and ways to overcome them.

1. The product is one, but the price is different.
There are two possible options here. The first is when the product is just similar, but, for example, the manufacturers are different. Then you can refer to higher quality, environmental friendliness, or any features of your product that your competitors do not have. The second option is when the product is really the same, but your price is higher. In this case, it is more difficult to convince a client to purchase goods from you, but it is also possible. It is not worth saying that you have recently been on the market, have not yet been promoted, this is all not in your favor. Competition has always existed and will continue to exist. And you need not to make excuses, but to look for methods of fighting for customers.
Depending on the situation that has arisen, you can choose one of the lines of behavior.
If you can't change the situation, change the product. Those. if the product you offer is on the market in a huge quantity and range, then it may be better to change the product than to try to explain to the client that your floral wallpaper is better than the competitor's. Yes, and to sell something that almost no one has and nowhere can be found much easier than a product, the demand for which is much lower than the supply.
All for the sake of the client. If the product is indeed the same, and you do not want to miss the client, then you can offer him a discount, agree to his terms. Here, however, it is worth considering what to prefer: to keep the client or to work at a loss sometimes.
Take not a commodity, but additional services. Perhaps you and your competitors really have the same product, and your price for it is higher. But even in this situation, you can save the client. In addition to the product, you must offer him a service. highest quality. For example, the minimum cost or free shipping, service, promotions that allow you to purchase goods at a discount, competent advertising, service at a high level. In a word, in war all means are good.

2. We are not interested!
It happens that a manager calls a potential client, and he cuts off his speech on the offer of a product already in the first words, stating that he is not interested. Then he just hangs up. The situation is not the most pleasant, and most importantly, it is not at all clear whether he is really not interested in your offer, or he is simply not in the mood. It is very difficult to advise something in this case, since the root causes of such behavior are not known, maybe the client is to blame, or maybe you somehow started the conversation wrong. Analyze everything that was said, maybe the truth lies right here. You can also try to call a little later, in a day or two, if the answer is the same again, then, unfortunately, this person is not your client.
If you were told that your offer was not interesting, but the phone was not immediately hung up, then you can try to clarify the situation. For example, ask a question why and what exactly does not interest a person, what may interest him in this case. Of course, you may not be answered. But you do not lose anything by asking a question, you have already received a refusal. And so, perhaps, it will turn out to find out the reason for the refusal and make the client a more profitable and interesting offer for him.

3. And they told me that that paint is better.
This kind of objection is very common. You offer your product, and the client, referring to someone else's opinion, declares that the competitor's product is better. In such a situation, never interrupt the client, do not say anything like: “Who are you listening to,” “they won’t tell you that.” Remember, the client is always right and he has the right to his point of view. Do you want to emerge victorious in such a situation? Listen to him, let him speak. And only then begin to act.

First you need to identify the source of the objection, for example, you offer hair dye, and the client says that he was told that it would be better to use a different dye. You can ask him: "And who advises you to use a different paint?" or “If it’s not a secret, who gave you such recommendations?”. Thus, with the help of detailed questions, you find out the source of the objections. In this case, the client says that this is his hairdresser.

Knowing your enemy by sight, defeating him is much easier. You should not immediately declare that the hairdresser is simply incompetent, such a move will cause rejection from the client, and success will not shine for you. It is necessary to generate doubts in the client. For example, having found out that the hairdresser works only with this paint, say that it is beneficial for the hairdresser to use it, since he can receive a percentage from the distributor. That is why he advises it to everyone, although your paint, unlike this one, is without ammonia, and, therefore, is less harmful.

4. This is a bad product. And point.
It happens that before you had time to call and describe the situation, the client claims that your product is bad. The task of the manager is to find out the reason for this opinion and try to convince the client. There are several methods for this:
Comparison. For example, you offer decorative cosmetics. And the client says that he has already bought it, and the quality is disgusting. Those. he already has experience in purchasing this product, and he is unsuccessful. The manager may express his bewilderment: “It's strange, you're the first one to say that. Maybe you purchased a fake or a product with expired suitability? The client either agrees with this or denies it. The manager's next step is to persuade the client to try again, giving comparative examples: “My friend bought hair dye from one company, and the next purchase was unsuccessful. But, given that before that, for several years, the quality suited her, she gave the company another chance, and is again satisfied with the quality. Maybe you should try again?"
Reverse example. The client says that the product is bad, although he has never encountered it. In this situation, you can refer to your clients, acquaintances or relatives using this product or a service. For example, a customer says: “These boots are of poor quality. They will fall apart as soon as I walk down the street.” Your reaction: “What are you talking about, my sister got the same ones and has been wearing them for the second season”, “You shouldn't say that. Our regular customer bought similar shoes two years ago. I only talked to her yesterday, they still serve her well.”
View from the other side. You can look at any situation from different angles, and a disadvantage may well turn out to be a virtue of your product. The client says that the summer cottage is bad, because being near the railway tracks and the noise of the trains interferes with sleep? You can say in response that this is not a disadvantage at all, but an advantage. Since you do not have to walk several kilometers to the site, having arrived by train.

It is impossible to consider absolutely all the situations that arise in the process of telephone conversations. But almost everything can be overcome. What is needed for this? The recipe is simple and I have said it many times: your confidence and knowledge.

If the objections of the client have confused you, then just try to find out the reasons for the refusal. First, you can call him again, already armed with knowledge and prepared for the conversation: “Good afternoon. We talked about ... I carefully studied the information, and realized that I missed something. I would like to continue the conversation." Even if the client does not make a second contact, you will know how to behave when you find yourself in a similar situation. Therefore, never consider failure as a failure. Think of it as an added experience.
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Here is such an article.

And I will remind you once again that to study the topic of telephone sales at a more advanced level, you can purchase an appendix to the magazine "Sales Management" - the almanac "Telephone Sales".

Successful sales to you.