by George Csahiouni

Created on: February 29, 2008

Eighty Percent of calls that are returned by prospects are a result of good preparation before the phone call is even made. You might be asking yourself, "Well, how much preparation does it really take to make a phone call?" The truth is that it takes quite a bit of work. It is important to realize that this is not just a phone call, it is a sales call. So your first step is simple, start acting like a professional sales consultant and you will start seeing professional results.

When you call on your leads make sure that you have a plan. It is important that you know what your going to say before you start the phone call, so create a couple of basic phone scripts and practice saying them out loud over and over. Get out of the chair that you're sitting in and stand up when you speak on the phone. More importantly, smile when you talk. This will immediately boost your self confidence and excitement. I know this sounds a little weird since the person on the other end of the phone or voicemail can't see you, but trust me if you do this, they will literally feel you transferring your smile and excitement to them. Clients almost always mirror their salesperson, so it is vital that every time you speak with a potential prospect you do so with enthusiasm. Being monotone and sluggish will only result in hang ups and unreturned phone calls.

Now that you have prepared yourself and shaken off all of the cobwebs its time to focus on the other twenty percent of the phone call, which is technique. For calling on fresh prospects, the best way to get a call back is to instill "motivators" in the potential client. There are many different things that can be used as motivators but for the most part they all fall under two categories: Offering Bribes and Building Curiosity.

Offering Bribes:

You literally offer the customer some sort of incentive to either call you back or come in and see you. The incentive could be anything from cold hard cash to the possibility of winning a contest. The bribe does not even have to be real; what is important is to get them to call you back so you can focus on the real reason that you called them in the first place, a sale. Whatever the incentive is, it is important to repeat it at least twice during the message and make sure that it is one of the last things you say. By keeping the incentive towards the end of the conversation it will be fresh in the customer's mind and they will be more likely to remember it. Keep in mind, the stronger the bribe the better the response will be.

Building Curiosity:

In order to really spark someone's interest you must make them have a sudden desire to want to know more. With fresh prospects it is best to keep it simple. The greatest way to build curiosity within potential clients is to leave what I call "unexplained messages." For example, have you ever had a friend start to tell you a story and then they suddenly stop; usually you will find yourself asking them to finish what they were saying purely for the sake of knowing. Do the same thing with your leads. In your messages mention new programs, ways to save them money, the possibility of making them money or whatever works best for your product or service, just remember to keep all of the details a mystery. This way if the customer has any interest at all they have to call you back in order to get more information.

The key to receiving better results is to make the decision to really put some effort into your phone calls, and with some practice you will find yourself becoming a cold-calling, lead generating machine.

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