Listening & Responding to Rejections When Selling by Phone
Confidence and Presence
When talking to a potential customer on the phone, your presence can have a big impact on the success of your sales calls. Even though the contact cannot see you, your attitude and confidence will be noticeable through your voice.
There are several key areas to achieving a good sales presence:
Confidence – Projecting confidence (not arrogance!) implies a knowledge and belief in your products. A nervous sales call will project an image of uncertainty, which will affect how the contact sees your company and product.
“show that you are interested in the client”
Enthusiasm – Similar to confidence, enthusiasm will show that you are interested in the client, that they are an important prospect to you. Sounding bored or tired will project a poor image of your company, may make your client feel unimportant, and will severely hinder any solutions and sales efforts.
Tone – Try to speak in a varied tone, emphasizing key words and points. Avoid speaking in a flat monotone voice, as this will come across as a lack of enthusiasm, as well as making the conversation seem extremely dull to the customer.
Language – Avoid the use of slang and overly casual conversation. Do not try to come across as speaking unnaturally, but also be careful of sounding too unprofessional. Listen to the language of the contact, and try to adapt to a similar style of language.
E.g. If the contact speaks very formally, then avoid using casual language altogether.
Speed – It is important to find a sensible speed to talk at. Rushing words will make you sound nervous, and talking very slowly will make you sound unsure and unconfident.
Understanding and Relating
A key part of building a relationship with a customer is understanding (empathy). Be empathetic towards any questions or objections.
Beware of un-empathetic, confrontational replies. If a customer says “You are too expensive”, replying with “But we are better quality” will not help. Try “I understand your concern about…” instead, understanding a client can go a long way towards helping secure a sale.
Relationships
The relationship with a potential customer is established quickly, good or bad. Using empathy and asking questions helps show you are trying to find a solution for them, and will reflect on you positively.
Confidence and presence help to build up a good working relationship, which in turn can lead to trust, which is a huge advantage in any sales or business environment.
Give the client your personal touches: “I will see to it personally to make sure…”
If you deliver upon your words, then the client will see you, and your company, as being reliable and trustworthy.
“Always listen to your potential customers! “
Listening
Always listen to your potential customers! The more they talk, the more clues you have on what they want.
Listen carefully; keep a notepad with you, and write down key words or figures, things that the client emphasizes, names, times. Then always keep these details near you when talking, your ability to remember information that is important to the client will give you an advantage.
If the client says “We may be interested after Project ABC is finished…”, then note it down! When you call back, ask “How is Project ABC going?”
Even if Project ABC is not going well (It does happen!) the client will notice that you have remembered important information about their business. This will help strengthen any business relationship, as most business people would much rather work with people who know and understand their business.
Listen to the tone and pace of the client, and adjust the way you talk accordingly. This does not mean mimic the client, but if they are talking much slower than you, then adapt and slow your voice down a bit.
Overcoming Rejections
When a potential customer rejects your product, it’s not the end of the conversation. In many cases, it’s actually the start.
Be persistent. This does not mean being pushy, or persisting until you provoke the client! However, do not give up when a client says “I’m not interested.” Ask them why they are not interested, let them tell you what it is they want.
If you try and make a big sales pitch after someone says they are not interested, they will not suddenly become interested. If, however, you ask why they are not interested, you can find out their needs and then gradually make them interested as you adapt your solution to their requirements.
“try empathising”
Instead try empathising, and then ask a question to find out what they are comparing it to or what else they want that will make the extra cost worth it.
“I can understand that you want a low cost… What is it you are comparing us to that makes us seem expensive?” or “I can understand that you want a low cost….. What features are particularly important to you in…?”
These may reveal pricing activities by your competitors, or it may reveal areas of service that the customer is not aware are included.
For Example:
If a potential client uses another company, who charge £1000 for Product A and an extra £500 for Service B; and you can offer both for £1300. The potential client may think your price of £1300 is expensive because they are not aware that Service B is included.
By asking questions about objections you can learn the reasons behind them, and make sure that you present your solutions in the most effective way possible.
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