4 Ways To Make Working The Phones More Efficient

Sales people know that one of the hardest parts of the job is prospecting. As a former colleague of mine used to say, "I spent most of my day just trying to find someone to talk to." Prospecting is what keeps the sales pipeline full. An empty pipeline can mean trouble. 

Of course, there are different ways to solve the issue of the pipeline. One is to cold call, which can work for some people. I spent the early years of my sales career calling on people at their homes, which was a horrible way to work. Putting yourself in the prospect's shoes, you probably wouldn't want someone to come to your home unexpectedly while you were relaxing after a hard day at work, much less someone trying to sell you something.

Personally speaking, I have no problem whatsoever with cold calling businesses. As a matter of fact, after calling on people at their homes for a year of so (and having guns pulled on me), any fear of cold calling an office building was non-existent. The battle was with the "gatekeeper". Much like a goalkeeper in soccer, their goal was to keep me from the decision maker, which was my "goal".  Trying to win this person over can be difficult, so if you have to deal with a gatekeeper, be polite and professional.

Another cure for the pipeline blues is to be really good at asking for referrals. This can be quite intimidating for many people, again because salespeople have been on the other side of this and don't want to upset their friends and family by sending a salesperson to them. I discuss this in my book and give a few tips on the subject. 

Networking events are a great way to find people, but remember that thos people are also trying to prospect. You may be the predator, or you may be the prey. 

All of the above methods can work, but one way that worked for years and still works today is to work the phones. Apparently some sales people don't like to work the phones. This is because they are cold calling instead of warm calling. And it's also they way they are taught to call.

Years ago I worked with an insurance company that would give us a book of business to work. These were people who had policies on the books but hadn't been serviced because their agent had left the company (which I should have taken as a hint). Most of them were nowhere near us geographically but our managers thought we should try to book an appointment with them if we could, despite the fact that they were two or three hours away.

To encourage us to work the phones, we would have "phone parties", which were in no way exciting or fun. We were expected to work in the early evening "when people are home" and call them. Cold pizza was our reward. Needless to say, the entire event was demotivational at best, especially since a dozen agents were crammed into a room full of cubicles and trying to talk over each other. It almost sounded like a boiler room from India.

Years later I went to work for a company that required we make forty dials a day. This was hard because most people didn't have access to that many people, much less their phone numbers. 

After a lot of years and trying different methods, I think I found a way to work the phones and make it as productive as possible. Here are a few tips I've learned:

1. Have a list. How do you get a list? Join an organization, like the Chamber of Commerce, who will provide you with a list of names and phone numbers of their members. Or do some homework and find local businesses through a Google search or even a Dun and Bradstreet listing. 
2. Let people know what you have in common with them. Again, being a member of an organization helps tremendously here. "I just joined the Optimists and noticed that you are a member too." This really helps get the client's guard down and can lead to a less tense conversation.
3. Make it as non-threatening as possible. Don't try to sell anything over the phone, but instead make it about the person on the other end of the phone. "I'd like to learn more about your work and share my work with you!" Then ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee or bring some to where they are. 
4. Put a smile on your voice. Believe it or not, if you smile your voice will sound more pleasant to the person on the other end of the line. I've even seen people put a mirror on their desk while calling to make sure they are smiling. 

Set a small goal or "commitment objective" for your "smilin' and dialin'". For instance, you may want to set five appointments. If you can meet that goal quickly then do it again the next day. Give yourself some time to regroup after each call and evaluate how it went. You may even want to record yourself for some "critiquing". 

It won't be a lot of fun but it can help keep your pipeline full of prospects, and those prospects can turn into clients for you!

Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.