Chris Mullins’
Telephone Skills Cheat Sheet™
Proven Telephone
Sales Skills, Strategies and Etiquette Tips You Can Use! From the
Receptionist to Sales to Customer Service
1. The
Telephone Greeting Is Your Friend
Did
you know that in addition to your greeting servicing your prospective
clients and established clients, it’s also your very own
transition
(switch) phrase? You’re busy, swamped and multitasking.
Let’s say
you’re in the middle of a tense moment you’ve got
customers standing at
the register, then the phone rings…
TRY THIS: First, I’m
not saying it’s easy, but I am saying that the more you try
the more
you practice the faster you’ll be able to change behaviors
and habits
for yourself and for the customer, which is why we’re all
here. Read on…
Picture
yourself relaxing and refocusing your energy to the person
that’s
calling as you say the words in your greeting. By the time you get to
“how can I help you?” you’re calm and now
focused on the caller and not
what happened before they called. “Thank you for calling The
Best
Retail Experience Ever, this is Cindy speaking how can I help
you?”
2. Four
Tips To Improve Your Telephone Sales Efforts
a.)
Use headsets. I don’t suggest that you go out and buy them
without
trying first. Once you select a vendor have them send you several
different types and pass them around the office. Using a headset will
save you energy and time, makes you more efficient, leaves your hands
free, much more professional, easier on the neck.
b.) Catch your team doing something right, daily. Even the smallest
improvements should be recognized.
c.) Encourage your team to catch each other doing something right, its
positively contagious energy.
d.)
Sales Talk™ - Talk about it! Share your successes in your
morning
during your 10-minute sales huddle. Talk about the numbers.
This is
the fastest way to guide your team on how the telephone really is a
sales, customer service and marketing tool. What gets measured gets
done.
3. Take
a Look in the Mirror
Get
a mirror; a small one that you can put on your desk near your phone.
The purpose is so you can see yourself each time you go to pick up the
phone to remind yourself to SMILE before you pick it up. We all have
moments that hit us when we’re tired or overwhelmed.
The
mirror will remind you to shake it off before you get ready to be of
service to the person on the other end of the phone. I have one on my
own desk. Even if you don’t actually look at yourself in the
mirror, it
serves as a psychological trigger just by being on your desk next to
the phone.
4.
Check Your Posture! Go Take a Break!
Watch
for your own internal warning signs that indicate you might need a
break. Are you holding your head in your hands? Is your head on your
desk? Are you slouching? The idea is to stand straight; it will help
you to stay alive while you’re at the store, it will trick
you into
feeling fresh all day long and it will remind you that you need to be
at your best even if you’re tired.
I also recommend
stretching exercises. This strategy will help you to have the best tone
possible and just the right rhythm while talking on the phone. Another
important tip, that I do myself, when you’re feeling like you
need a
little more energy grab an apple in addition to going for a quick brisk
walk even if inside the store. Continually find different things that
you can do to challenge yourself to stay on top.
5.
Objections Are Your Best Friends!
Keep
a list of the most common objections you get, the most common questions
you’re asked. Next to each one write the answer (after
you’ve verified
it’s the correct answer, of course). Now you have an
objection cheat
sheet! Last, but not least, PRACTICE! It’s great that you
have your own
cheat sheet, but you’ve got to practice using it. Ask a team
member for
help. Role-playing is a great way to get comfortable with how to answer
objections.
6. How
to Put the Caller on Hold
a.)
First, the idea is to not put the caller on hold and to have a good
system in place that avoids that. That being said, here’s the
correct
way to do so when necessary… “Ms. Mullins,
that’s a good question, may
I ask you to hold on for a moment while I get you that
answer?”
Then,
WAIT for the caller to answer yes to you. “Thank you, Ms.
Mullins, I’ll
be right back.” When you come back to the phone say,
“Ms. Mullins?”
“Yes.” “Thank you so much for holding.
The answer to your question is…”
b.)
Another important thing to remember when putting folks on hold is
let’s
say that you need to transfer the call to Johnny, after you find out
what the person was calling for repeat the example above then be sure
to give Johnny all the details. “Johnny, Ms. Mullins
would like to
speak with you about XYZ. Then, Johnny gets to the call quickly and
says, “Hello Ms. Mullins”, hello. “Ms.
Mullins, Cindy tells me you’re
calling today about XYZ.” Yes. “Terrific, let me be
the first to
welcome you to The Best Retail Experience Ever…”
Chris Mullins the Phone Sales Doctor™ and president of www.MullinsMediaGroup.com
is a sales and communication expert with a special love for and focus
on analyzing the sales presentation, how to use the telephone to
“sell
and market you.” Chris personally listens to and critiques
Inbound
telephone calls, provides mystery calling services and phone coaching
with careful examination and analysis of what you’re doing
right, what
you need to fix and step by step “how to” fix it to
improve your
bottom-line.
Go To: www.GreatBottomLine.com
for “Chris’ Money-Making Secrets Free
Report.”
For more information call 603-924-1640. |
