For those of you who have committed to (or your position requires) phone prospecting as one of your growth disciplines, I recommend you listen to yourself talk. What I mean by this is to record your calls and listen back as well as have your coach/mentor/manager listen and give you constructive feedback.

To be honest, it can be painful. I rarely enjoy listening to my calls or worse, a video, because my flaws and mistakes are blatantly obvious to me. That is the reason for going through this step. When I witness first hand a bad habit or error in my approach, it causes me to make a mental note and I usually correct myself the next time. In my mind I never want to see or hear myself make that mistake again.

More often than not it is the delivery of the message rather than the message itself that is keeping your conversation from becoming a conversion. The first place to scrutinize is your initial call and where most of us need to refine our approach. This is where the sale fails in the first 10 seconds if we are not on our A game. Before you roll out the phone recorder, make sure you have the following in place:

1- A well crafted script for each lead source that delivers the message you want.

2- Time set aside for role playing and rehearsing so you are delivering in a planned- not canned approach.

3- An understanding how to come in as a Relater (I/S or S/I behavior) until you recognize behavior characteristics in your prospect to start blending toward their behavior.

Once you record your calls-listen for and make sure you are:

1- Not interrupting or over talking your prospect.

2- Blending to their pace and tonality.

3- Adjusting your pitch and you sound planned and conversational, not canned.

In addition, remember your key goal in prospecting is to set an appointment or gain a referral lead. When locking in the appointment, share with your prospect the value they will receive in meeting with you, even if they do not do business the conversation will benefit them.

Contact us today if you would like one of our coaches to review your recording and give a free no obligation feedback of your conversation.