Carmen Brandt Wolf offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: Golden Rules of Prospecting on the Phone Author: Carmen Brandt Wolf Category: Telesales, Network Marketing, Business Word Count: 872 Keywords: Cold calling,selling,network marketing,prospecting,home business,phone marketing,sales,communication Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
Phone prospecting is often a "scary" thing for people who are in positions where this is part of their job or if they have their own home-based business and this is critical to their success. There are several very important things to take into consideration when you on talking to prospects on the phone. First of all (and this is VERY important) you must be in the right mindset whether you are talking to leads you have purchased, if you are calling a client base or if you are making cold calls. Go through the reasons in your mind why you are calling this prospect and what result you want from the call. It's a good idea to make a list of pros and cons of the type of people you want in your organization or as a client. Take a piece of paper, put a line down the center and write the pros on one side and the cons on the other. Read this list often - it will become an automatic sorting tool for you, and you will not waste your time on people who do not fit your criteria. For example, a "pro" would be someone who has energy and drive. A "con" would be someone who has low energy or is unsure of what they want. Believe it or not, this is an excellent way to attract the people you want. Always have a pleasant and upbeat voice when you talk to prospects. Be excited about your reason for calling. If you don't feel particularly excited at the time, think about what made you excited when you first heard about the business you are in and what it was that made you decide to join the organization. Was it the product? Was it the income opportunity? Was it the strength of the organization? Was it the quality of the people there? A smile on your face comes through the phone. When your prospect answers the phone, always greet them by their first name - "Hi Bob" - then introduce yourself and tell them where you're from - "This is Mary from DeMoines, Iowa," or from your company name. After you have introduced yourself to a prospect, don't immediately go into your presentation. Ask them questions about themselves, what they are looking for, etc. That's also a good sorting tool. Maybe when you learn more about them, you'll decide they don't fit your criteria. Believe me, you will never sell anything to anyone by blasting your opportunity without taking the time to show your prospects you are interested in them. And you should be - they will either be someone in your organization or a client, so you need to know if they are someone you want to do business with. You're in the driver's seat here. Work on your presentation posture. If you have a script you are working from, know it so well it rolls off your tongue. Then, use it only for reference, because you want to sound natural and not scripted. You don't become a phone pro overnight - you must work on your delivery until it "works" for you. It's a good idea to get a recording device where you can record your presentation, listen to it and critique yourself. Or if you have someone you trust who will be honest with you, present your dialogue to them and have them critique you. Your phone posture is critical, especially if you are talking to professionals. They want to work with someone who they feel is professional as well. In fact, this is critical regardless who you are talking to - people respond to strength, and if you don't develop this in your presentation, you will lose a lot of potential sales. Is this easy to develop? For some people it is, but for most everyone, you acquire this through practice, practice, practice. Don't become discouraged; just know that when you acquire this, the world is your oyster. As they say, the fortune is in the follow up! Always follow up with a prospect when you say you are going to. This makes you look professional. Life happens, so don't be discouraged if they are not available at that time. Give them at least three opportunities to be available for a follow up. And, if you feel they are a particularly good candidate for your organization, give them a couple more calls. Schedule your follow-up calls in your calendar, either virtual or on paper. When someone has missed an appointment with you, call them (or leave a voice mail) and let them know they missed the appointment, that you realize life happens, but you allotted this time for them, and you are willing to reschedule at another time. If you leave a voice message, ask them to get back with you so you can set up another appointment for them. Remember, they were interested enough to set up the first appointment. If you don't hear from them, call them and set up the next appointment. A good way to avoid this situation is to tell them at the time you set up the appointment that you would appreciate the courtesy of a call or email if they are unable to make it. Do you want business success tips, tools, and info sent to your inbox? Subscribe to the Powerimage.com Business Success e-zine and receive lots of free tools, tricks and resources to help you achieve your goals and become the person you were meant to be. Sign up at http://www.powerimage.com/sign-up. ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
