It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… you taking telesales to a new level?
In June of 1938, the very first Superman comic book hit the newsstands. It sold for 10 cents. The iconic cover of Action Comics #1 depicts Superman in his trademark blue and red outfit, lifting a green car over his head. Even though Superman wasn’t the first superhero, this comic is widely credited for kicking off the superhero genre. Thanks to that comic, today we have superhero movies, action figures, costumes, posters, birthday party supplies, and pretty much anything you could imagine. So what does this have to do with taking telesales to a new level? Everything.
Admittedly, it’s unlikely that there will be a comic book of a telesales superhero. But just as Superman took the superhero story to ever higher fame and fortune, so, too, can you become a telesales superstar. Just one thing…
Just like Superman had to deal with his nemesis, Lex Luthor, every telesales professional has to deal with setbacks and challenges. The key to taking telesales to a new level of success is meeting those challenges and figuring out how to overcome them better than anyone else.
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Taking telesales to a new level: 5 Challenges and 5 ideas to conquer them
There are many potential challenges to working in sales, ranging from the quality of what you’re selling to the quality of your contact list to the overall economy. To some extent, you’re working on your customers’ timeline, too, rather than your own. In other words, there’s a lot that is out of your control.
However, there is a lot that is entirely within your control, such as working to build relationships, following through on your sales strategy, and making yourself that best dang salesperson around. If you plan on taking telesales to a new level of success and you plan to be the envy of all your sales colleagues, you have to take those challenges and turn them into steps on your success ladder. So what are those challenges – and solutions?
1. Neglecting the basics. What are the basics of sales? These are things like sending thank you notes, showing up on time and prepared for appointments, and knowing your product or service inside and out. Far too often, salespeople let these slip over time. Some call this complacency, and others call it laziness.
2. Reenergize your attention to details. There’s little reason to get caught up worrying about why the basics of sales aren’t happening. The key is to recognize that these are important aspects of sales, and keeping up with them can do wonders for your retention rates and building your reputation with new customers.
3. Failing to take advantage of rejection. Rejection is part of sales. There’s no way around this basic fact. It’s no fun. No one enjoys being rejected. You could just accept it and move on. Or…
4. Learn from rejection. Rejection in sales allows you to learn. With every rejection, think about what could have gone differently. Is your service not right for the prospect? Try honing in on who your customer is, rather than who you want them to be. Were you missing cues about what the prospect needs? Practice listening more carefully and taking notes. And don’t forget, with autodialing software like Call Logic, you can record your calls to listen to later and pick out areas that need work.
5. Forgetting to focus on the customer. One thing that’s easy to forget in sales is that everything is about the customer and their needs. When you’re in crunch time and trying to close out the month strong, it’s easy to focus on making a sale. In fact, that’s one of the worst things you can do.
6. Sell the benefits. Your customer doesn’t care whether or not you need to make a sale or set an appointment. They want to know what the benefit to them or their business is. When you forget that and focus on the deal, you lose your competitive edge. This is true at the beginning of the month, at the end of the month, at the end of a quarter, and any other time.
7. Fear of asking for the sale. As much as the focus is on helping the customer solve problems and highlighting the benefits they can expect from your product or service, ultimately, you need to make a sale. It’s easy, however, to get wrapped up in building and nurturing a relationship, but eventually, it’s up to you to ask for the sale.
8. Find creative ways to ask for the sale. Context is important here, and “the sale” could be a commitment of any kind, from an appointment to an actual sale. The point is that you have to ask for what you want. That’s the only way you’ll get it. And by the time you get to this, it won’t be a surprise to anyone. Your prospect knows you’re a salesperson.
9. Forgetting about the customer after the sale. Whether or not you truly forget about your customer after a sale, what matters is how they perceive it. Are you checking in to see if they’re happy? Is your onboarding process user-friendly? Are you taking steps to ensure they feel valuable beyond putting cash in your pocket?
10. Nurture the relationship. Set calendar reminders to check in with your customers. A five-minute call (or even less) is all it takes to help them feel like you care. This is also an excellent chance to inform your customers about new products or services you offer. And on a more subtle level, it’s a savvy way to keep your competitors at bay.
The secret to all of this is that none of it is really a secret. It just so happens that most salespeople don’t pay attention to these details. If you’re taking telesales to a new level in your career, it’s worth taking the time to refocus on some of these sales basics.
If you’re serious about phone sales and want to triple the number of sales calls you make in an hour, give Call Logic a try. Sign up for our free trial now!