In today’s world, the telephone is perhaps the least used sales tool for the average business owner.
The telephone isn’t sexy.
Maybe I should dress my phone in a swimsuit to amp up the appeal.
The telephone requires some courage, gumption, and persistence.
Think for a moment about how many emails you get each day.
Now think about how many phone calls you get each day.
Your life may be a bit different than mine.
I get many more emails each day than phone calls.
When I get on a phone call, I tend to get quicker results than when I add someone to my email list.
With an email, it’s much harder to make a human connection.
In this digital world, we are all starving for human connection.
I spend most of the hours of my day behind a few computer screens pounding my work out on the keyboard.
While I love the work I do, in most cases, many times, I don’t get a human connection with the computer.
Fancy that.
I still haven’t discovered a way to get a human connection with a machine.
Maybe one day, the wizards of Silicon Valley will figure that out.
That may be the day the world changes.
Nothing is so impactful in sales as a human connection.
The human connection warms people up and imbues trust like no other method.
Maybe the best reason to pick up the phone is that it gives me the chance to listen to another person.
When I listen to the other person, I validate that person.
I show respect when I listen.
One of the things I crave most is to interact with people that will listen to me.
I have to believe that the same craving to be heard exists within most other people.
Yet, most days, we spend most of our time spouting out what we have to offer the world.
We are in many facets of our lives more absorbed in ourselves than we are in other people.
Think about the last time you received a handwritten thank you note and compare that with the last time you received a form letter in the mail.
Which one was more meaningful to you?
Why don’t I use the phone more than I should?
It requires work.
At times I’m scared to pick up the phone because I’m a bit introverted, and I have to push myself outside of the comfort zone.
Yet, when I take the time to call people, that fear subsides as soon as the other person picks up the phone.
One of the best tools for telephone work is a telephone script.
The script provides a structure for the phone call so I can make the best use of the limited time I have with the other person.
The script enables me to repeat my process the same each time.
The script gives me a system that I can repeat.
When the time comes, as it often does, that the cat gets my tongue, I look at the script to get me back on topic.
The script doesn’t have to be very long.
The script could be something as simple as this.
“Hey John, we met at this event a few days ago. I enjoyed meeting you, and I’d like to get the chance to hear more about what you do and share a bit about what I do.”
Then listen for a response.
“When would be a good time for the two of us to meet over coffee or lunch?”
There you have it simple and sweet.
One method I’m using now to meet people is interviewing them.
I’m in the research phase for a book, so I’m reaching out to Top Producing Real Estate Agents.
A few days ago, I received a referral from a former client to someone I’ll call Janice.
I then called Janice, and she responded that she already had an established business relationship, and she wasn’t looking to make any changes.
I thanked her for telling me she was happy with her business relationship and then explained that I wasn’t looking to sell to her.
The reason why I wanted to connect with her was to interview her for my book.
I then explained a little bit about the book, and Janice agreed to meet with me.
Now, this method only works if the true purpose of the phone call is to interview the person.
Which was true in my case.
When I meet with Janice, the main purpose of the meeting will be to ask her about her work and to ask her if she knows anyone else that I should talk to.
What do you do if you’re not writing a book?
Well, have you ever thought of writing an article?
Certainly, writing an article is easier than writing a book.
You could write an article and use that as a means to get to meet the people that would make a difference for your business.
Over time, when I get to meet with and talk with people, they will get to know me, trust me and want to hire me.
So there are a few methods, I, as an introverted, shy person, have pushed myself out of my comfort zone to grow my business.
It works. You need to do the work.
When in doubt, get on the phone.
Before I end this article, I wanted to ask you if you’re looking to grow your business profits and having more cash in the bank, send me an email at damon@idealmoneylife.com with “PROFIT” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
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