I have to remind myself that this is a “Common Sense” sales
blog, and that sometimes people just don’t use common sense. This article falls under that category – I’m
a little surprised that it needs to be written at all. But I keep running in to this problem so here
it goes.
When you host a conference call there are a couple of things
to keep in mind. When I refer to
conference calls, I mean those calls
where you send out the 888-number with an access code and expect to have a few customer/prospect
attendees along with a few colleagues.
These are becoming increasingly common as companies “go virtual” and
more and more selling situations are
phone and web based.
Blog continued below
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Here’s
a very
recent example of how and email from my book worked yet again. I was conducting a pipeline call with a
rep. He was frustrated that a prospect
had gone dark. After a few great
meetings his contact was not returning calls or emails. I suggested that the rep send an “Are You?”
email right then, during our call.
He did and guess what happened?
The prospect emailed him back while we were still on the phone. This, after weeks of ignoring repeated calls
and emails. That’s why I wrote the
book. The emails work – all the
time! If you have prospects that have
“gone dark” – and who hasn’t – the book is for you. There is also an email for following up on
leads, and another for planning killer sales calls. What are you waiting for? Those deals won’t wake up on their own!
The
book, Click “Send” and Sell! Three Unconventional Emails with
Extraordinary Sales Success is
available at just about every electronic outlet, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. It’s also available for your iPad at
the iTunes store.
No eReader? No problem! Click HERE
to download and print the book in any format you want.
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First, make sure to announce yourself as soon as you
beep-in. I was recently on a call where
the host arrived and there was about 10-seconds of dead air. That was a very uncomfortable feeling for me, and I’m
sure the other attendees. We were sitting there on hold, listening to that aweful music, when we heard the host beep-in and the music stop. Then . . . . nothing. When you
arrive as the host, greet the already present guests with a “Good afternoon!” or some other
greeting letting them know that you have arrived. Do not allow your presence to be greeted with
dead air.
Next, make sure that everyone on the call gets a “Hello, who
just joined please?” when they join the call.
Do not yammer on and on about your weather conditions while new guests
get ignored. Yes, you need to keep the
dead air at a minimum, but be prepared to break when you hear an arriving
guest. Everyone on the call should be
accounted for and as the host that’s your job.
As people arrive, there will be dead air. Don’t let that be the case. It’s easy to strike up a conversation on
these calls with something like, “Jim, so where are you calling from today?” That’s always a good conversation
starter. Again, be willing to cut the
conversation short when others join, but don’t let your guests sit in
silence. It is just too uncomfortable.
It’s almost inevitable that late
comers will beep-in after you have started the call . That’s to be
expected, but you should also find a natural stopping point to say something
like, “I think I just heard someone join.
Can you please tell us who you are?”
Chances are very good that it was someone who was invited to the call,
but these numbers aren’t particularly confidential, and you never know who just
might want to drop in to hear your discussion.
Always ask who just joined to protect you and your
customer/prospect. It’s not rude, so don’t
be hesitant to ask.
If the call isn’t too large, take time for each side to
introduce themselves, their names, role, and what they hope to accomplish on
the call. This is another great ice
breaker that’s easy to get started. Say
something like, “It sounds like we have just about everyone who plans to
join. Before we get started, allow me to
introduce myself, and I’d like everyone to do the same from our side. Karen, we would also like to hear from your
team if that’s okay.” Again ,a simple
common courtesy and an extremely important part of your job as a sales rep –
you need to know who is on the call, their role, and what they hope to
accomplish. What better way to set the
overall tone for the call?
That’s about it.
Common Sense Selling! Be
courteous, keep the dead air to a minimum, greet your callers, and kick off the
call with introductions. Those of us
that dial-in to your calls will appreciate your approach!
