William Gholson: Tips for Making Your Next Sales Call a Resounding Success
As a longtime sales professional, William Gholson understands just how difficult it can be to make sales over the phone, and that many find the prospect of a sales call so frightening, so incredibly daunting a task, they end up dooming themselves to failure long before the receiver is even picked up. Turning a phone conversation into something profitable and successful, says Gholson, isn’t always the easiest thing to do, and is a skill that takes many a young professional months, perhaps even years, to master. As one who has experienced success both on the showroom floor and over the phone, William Gholson understands the rewards the come to the sale professional who can master the art of the sales call. Below, Gholson seeks to provide several helpful and basic tips for taking your sales call proficiency to the next level.
Create an Appropriate Greeting Rarely does a successful sales call begin at “Hello” or “Good Morning”. It’s important to develop a professional greeting, an opener, that maintains an element of formality, and that provides the other party the opportunity to be an active participant in the conversation. Design a greeting that is unique to you, says William Gholson, one that expresses your desire to be professional while giving your voice a bit of personality.
Demonstrate Gratitude Show every potential customer or client how much you appreciate their time, as well as your appreciation for taking a moment out of their busy schedule to talk with you. Be sure, says William Gholson, to express to the client that you won’t waste any of their time, and be apologetic as possible for making an interruption in their busy day.
Make Your Purpose Succinct and Concise It’s important to cut to the chase, so to speak, when expressing the reason for your call. Do your best, says Gholson, to state your purpose in the form of a question, which not only demonstrates your reason for calling, but that actively engages the customer by seeking a response right off the bat. One example might be “If I can show you how to save money with our product, would you interested to learn more?”
Set up an Meeting or Appointment If you’ve been successful in garnering the customer’s interest, says William Gholson, be sure to confirm a place, time and/or venue to meet in person or talk further over the phone. If the client happens to be interested in discussing your product then and there, then you’ve already succeeded!