Why Your Calls Aren't Being Answered

Why is No One Returning My Calls?

By Bill Farquharson

Working in a bubble as many of us do, we sometimes ask, "What are others thinking? Am I unique in my sales challenges?" If these issues are your issues, why not join the conversation? A discussion found in The Sales Vault was:

“I’m not getting appointments. No one is picking up. No one is returning my call.”

It’s been my experience as a sales coach, as well as my firm belief, that you can get an appointment with the prospect and people will pick up the phone or reply to your email, or even return your voicemail message.

It’s possible… But one thing has to be in place.

There is a skill all salespeople must possess. It’s so important that if I was only allowed to teach one thing to a sales team, it would be how to improve the quality of the sales call. That is, if you have something of value to say, people will want to hear from you.

Consider these two voicemail messages:

• Call #1: “Hi, my name is Bill. I understand you’re the person who buys the (insert your product/service here). I am confident my company can save you money. I’m hoping to find a time when we could meet?”
• Call #2: “Hi, my name is Bill. I understand you have a trade show coming up in a few months. I can help make that event a huge success for you and will call again.”

In the first call, Bill is getting into a product/service-based conversation. It can only end well if he has the lowest price. In the second call, Bill does his homework and not only will it be a solutions-based conversation, it will be at an entirely different level within the organization.

The difference in those two calls is a skill set all salespeople must possess. It gets to the core message from Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” when he wrote, “You can get what you want when you figure out what the other guy wants and help him to get it.”

By improving the quality of your sales call, you have a stronger message to deliver, will leave a better voicemail, and will drastically increase the odds of connecting with not just a Buyer, but a decision-maker. Net result? A better, more profitable sale.

Bill Farquharson is a coach and sales trainer for the graphic arts. He can be reached at 781-934-7036 or bill@salesvault.pro. Bill’s Sales Vault features weekly sales workshops, sales challenge discussions, template and script downloads, and archived content for one monthly price. Try out a free Sales Vault workshop: go to www.salesvault.pro/upcoming-live-workshops. Find a topic of interest and email Bill. He’ll let you in. If you like it, you can join the Vault at a discounted price as a PIAG member.