Telephone Sales For Dummies
Book image
Explore Book Buy On Amazon

First impressions are everything. When you have a sales prospect on the phone, the first seven seconds can make or break your whole pitch. Keep these pointers close by to help your opening hook the prospect:

  • Greet the prospect by name. Grab the contact's attention immediately — and hold it — by using his or her name.

  • State your full name. Don't be a stranger! Identify yourself clearly and completely.

  • Identify your company. Don't assume you're a household word — say the name and add a brief description of your firm's specialty.

  • Explain the purpose of your call. Get to the point. "The reason I'm calling is . . . "

  • Link in a benefit statement. Make your "purpose" something relevant to the contact: "I'm calling to help you save money/increase revenues/do your job better."

  • Add a close or bridge. Wrap up the opener with a concise question or statement that leads into further discussion.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Dirk Zeller specializes in training and coaching sales people and speaks regularly at industry events. He is the author of the bestselling Success As a Real Estate Agent For Dummies.

This article can be found in the category: