Selling services over the phone is very easy, you just need to be knowledgeable and confident to answer the customer's questions, and that's it. The hard part is "What to do to before start selling with a huge possibility of closing it?" (and I'm sure, our Sales Manager, Sheila will agree to that statement hehehe!)
In this article, I'm not going to talk about selling, this time let's talk about the things you should do to perfectly transition the call to sales and successfully close it. JUST BE NICE!
Here are some of the best practices:
1. Build Human Connection
Most people want to talk to a live person who can quickly answer their questions. Voicemail and IVR systems are impersonal and inflexible, and leave a poor first impression. Build rapport and personalize the conversation.
Which part of the call should you you start building rapport?? All throughout the conversation. You can do that because you're not a robot... are you? hehehe
2. Greet callers properly:
Ensure that you include each of these three basic elements when answering the phone. First, make a brief salutation mentioning the company’s name, such as “Thank you for calling [Company Name].” Second, tell callers your own name and third, include an offer of assistance in the form of an open-ended question, such as “How may I help you today?”
3. Don’t read from a script:
This comes across as insincere and impersonal. It’s fine to use points to guide the conversation, but not to read them verbatim. If you can make a real connection with callers, that will increase the probability of a sale.
4. Use the caller’s name, but not too often:
Try to ascertain the caller’s name and use it periodically when addressing him or her. There is no word in existence that people like hearing more than their own name, and using it intermittently in the conversation will help to establish a connection by letting them know you think they’re important enough to remember their name. But be careful not to seem manipulative by overdoing it.
5. Avoid closed-ended responses:
Responses limited to “Yes,” “No” or “Sure” don’t fuel further conversation. Instead, follow up with further information or questions in order to sustain the conversation and boost the odds of establishing a connection. For instance, if the caller asks, “Is my modem online already?”, don’t just say, “Yes.” Instead, say, “Yes, and if you’re seeing the Online light lit solid and the WiFi light is blinking, you can connect and should be able to surf any website…” Of course, you must also balance off your desire to forge a connection with respect for the caller’s time.
6. Be sure you understand the caller’s issue:
If the caller has a complex problem or hasn’t been succinct in stating his question, paraphrase or restate your understanding of the issue back to him using his own words. Then ask him to confirm that you’ve understood correctly. This will help avoid embarrassment and wasted time and energy, as well as making the caller feel that he has been heard.
7. Don’t let them rot on hold:
Another key to showing respect is not to leave callers on hold for longer than 30 seconds. If she demands to be placed on hold, interject every 60 seconds to tell the customer that you need a little more time, thereby letting her know that you haven’t forgotten about her. I know you've been put on hold before, so when I said 30 seconds, you know that it's like being on hold for almost an hour.
8. Confirm that you’ve addressed the caller’s issue:
Verify by asking the caller if you’ve addressed the reason for calling satisfactorily, and thank the customer for any help done on their end. This will make them feel that they have accomplished their goal in calling you, that you’ve heard what they have to say and have resolved their issue—or, at least, have committed to doing so.
After doing the last tip, you can start transitioning to sales and the good foundation you just built with the customer for just a couple of minutes will be your asset to confidently convince them and take your offer. Unconsciously, adhering to these tips will build the customers' TRUST, and that's all you need to close a sale.
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