The beauty of technology has made it possible for sales reps to sell anywhere and everywhere. A mobile CRM, for example, allows you to bring—and perform—all your sales work wherever you need to be. You have real-time access to everything you need and perform your tasks at your convenience. Inside sales—sales done remotely or virtually, through phone or video calls and email and with no in-person interactions or meetings with clients—has also been on the rise for years.
That means more and more sales phone calls are being performed. And this begs the question: Are sales reps trained well to handle these calls?
The first rule before making a phone call to a prospect or customer is knowing enough about them. Do your research. Find out who the best person to speak with is (tip: it's always the decision maker). Know the best time to call so you don’t call at an inconvenient time. The second rule? Don’t make these sales phone call mistakes!
11 Sales Phone Call Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
This may seem like a laughable mistake, but trust us, it happens. Sometimes a sales rep goes through so many calls that they forget the name of the person they’re talking to at the moment or—worse—call him/her by a different name. Yikes! Stay focused on the call (more on this below) and have your notes in front of you so you don't make this mistake.
If you are unfamiliar with the proper pronunciation of a name, do some checking beforehand. Call the company before the actual client call. You may confirm the pronunciation with the gatekeeper (e.g. personal secretary or receptionist) on the call.
2. Reading Off a Script / Sounding Scripted
There is nothing wrong with a script. In fact, it helps you stay on track and not forget important points, and prevents you from sounding unprepared. But you can’t sound like you’re reading off a script when making a call. You have to sound natural and conversational. Don’t talk so fast, like you’re talking within a time limit; it’s the biggest giveaway that you’re talking from a script. Plus, converse with the prospect. It’s best to practice your spiel with a peer, and ask for his/her feedback, before you make the call.
3. Having No Clear Objective
What do you want to achieve with this call? Book a meeting? Get feedback on a presentation? Follow up on a proposal? Don’t call if the goal of the phone call is not clear to you. Otherwise, you just waste the opportunity.
4. Getting Overwhelmed by Information Overload
It happens: sales reps research a lot and have so much to say. But then they get overwhelmed, they jumble up some data or say too much and sound incoherent. While you need to gather as much client intel as you can for a sales call, make sure you have all the information organized. Having notes in front of you helps. Have a script to guide you so you can use all the data you gathered intelligently, and say your spiels articulately.
5. Not Listening, Interrupting, and Dismissing Objections
You have a script to follow, yes, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be flexible and not accommodate customer questions or comments that may cause you to slightly deviate from the script. Listen very well to what the prospect says. Respond to every question. They may interrupt you; you can’t interrupt them. Objections shouldn’t also be dismissed. Acknowledge and handle every objection. Once prospect’s comments, questions, or objections are validated, addressed, or clarified, then you can steer the conversation back to your script.
We recommend that you note everything the prospect says down. Everything client says at this point is important—you need to gather feedback from the call so you can best qualify and nurture the prospect.
6. Pitching Immediately
Especially for your first call, don’t pitch immediately. Aim to establish rapport with the prospect first and foremost.
7. Not Focusing on the Call
We’ll say it again: multitasking is a myth. Don’t perform other tasks—texting, composing an email, browsing the Internet, etc.—while on the call. Focus on the call so you don’t say the wrong name or the wrong information. Focus so you can take down all the important notes from prospect’s feedback. Focus so you can really engage the client.
8. Demonstrating Negativity of Any Kind
Stay positive all throughout the call. Don’t badmouth competition (even if the prospect seems to be taunting) or, worse, another client (even if it’s the prospect’s competition). Don’t sound impatient or dejected, or display any other negative vibe. Even if your call or pitch is rejected by prospect, maintain a pleasant attitude.
9. Sounding Too Eager or Too Familiar/Friendly
There’s enthusiasm and there’s pesky enthusiasm. You need to distinguish the line between the two. Don’t sound too hyper or eager. And while you want to establish rapport and begin building a relationship with the prospect, acknowledge that the most you know about the prospect is probably what’s on his LinkedIn profile. Don’t sound too friendly or familiar, like you’ve been friends since college days. Keep a friendly yet professional tone and language.
10. Making False Promises
Some clients will try to trick you into answering a question you have no real answer to or committing to something you have no authority over. But don’t ever make promises you can’t keep—it’s very difficult to bounce back from this. If you find yourself in this situation, just always say, “Let me get back to you on that.” And just make sure that you really do.
11. Not Initiating Next Step(s)
You should take the initiative and outline the next step(s), whether it's another phone call, an email, or a meeting in person. And make sure you get an appointment for what should come next: “Thank you for this call, Mary. I can schedule a quick demo next week. How’s next week—Tuesday 2pm or Wednesday 10am—for you?”
Photos from Unsplash. Main photo by Dane Deaner
