Call Now!
Posted by Jo Ann Kirby
Business practices today can be great for people who dont like to talk to others. Think about it. If you try, you can go for days without speaking to anyone. All you have to do is use e-mail or time your telephone calls so the party probably wont be there. Theres just one problem. Sooner or later some one will actually answer that telephone or return your call and you will have to have a conversation. An important one
to close a deal, land a job, or placate your most important client
and your verbal communication skills are rusty. What to do? CALL NOW. Thats right. Just CALL NOW. Some things dont improve with keeping. Lets use the letters in CALL NOW as the basis for our plan to improve telephone communication skills. C Create a plan. Never just pick up the telephone without a plan. What is the objective for this call? Decide beforehand what possible outcomes for this call could be. Decide what your reactions will be. Write them down. In effect, you are creating your own telemarketing script. A good communicator thinks of all the possible angles beforehand. Have your answers and rebuttals ready. Prepare your alternate suggestions and solutions. Creating a plan will increase your odds that you will be pleased with the results of your call. A Act as though this is the only call youll make today. How you say it is as important as what you say. Your voice should sound fresh and enthusiastic. Be pleasant, courteous, and enunciate clearly. You dont want some one constantly saying what? Your mood is contagious. Use it to help you get what you need. L Let go of your fears. Most people use voice mail and e-mail as the easy way out because they are afraid. Afraid that they wont get the result they need; and putting it off by leaving messages seems to be the safest thing to do. Theres only one problem. If you dont actually speak, you never get any results. One way to look at this problem is to realize that youve already convinced yourself that the answer is no. If you make that telephone call and get any better results, youve put yourself ahead of the game. L Live in the present. Listen actively. Sometimes when we are having a conversation, we get so caught up in what we have to say we dont pay enough attention to what the other party is trying to tell us. N Say No to cold calls. Most fears about telephone calls stem from having to make cold calls. No one likes to call some one they dont know and try to persuade them to take action. Avoid it. Build your networks of professional contacts. Cultivate people who can give you referrals or who could become qualified leads themselves for your business. Its easy to make calls to some one you know. Increase your circle of contacts and decrease your cold calls. O Onward to your next call. Whew! That first call is over. Dont stop now. A curious thing happens when you begin to make several telephone calls in a row. They become easier. Each call you make gets better than the last. You are using skills and reinforcing them through practice. You dont need to set aside large amounts of time for telephone calls. Fifteen to twenty minutes will do. Just dont make one. That one call will assume such proportion in your mind that you will never pick up the telephone and dial. By making several calls, you ensure that youre prepared and make each one as professionally as possible. W Wow! Watch your revenues increase. When you make a point of communicating live with people, you increase your chances for positive results. Pick up that telephone. As the telephone company used to say reach out and touch some one. CALL NOW! Jo Ann Kirby is president of KRG Communications Group. She has 20 years experience in inside telephone sales/management and an extensive background in training and development. Known throughout her career as a coach and motivator of sales people, Jo Ann has worked with a wide variety of sales positions in different industries. She excels at needs analysis and coaching to success. Jo Ann has been published in The Toastmaster, NAPPS Network and Commerce magazines. Find out more at http://www.krgcommunications.com
| 
