The phone is a powerful sales tool, but it’s one that many of us shy away from.
While conversations are a great way to build authentic relationships, it can be a struggle to get into the right mindset to pick up the phone, which means we often end up avoiding calls altogether and hiding behind email.
So if you’re a serial phone dodger, how can you make the leap to being confident on your sales calls?
It’s a question our Ethical Sales Academy members wanted more help with, so in a recent masterclass we recruited two telesales experts to share their insights: Laura Greenwood and Oliver Knowles.
From owning your actions to creating a plan for follow-ups, Laura and Olly had plenty of great advice and actionable points to help you overcome any fear of the phone!
Creating the right mindset for confident sales calls
As a salesperson, your job is to create revenue for yourself or your company, and the quickest way to do this is by having conversations. After all, it’s conversations that create opportunities.
And the best way to have conversations? It’s by picking up the phone.
Creating leads by social media or email channels can take months, but the phone supercharges lead generation.
So what are the mindset shifts needed in order to embrace the opportunities the phone can offer?
The first step is to own what you do, and not be a victim to it. You’re calling someone because of a genuine belief that you can help them do their job better. You may be concerned you’re wasting someone’s time, but if you’re targeting the right people, you’ve chosen to ring them because you believe you help them be better at what they do.
Of course, you can’t help everybody, and there will be rejections. But a salesperson’s role is to find the people who can be helped, in the most human way possible. None of us like rejection but we have to recognise that it’s a part of our job – it’s not personal.
““We’re not there to annoy people – we believe we can make them more awesome. And this is a very honourable thing to do.”
It’s also helpful to reframe a sales call as having a simple conversation with someone, rather than seeing it as a chance to sell and close the deal. Separate the action from the outcome and be more blasé about it, and your whole mindset will shift.
Creating the right mindset for confident sales calls
As a salesperson, your job is to create revenue for yourself or your company, and the quickest way to do this is by having conversations. After all, it’s conversations that create opportunities.
And the best way to have conversations? It’s by picking up the phone.
Creating leads by social media or email channels can take months, but the phone supercharges lead generation.
So what are the mindset shifts needed in order to embrace the opportunities the phone can offer?
The first step is to own what you do, and not be a victim to it. You’re calling someone because of a genuine belief that you can help them do their job better. You may be concerned you’re wasting someone’s time, but if you’re targeting the right people, you’ve chosen to ring them because you believe you help them be better at what they do.
Of course, you can’t help everybody, and there will be rejections. But a salesperson’s role is to find the people who can be helped, in the most human way possible. None of us like rejection but we have to recognise that it’s a part of our job – it’s not personal.
“We’re not there to annoy people – we believe we can make them more awesome. And this is a very honourable thing to do.”
It’s also helpful to reframe a sales call as having a simple conversation with someone, rather than seeing it as a chance to sell and close the deal. Separate the action from the outcome and be more blasé about it, and your whole mindset will shift.
Our framework for successful sales calls
A successful framework for making sales calls is really simple – make a list of people, call them, then follow up. Let’s break each of those elements down a bit more.
- Make a list
Create a curated list of people to call. Identify specific individuals with genuine needs, rather than simply spamming random people.
Then consider what to say to each. Be realistic about what the aims of the call are. What’s the need for the call? Can you qualify it?
- Call people
It’s time to pick up the phone! Get into the right mindset using the advice above, and refer to our top tips below for being more confident.
- Follow up
A sales call is about getting permission to nurture your lead and get in touch again. A sale can take many touchpoints, and as Olly put it, “the stacks are in the call backs”.
Have a plan for your follow-up, whether this is another call or an email with more content.
Our top three tips for being more confident on sales calls
Have a script: There’s no need to read it verbatim, but it can be a useful guide to hitting the right notes. Include pain points that have come up with similar leads.
Practise, practise, practise: Do role plays with other people or use AI programmes such as Hyperbound or Pitch Monster. The more comfortable you are with what you’re saying, the easier calls will be.
Commit to a number of calls per day: Block out time in your diary and commit to making a certain number of calls. Get everything prepped that you need and get yourself into the right mindset. Then crack on! The first few will be extremely hard, but push through as things will get smoother.
Using sales calls to refine your messaging
Another massive advantage of picking up the phone is the information it provides about prospects and how they’ll buy from you. It’s very easy to make assumptions about client personas, but talking to people can reveal valuable new information. This can then end up informing other comms such as emails and web copy.
To help with this, consider recording sales calls (with consent) and then analysing them afterwards.
A final point to note about sales calls is not being afraid to ask questions, such as when contracts are coming up. And don’t be afraid to ask for help, either, such as finding out who’s the best person to talk to about your product or service.
Being honest about why you’re calling and asking for help with it – in a non-pushy way – can lead to incredible things. To quote BT and Bob Hoskins, it’s good to talk!