Are you one of those people who don't really love phone sales and cold calling? Do you also have a real horror in advance of experiencing that the conversation – when you have finally pulled yourself together – does not get going, and you only hear excuses as to why they can't talk to you now.
This is how your voice brings you e on the phone as a secret seducer to success
In most cases, you don't even get around to explaining what your range of services actually is, you're already skilfully brushed off and stare at your phone in amazement .... These are typical cold calling mistakes in sales that many people make. Nevertheless, it is inexcusable if you don't even get beyond the greeting formula. Because...
Botched telephone sales have consequences
Getting stuck – that's fatal, because that one potential customer won't become your customer (at least this time). However, these experiences in internal sales are explosive for a completely different reason: they program the provider for the rest of the day. If the first call goes wrong, how is the second supposed to be better? And all the others who follow?
Because now, after the first failure of the day, there is a great tension in every person who experiences this. And this tension immediately has an extremely negative effect on the voice, which is a very powerful instrument. Especially on the phone, where no technical content jumps out of the phone, but where the spoken word counts primarily. The pure sound that you create as a caller on the phone is stimulating – or annoying. And if you're annoying, you'll be kicked off the line – namely with a guarantee.
The voice in telephone sales and its core messages
Our voice often reveals more about us than we would like. It reveals sensitivities, says a lot about our personality and signals to our counterpart more than clearly how we feel about him or her.
A good workout for the Telephone sales Now clarifies:
- What are the most important unconscious messages of the voice?
- Which means of the human voice control – without us being aware of it – the convoluted paths of communication, especially in sales?
The core attributes of the voice can be summarized under the following four aspects:
- Dominance/ Leadership
- Safety/ Protection
- Empathy/ Self-Empathy
- Relationship with the interlocutor
What do these four attributes do on the phone and what do they prevent? For the one who hears the voice, there are positive and negative aspects that affect him. If you are a vendor or seller who understands what is going on here in detail, you can Telephone sales control activities much better and reliably reach their goals faster.
Understanding the voice and its aspects in telephone sales
1. Dominance
Does this voice direct and guide my attention and thoughts in a pleasant way? Yes? Then the dominance aspect showed its good side. As listeners, we need orientation, a clear and articulate voice guides without hesitation and lets us hear that we stand behind what we say. This makes our point of view audible and tangible.
Is there also too much of a good thing? Yes, without a doubt. Because if you as a caller are too brisk or even urgent, perhaps even pushy and exaggerate this vocal dominance aspect, then your customer will feel overwhelmed, pushed or taken by surprise and withdraw. On the phone, this happens quickly - and the conversation is over before it has really begun. So too much dominance is bad and thus the Telephone sales harmful.
2. Security
Are you sure about your concern? Sovereign confidence has its vocal expression. Every child can already distinguish well whether your statement sounds safe or uncertain. On the phone, vocal confidence is of great importance, especially in the first thirty seconds. But what,
- if you make your inner shyness before the call – without knowing it – audible through your voice?
- When you sit tense and with your shoulders raised on the phone and unconsciously radiate the fear of rejection or objections?
Your voice is the audible expression of body language – any tension is subtly reflected in your voice. This is not conducive to the sales pitch. In this case, the voice clearly conveys how much you consider this conversation to be a difficult hurdle, yes, your tone can even reflect the "heaviness" of the ten more planned calls you have planned to make at that moment. In any case, the pleasant timbre of security and serenity sounds different.
3. Empathy
Do you want to have a conversation with experienced customers at eye level? Especially in the key account, the empathy aspect plays a very special role.
- You can automatically hear in your voice whether the person who is calling has already built up the habit of perceiving and reflecting on himself in his life.
- Do you sound capable of criticism, reflection, do you sometimes think about yourself? Or are you someone who always looks for the fault in others?
Today's research says that a certain amount of self-empathy is necessary for the intuitive perception of the other. This message is of massive importance, especially in key accounts, because especially in the executive suites, no one wants to talk to someone who does not radiate a certain maturity. This has nothing to do with age, but everything to do with the attitude with which the call is made and, of course, with the voice that audibly conveys this attitude!
4. Relationship
And now we finally come to the relationship aspect and thus to the closure of these various aspects regarding the Telephone sales . It is particularly important, because the voice unmasks immediately and with the first word completely ruthlessly and crystal clear what kind of relationship you want as a caller to the customer.
- Is it a one-way relationship in which the purpose of the call arises solely from the desire to conclude business quickly with the "stupid" customer?
- Or do you, as a caller, see the customer as a person in the middle of life and are willing to make the effort to get to know their needs and wishes?
This is where the dog is often buried. Here we find a perfect explanation of why so many superficial salespeople don't get past their opening sentence when it comes to prospecting on the phone. Because the not-so-stupid customer on the other end of the phone unconsciously perceives all hidden aspects via tone of voice and understands exactly who is calling in what condition and from which inner attitude. And if only nuances of this constitution shine through as "unconvincing", then we as callers are immediately thrown off the line!
Summary:
The unconscious statements of the voice open or close the doors, especially on the phone. In the first few seconds of a phone call, four core attributes of the human voice set the course for the further course of the conversation. This is where it is decided whether the acquisition call leads to a longer phone call at all or comes to a premature end after just a few sentences. If you don't want to use the unconscious Power of the Voice in sales talks on the phone and can use it for itself, convinces its customers from the first word that their time in the phone call is well invested. This creates a clear competitive advantage.
How to use the above four modes of action of your voice concretely and effortlessly to convey your messages on the phone in a meaningful and sustainable way, you can read that in the second blog post on this topic!
You
Arno Fischbacher
P.S.: I'm happy if you like this post. If that's the case, share it in one of your networks! Do you have a question or do you want to discuss a question with me? Leave a comment! I look forward to your opinion!
Read the second part of the article here:
-
Phone sales – Dominant, but not intrusive! – Part 2
-
Business audio tip: The first words on the phone
The author:
Arno Fischbacher is a business voice coach and rhetoric expert, speaker and author. He prepares executives and employees of the top companies in Germany and Austria for negotiations, presentations and media appearances. Fischbacher is the author of several books, past president of the German Speakers Association (GSA) Austria, chairman of the European Network of Voice Experts, stimme.at.
If you would like to learn more about specific training opportunities with Arno Fischbacher, make an appointment here free information talk.
Leave a Comment