Want to hear a secret that will have your sales skyrocketing faster than a SpaceX rocket?
It’s simple – master the art of phone selling to boost sales.
Discover how a touch of charm and the right turn of sales closing techniques at the appropriate time may softly nudge clients to say “yes”. Savvy salespeople understand that it’s not about high-pressure tactics.
This article discusses 10 tried-and-true negotiation techniques that can help call salespeople to increase their sales, close more deals, and increase conversion rate and revenue.
Cold-calling strangers is difficult since you only have seconds to capture their attention and convince them to hear your pitch. Without any previous relationships, the odds are set against you from the start.
Your prospect’s initial urge will be to hang up the phone as soon as possible with someone they don’t know.
So, how can you prevent them from hanging up? The solution is to carefully craft an introduction script that gives them the impression that their time will be well spent.
Before making any cold calls, try to put yourself in the position of your potential customer. Why should they care about what I’m selling? How will it improve their life? What urgent pain point or need does my product meet for them? Shape your opener to directly address their self-interest. Explain immediately and compellingly why it is worth their time to continue listening.
Also, make sure to create credibility and trust from the first sentence. If they feel you’re simply another dishonest salesperson looking to make fast money, you’ll be confronted with total silence. Make it obvious that you are not here to manipulate or pressure them into doing something they do not want. The goal is to provide a solution and improve their situation. A warm, authentic introduction goes a long way to increase sales.
Before conducting a sales call, make sure you precisely state your goal for that particular call. What measurable outcome do you hope to achieve? The aim should be a specific, measurable step that progresses the sale, rather than a general goal like “close the deal.” Focus on getting the prospect to commit to an action within a specific time span, such as scheduling a follow-up meeting. Well-defined objectives keep sales calls focused and productive. Make sure to:
Make sure the call aim you establish is actually feasible during the call. Closing a difficult transaction often necessitates several conversations over time. Try to avoid setting unreasonable goals for where you are in the sales process. Instead of pressing for a close on early calls, it may be more effective to qualify the prospect’s wants and concerns. Set targets that are appropriate for the present stage of the sale.
Structure your call aim as the prospect’s agreement to perform a certain action. Here’s an example: “By the end of this call, the prospect will agree to move forward with a demo.” The commitment should force the prospect to do something that helps the sale, such as provide information, attend a meeting, or go to the next decision stage. This focuses the target on the buyer’s behaviour rather than general sales activity.
Your initial offer grounds the negotiation in your favour. Aim high to maximise value and retain bargaining power later. Don’t start the conversation on the wrong foot by making a low-ball first bid. Be bold and start with your best offer.
For example, if you’re selling a used car for $8,000, start at $10,500. That gives you plenty of room to make concessions while still meeting your goal. If you start at $8,500, you lose a lot of negotiation power.
Here are two techniques to optimise early offers in your favour:
Rooting discussions with a generous but realistic initial offer supported by evidence allows you to grab control while remaining flexible. You signify that your pricing is valid, prompting the opposing side to state their position. This exciting initial play sets the stage for a favourable deal for you to boost up sales.
Objections are common during a sales call. How you handle them has an impact on whether the conversation continues or ends. The idea is to establish enough rapport so that issues are addressed constructively, rather than to be confrontational.
Rather than viewing criticisms as attacks to respond against, consider them requests for additional information. Listen intently to determine the source of the concern. It is often the result of misunderstanding rather than rejection. Clarify your offer to resolve concerns before they become hurdles.
When responding, acknowledge the objection before resolving it. reply: “Yes, I understand why you’d be concerned about X…” This shows that you listened and kept them from feeling dismissed.
Share your thoughts gently, resisting the desire to “win” the fight.
If objections exist, ask open-ended inquiries to gather any remaining doubts. To initiate an open discussion, ask, “What other factors are influencing your decision?” Interruptions will stop if people feel heard. Patience and empathy keep the conversation open, allowing you to move forward.
When negotiating complex deals, avoid starting with the most difficult issues. It may appear rational to address the most significant hurdles first. However, deferring the most difficult issues avoids early disagreements.
For example, if you’re negotiating the sale of a business, pricing and payment terms could be the most difficult issues to resolve. Starting the conversation with secondary problems such as inventory and equipment transfer allows you to establish rapport and areas of agreement initially.
Knowing when to play your strongest cards is essential. The close is your opportunity to seal the deal on a positive note. So reserve the critical issues until the end, when you’ve gained enough understanding and trust to tackle the complicated stuff.
In deal-making, sticking up for your own interests is just as important as addressing the other party’s. Avoid making fast compromises on key issues just to be agreeable. Make sure to state your company’s needs firmly yet gracefully. Clearly state the terms on which you would not agree for the agreement to function.
Explain the rational explanations for your must-haves. Share enough to discover common ground without giving up your entire hand. Staying focused on common goals benefits both parties.
The idea is to be assertive while remaining flexible, and straightforward while maintaining politeness. Understand where you can push and where you must remain firm. With good bargaining, you can combine requirements to get to Yes.
When negotiating difficult agreements, continue the conversation forward but avoid taking definitive conclusions until the solution is assured to work for everyone related.
Sometimes salespeople get ahead of themselves and agree to compromises without first ensuring that the overall agreement remains mutually advantageous. This permits the other party to gain momentum gradually. Instead, make tentative decisions based on finding viable answers for other aspects.
Let’s say, for example, “We can agree on a delivery timeline if we reach an agreement on payment terms.” This keeps the negotiation going while maintaining flexibility. Only commit totally once all needs have been addressed. With patience and determination, creativity can build solutions that all parties are satisfied with.
We have all been there before. You connect with a prospect who appears to be perfect. You spend time learning about their problems, developing solutions specifically for them, and making your best offers to gain their business. But no matter what you do, the prospect stays uninterested.
At first, you believe that if you just strive harder or listen closer, you will discover the magic key to ultimately earning their buy-in. However, as time passes, it becomes clear that this customer had no intention of ever signing that contract. Ouch!
It hurts to put so much effort into someone who ultimately doesn’t want what you’re selling. But, here’s the key: don’t see this as failure or rejection. They are not appropriate for your services, plain and simple. Consider it a failure of matchmaking and proceed with caution.
With persistence and the appropriate strategy, you’ll find consumers who are looking for your solutions. Don’t get discouraged if prospects turn you down. Take it as useful information indicating who isn’t a good fit. The next converse might mark the beginning of a very successful relationship.
You did it! After weeks of preparation, the consumer is ready to sign the dotted line. This should be a celebratory occasion, right? Not if you consider that neither of you discussed payment logistics beforehand. Uh oh.
Nothing kills a transaction faster at the finish line than fumbling for payment information. That momentum you worked so hard to build towards the end might vanish in an instant if you’re scrambling to sort out invoicing, deposits, and processing.
Save yourself the stress by making a payment plan in advance for when the big “Yes!” eventually arrives. Ensure that you understand the client’s payment choices and limits. Do they require special invoicing? Is there an approval process at their end? What are their payment methods?
With all of the details in place, you’ll be able to quickly issue an invoice and collect money once the consumer approves. There will be no fumbling for details, no hesitation, and no risk of deals failing to close.
Being prepared with payment handling guidelines demonstrates to the consumer that you are a professional who is ready to make the procedure as smooth as possible for them. It fosters trust and confidence when you begin a long-term relationship. And it allows you to smoothly close the deal so that you can both get back to work, looking forward to new potential clients.
Congratulations, you closed the deal! The sense of success is intoxicating. You did it! However, don’t get so wrapped up in the celebration that you forget about your new customer in the future. The sale is just the beginning. Consistent follow-up helps the relationship thrive.
It’s tempting to enjoy the high of landing a new client and check out for a while. But this is exactly how you lose momentum. Problems might arise, questions can arise, and requirements can shift suddenly. Staying engaged ensures that no concerns slide through the cracks.
Make follow-up a key priority in the critical weeks following signing. Check them on a frequent basis to check how your product or service performs with customers. Are they getting the results you promised? Is everything running smoothly at their end? The feedback will be invaluable.
Use follow-ups to initiate discussions about further requirements that you can assist with. Provide ideas and instructions to assist the client in getting the most out of their purchase. Offering continual value is how you go from vendor to valued partner.
Do not leave the customer’s success to chance. Consistent, careful follow-up demonstrates your commitment to a long-term, productive connection. Keep that lifeline strong by actively nurturing it in the key period following the sale.
The customer that you gain now should be the one who promotes you tomorrow. Providing an exceptional onboarding experience and thorough follow-up is how you get those wonderful references. Do not let the ball drop.
As we have seen, mastering phone sales techniques is critical for closing more deals and increasing revenue. But how can you determine which marketing initiatives are producing the highest quality leads? Call tracking provides an answer.
LimeCall’s call tracking allows you to identify your top-converting campaigns, advertising, and web pages. You acquire crucial information by tracing the origin of each call. Focus on what’s working and improve under performers.
Even better, LimeCall incorporates call-tracking data into more than 200 apps. As a result, you may immediately route calls to sales, shortening the lead-to-revenue cycle. The sales booster, Voice callbacks feature convert leads when interest is strong.
Take the first step toward higher conversion rates and sales growth now. Get started with LimeCall’s 14-day free trial and transform your website into a lead generation machine.
, February 16, 2024, Vincent Hawley
Top rated callback automation platform that connects your website visitors to your team within 20 seconds through phone callback and whatsapp driving upto 40% more conversions.
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