What to Avoid During Sales Calls

Sales calls can seem to be challenging.  Talking to a complete stranger over the phone can feel intimidating.

I found an article by Jack Virag posted on Nutshell which lines out some good tips on what to avoid during sales calls.

Things to Avoid During Sales Calls according to Nutshell

Don’t multi-task.  This is a big no-no. People can tell when your attention isn’t with them, and if you’re making a sales call, your attention needs to be devoted to your prospect. Even if you regularly do it and no one notices, you’re missing out on the connection you should be forming with this prospect.

Don’t rush for an outcome. You’re going to talk to them again. There’s no need to read your entire script all in one conversation just because you’ve got someone on the phone right now. If you can have a good conversation with them today, they’ll be more receptive to your pitch down the road.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, or answer any questions you’re not 100% confident about. Sometimes it’s tempting to say what people want to hear, especially under pressure, but your time spent on the phone with a prospect might end up being useless if your relationship is built on faulty info.

Don’t eat while you’re on the phone. Face it, you can’t hide the fact that you’ve got a mouthful of granola bar from someone whose only connection to you is the audio device literally an inch away from your chompers…

Don’t dominate the conversation. Let people be people, and more importantly, be a person yourself. You want your prospect to connect with you, and nobody wants to connect with an aggressive know-it-all. Have the conversation at their pace, which means no cramming information down their throats…

Don’t call without doing prospect research. Don’t pick up the phone before you learn about the prospect. Are they a good fit? How many people do they manage? What exactly is their function within the company—are they the right person to talk to? Trying to ascertain all these things over a cold call is a great way to get hung up on.

Don’t call without doing company research.  How can you help a business succeed if you don’t know what they do or what their needs are? Spend a few minutes on their company website. Search Google News to see if they’ve recently won any awards or put out a press release. Take 60 seconds to go on LinkedIn and view the company’s employees. Match the target prospect’s stated location with the nearest headquarters to make sure you’re calling the right office…

If you struggle with sales calls, I highly recommend that you read the full article which includes more great information.

NOTE:  Please forgive me for not posting last week.  I was very sick and ended up in the hospital over the 4th of July weekend.  Thankfully, doing better now.