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5 Phone Mistakes that are Ruining your Sales Pipeline

Before any of the newer technologies and methods were discovered, the means to increase sales pipeline was through the phone. The salesperson was required to make phone calls to potential customers and get them acquainted with the company’s products and service in order to get their interest peaked in the company sales and start purchasing or investing as per the requirement. But nowadays, many companies and their marketing strategists are of the opinion that phone prospecting or building sales CRM via phones is not a viable option. They are, in fact, wrong.

There is no better way to convince a customer or attract a customer towards a company’s product than via interpersonal verbal communication. It is all about the way a salesperson represents himself to the customer and his communication skills that attract a customer’s attention. People like their needs to be spelt out to them. They do not like putting in extra efforts to find a product like by browsing through the details of the product on their website or elsewhere. People want clear-cut and precise details of the products and services that would benefit them the most in the long run. What is a better way to achieve this than by talking to the customers personally over the phone? But phone prospecting is not an easy job. There are various skills required to pitch a proposal to the client. If it is not pitched correctly, then all the company’s and the salesperson’s efforts go in vain.

Here are 5 stupid phone mistakes that are ruining your sales pipeline and the ones that should be avoided in order to achieve better and more effective outcomes:

1. Not taking the initiative- For a sales pitch via phone prospecting, it is important for a salesperson to pick up the phone and start making calls. Sales calls are very important. There are several setbacks a salesperson may face during a sales process like the customer may be rude or may even reject the idea outrightly. But this should not scare away the salesperson from making that sales call. It is only when he picks up the phone and builds up the courage to make a sales call, that he will achieve success. If done in the right manner and pitched correctly, sales calls can effectively shoot up the sales pipeline.

2. Not going by the script- Most salespersons who gain customers via phone prospecting, refuse to use a script in order to talk to the customers. This is not a wise step towards achieving targets. By using the script, a sales call remains on target. The conversation does not deviate from the primary motive. If the salesperson decides to go by his own way on a call he is bound to get swayed in the motion and lose focus from the company’s product. This can be very well avoided if the salesperson sticks to the script and goes accordingly.

3. Unwanted enthusiasm- It is one thing for a salesperson to be optimistic and confident over a sales call, but it is completely another thing to be overly enthusiastic. A customer is also a person who has had human interactions before. So when a salesperson shows his enthusiasm over the phone, the phoney behavior is easy to detect. Most customers will not even listen to what the salesperson has to say and the conversation would end before it even begins. So a casual yet formal approach is important. The salesperson must sound realistic and the customer must relate to him when speaking over the phone. It must be a communication flowing from both the sides. This will help in increasing sales pipeline.

4. Care for the customer- Most salespersons are under the incorrect pretense that the more they will talk about their product, the more the customer will be attracted to it, which is incorrect. The customer will probably get bored listening to the details about the product that is not even relevant to him nor is of any interest to him. so the salesperson must pitch the product to the customer in a way that it attracts his attention. The customer needs to know how the product will be beneficial to him and how he will gain by purchasing that product. Once the salesperson is able to communicate this, customer’s interest in the product is guaranteed.

5. The first impression and follow up- First impression is very important for a sales call. In a sales strategy via phone prospecting, there is no in-person interaction of the two individuals it is dependent completely over how the salesperson presents himself to the customer over the phone. If the first impression is not good, then the customer will immediately lose interest. If it is good then the process can be taken to the next level. Then on the first call, the customer is convinced to indulge in the process. But an even more important step is to follow up. If the salesperson fails to follow up with his customers, then the customer will feel that he was being taken for granted and may not proceed with the company’s product. But if the salesperson follows up, then the customer will feel that he’s getting personal attention and will keep his interest in the company’s product intact.

Written By

Apoorv Bhatnagar is a Digital marketer at Freshworks Inc. He generally writes about software that improve your marketing, sales or hiring process.

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