Plan Your Calls Like You Do Your Weekend

What are you doing this weekend? Maybe you haven't thought about it yet, or maybe you could start rattling off a list of chores and activities you'll be doing. Today sales expert Art Sobczak points out the importance of planning - do you plan your calls like you plan your weekend?

Ask yourself these questions:

On the last telephone call you made to a prospect/ customer, what was your specific objective for the call?

Did you have the opening planned so you knew precisely what you were going to say?

Did you prepare a voice mail message you were ready to deliver, velvety smooth, without hesitation?

Were your questions in order?

How prepared were you with your responses to their answers to those questions?

What was your contingency plan in case things didn't go as well as you'd like?

If, without hesitation, you rattled off answers to these questions, I'd wager you do pretty well. When people have trouble answering these questions, chances are there are "umm's" and "uh's" in their calls.

I find it curious and interesting that many people put more planning into their weekend or what they'll have for lunch, than they do their telephone calls.

Quite simply, your sales success correlates directly to your preparation. It's also the key to sounding smooth. Being a superstar in sales, particularly on the phone, is not a matter of "smiling and dialing," plowing through the names, hoping that you'll stumble into someone ready to buy.

Don't believe any trash about this being a pure numbers game. It's a QUALITY game. As I always say, the worst possible time to think of what you're going to say is as it's already coming out of your mouth.

Go back, review those questions, and be certain you can answer them for your next call, and every one thereafter. Do so, and I'm sure you'll show pleasing sales results.

Art Sobczak, President of Business by Phone, Inc., specializes in one area only: working with business-to-business salespeople - both inside and outside - designing and delivering content-rich programs that begin showing results from the very next time participants get on the phone. Learn more at www.businessbyphone.com