How to succeed on the call – telephone sales tips

Now you’ve prepared  and you’re in the right mindset, it’s time for you to make your sales calls. Remember you’re in control of the conversation and you have a 99.9% chance of determining the outcome. 

How? We’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks you can use to make your next sales call a success.

 

1. Be your authentic self

Top tip: Be the best version of yourself.

Perhaps you have a colleague or mentor who’s ‘really good at sales’, and you feel you need to be more like them to succeed. Unfortunately, trying to ‘be like them’ will feel forced – and your prospect will pick that up during the phone call.

The same is true if you read from a script.  Instead, aim to be your authentic self – your best, most professional genuine self – as you focus on understanding your client. If you’ve worked on cultivating a positive mindset and preparing for each call, being authentic will come naturally and effortlessly. 

 

2. Know your intent for the call

Top tip:  Set clear intentions before every call.

Take another moment before you dial to get clear on what exactly is your purpose for the call. 

• Are you trying to build a long-term relationship? 
• Create credibility? 
• Help the customer to buy from you today? 

Whatever it is, make sure your intent is rooted in understanding your prospect better and their needs, so you can help them. To do this, picture yourself next to them, on the same side as them. This visualisation helps set your motivation for the call to being one of integrity and genuine help. You’ll naturally emit that sincerity to your client through your words and tone of voice. They will see you as the trusted advisor and the solution provider. Set clear intentions before every call.  

3. What is your posture saying about you? 

The way you feel will govern your posture and subsequently the energy you bring into a call. Once you’ve cultivated a positive mindset, and thanks to the pre-call preparation are feeling ready and confident, your posture will reflect the same, i.e. straightened, shoulders back, open hearted and positive. 

So, take a moment to notice your posture. Is it upright, allowing you to breathe easily and fill your lungs, adding to your motivation and enthusiasm? If so, great – continue to the next point. If not, don’t try to force it. It won’t feel or sound natural, and your client will notice. Head back to the mindset and pre-call preparation sections to take a look at what’s impacting you and causing the slump. 

4. Connect authentically with gatekeepers 

Top tip: Be respectful and genuine with gatekeepers 

‘Gatekeepers’ and your client are one. We need to stop thinking of them as separate entities. 

They have been charged with protecting the decision makers’ time, because many reps simply ‘spray and pray’ their features and benefits with no specific connection between what they have to sell and what the decision maker may need. You are different. So, everything you do, and every interaction you have, needs to demonstrate how different you are. That’s why connecting meaningfully with gatekeepers is an incredibly important skill. Don’t fall into the trap of ‘working around them’ or even thinking of them negatively, as that will reflect adversely in your interaction and on you. 

Respect their job and consider pitching to them. They are determining who gets to talk to the decision maker, so you want to make sure you create and leave the right impression.

Believe that your client contact will want to engage with you because you know you can help them. Remember, you want to be seen as a calm, confident, trusted advisor. 

5. Know your opening hooks

Top tip: Hooks get your client intrigued and engaged. 

Hooks mean you are engaging the client with a tailored opening which is of interest to them. Pick something from your research and have it as your opener, ‘John, I see that you are using xyz for… just thought I would reach out as my company provides clients with this xyz solution meaning they can quickly get this … result’. 

You have 10 seconds to make an impact. Hooks are essential for cold calling. Make it interesting and different if you can. 

6. Less talking, more listening 

Top Tip: Seek to understand 

To truly understand your customer, you need THEM to be doing the talking. 

This starkly contrasts with what most salespeople do: they land up doing all the talking! They talk ‘at’ a client, ‘telling’ them what they need without actually knowing if it is indeed what the client needs.

Master being curious, investigative, and intrigued. To provide the right solution and really get to grips with their situation, you have to pose the right questions. Ideally you need to have crafted and comfortably practiced a minimum of 100+ questions. Why? Because you never know where the conversation may go. If you’ve only prepared a few questions you will push your clients down your own question path missing out on valuable information. 

A great sales call is when the salesperson is asking relevant questions and the client is doing around 90% of the talking. The salesperson will be listening and understanding the situation to now know/propose the right solution. 

7. Are you really listening?

It is tempting to focus on what we want to say, instead on what the client is saying. Really listen to what they are saying. You need to be 100% present. Clients will know if you are in a bubble with them or just thinking of your next thing to say. 

You need to be aware if you come into a call with judgement and a predetermined outcome. We assume. This needs to be acknowledged and released, for you to be truly present. 

 

Conclusion

Achieving sales excellence doesn’t have to be difficult.  By cultivating a positive mindset, being thoroughly prepared, and applying our tips and tricks during the sales call, you can successfully navigate through any challenges you may come across.

With the right training and techniques, you can use cold calling to turn yourself into a trusted advisor and ultimately, a masterful salesperson.