Successful cold calls always begin when you know the name of your sales prospect before you intend to contact them. What do you do when you don’t have the correct contact name of your sales prospect? Your first response is to ask the receptionist, no? Though, if you ask the receptionist for a name then that instantly spells out “I’m a salesperson” to them and they will not give you the information. So in many cases, you will hear them say, “If you have no name we cannot transfer your call.” Has this ever happened to you?

What other options might you have at your disposal? You actually have several and these options include the following:

Access The Company Website Of Your Sales Prospect

Many company’s have a section on their website that profiles their management team. This section may be located under the “About Us” button or under a section called “Management Profiles.” These sections usually include a short biography of the sales prospect that you may be looking to contact. If you are successful in locating your sales prospect this way then try to find something in their biography that you can bring to your sales call in an effort to warm up the call. If you are unable to locate the correct name of your prospect from the management team profile or if they are not listed then at least you have a few names that you can use when speaking with the receptionist. Once you have a contact name of an
executive you can now ask for that executive. You will most likely be transferred to the receptionist of this
executive and now you can ask for the correct name of your sales prospect.

Locate The Technical Contact Of The Company’s Website

You can find the technical contact of your prospect’s company website if you visit any domain registration website such as www.godaddy.com. Once you visit the domain registration website, you can type in the url of your prospect’s company to locate the technical contact, their email address and phone number. All you need to do now is contact this person and tell them that you are trying to locate who is in charge of (Say the title of your desired prospect). As a side note, you will also see the technical contact’s email address and if you do get a contact name you now have a prototype of how the company email addresses are structured. For example, if you see that the technical contact’s email is listed as the first letter of their first name followed by their last name then you can apply this structure to your contact’s name and then email them!

Use Google To Search For Your Sales Prospect

If you have the title of your prospect and need to find their contact name then use Google. Try using quotes around your search requests. For example, type in “Title of your prospect” and “Name of your prospect’s company.” Also, besides hitting the search button on Google there is also a News link just right above the search box that you can also click on to see if there are any recent news stories that include information to help you in your name search.

Search Press Releases

Many companies use news distribution services such as www.prnewswire.com to distribute company press releases. If you visit these sites they allow you to do advanced searches for companies who have used their services. You can use PR Newswire to locate the name of your sales prospect by typing in the title of your prospect and their company.

Just Keep Dialing Different Phone Numbers

One option that you have to locate the name of your sales prospect is to just keep dialing different phone numbers and wait for someone to answer. Once you have the company’s main phone number it’s easy to just change around the last four digits till you reach someone and just tell them that you’ve reached the wrong extension. Then you can politely ask them for the correct name of the person in charge of (List department name).

If The Company Is Public Check Out Yahoo Finance

If you happen to be contacting a public company then visit Yahoo Finance and type in the ticker symbol of your prospect’s company. Once you have brought up the company’s stock quote you will see a text link on the left called “Profile.” In this screen, you will see a description of the company and a listing of all the key executives at the company. And finally, the other text link that you can click on to locate this information is called “Insider Roster.”

Copyright 2007 MR. COLD CALL SEMINARS - All rights reserved.

Behind The Scenes With Mr. Cold Call

Mr. Cold Call is the author of “How To Have Fun Cold Calling” and “115 Common Sales Objections, 156 Clever And Savvy Responses.” According to Mr. Cold Call, “Your cold call success is dependent on 11 winning personality traits (known as your Telephone Persona Of Success!).” Collectively, these traits allow you to uniquely market yourself over the telephone so that you can inspire your prospect’s curiosity and reduce their resistance. Are you interested in finding out more about Mr. Cold Call? Then sign-up for his free weekly cold calling tips at http://www.mrcoldcall.com

You’ve experienced it. I have too. A slump, a rut . . . one of those “Everything/everyone is dumping on me,” attitudes.

The key to success is how you deal with it. How you get and keep yourself motivated. That’s right, I said how you motivate yourself.

No one can motivate you. Just like no one can stress you out, or reject you, you alone can allow yourself to be affected by outside influences. Therefore it’s critical-especially in this profession-that you have a never-ending plan that keeps your outlook-and correspondingly, your performance-at sky-high levels. And there’s one proven way to do that consistently.

Goals.

Everything of significance that you’ve ever achieved was likely first visualized by you as a goal. Great stuff just doesn’t automatically happen.

To get more motivated, and stay that way, you need targets to shoot for. Here are tips for setting and reaching your goals, and staying motivated.

• Pick goals that you desire passionately. If you just mildly wish for something, you won’t muster the drive to pursue it, and weather the storms you’ll encounter along the way. For example, if you just wouldn’t mind dropping a few pounds, that’s not strong enough. If you feel you must lose 15 pounds because you absolutely refuse to go up another clothes size, and you’ve had it with feeling sluggish all the time, you’ll do what it will take to shed the excess baggage.

• Pick goals you can see yourself attaining. Before you begin, you must be able to visualize the end result. Otherwise your subcon­scious will never buy into the notion you can accomplish it. People never rise above their own self-perception. If you can’t see yourself earning $20,000 more than you do today, you’ll never get there. Conversely, if you visualize yourself already there, you’ll think of what you’ll need to do to actually reach your destination

• Pick goals you’re willing to work hard to achieve. Everyone would like to make more money. A small percentage are willing to do what it takes to make it a reality. That’s part of the reason lotteries are so popular. Whatever you select as a goal has trade-offs attached. Only if you’re willing to toil and sacrifice will you reach that goal.

• When setting your goals, remove your doubts. Most of us fly way too close to the ground. Doubts are not the result of rational thinking, but habitual thinking. Write out some of the self-limiting beliefs that are like lead weights strapped to your feet, and rewrite them in a positive, possibility-thinking way. For example, “I’ve never been able to close the large accounts where the big commissions are,” could become, “What I need to do is analyze what other people do who consistently close the large accounts, and work up my own strategy.”

• Take risks. Sure it’s a bit spooky treading into territory you’ve never traveled, but it’s also motivating! Plus, the only risks that aren’t a bit scary are the ones you’ve outgrown.

• Don’t let details get in your way. Fussing about the details burdens your thinking and fuels the fires of doubt. After setting your goal, immediately fire your machine in motion. It’s easier to view the possibilities when you’re moving, plus it eliminates worry. Don’t worry about what happens in the middle of a jump-focus on the end.

More Motivational Tips

Recall your most motivated moments. When were you last fired up, storming toward something you desired with the intensity of an out-of-control freight train thundering down a mountain? What were you pursuing? This gives you a clue to what you really want. Can you-and are you willing-to repeat the desire and the tac­tics again?

Expect to excel. Ask winners and they’ll tell you, matter of factly, that there was never a doubt that they’d achieve their lofty levels. Sure, they ran into road blocks along the way, but progress has a way of masquerading as problems, and they prodded along.

Act as if you’ve already achieved your goal. I asked a superstar rep to what he attributed his success, and he told me his life changed when he started acting like a top performer, even before he got there. He studied the people who pulled down the big numbers (and dollars), and copied their behavior . . . coming in early, not squandering phone time, asking for commitment more often . . . expecting to do well. The results followed.

Walk 25% faster. Don’t laugh. Psychologists have proven body posture and movement affects attitudes. Ever see a slovenly loser walk with a spring in his step, like he actually had something important to do? No, they shuffle along. Conversely, watch the gait of achievers you admire. Their confident stride says, “I’m coming from something I just achieved, marching over to conquer another challenge.”

Think “Action, Now.” Rid from your vocabulary the words, “tomor­row,” “later,” “one of these days,” “someday,” and other wish-oriented vague terminology that typically results in “never”-type of behavior. Any time you’re tempted to lazily shove an achieve­ment-oriented task out to the ambiguous horizon, stop yourself and take action, immediately.

Art Sobczak, President of Business By Phone, provides proven
ideas, tips, and processes to help salespeople use the phone to
prospect, sell and service without morale-killing rejection. To
see word-for-word phrases you can use right now to get to and sell
more buyers, and other resources such as books, audios, and
seminars, and to get his FREE weekly TelE-Sales Tips, and access
to back issues, go to: http://www.BusinessByPhone.com

Everybody who is in sales at one point or another has gone through sales slump. If you find yourself going through a sales slump you may be wondering how to get out of this slump and how I get out of it now.

One of the biggest causes of the sales slump is that there are peaks and valleys in the whole sales process. When you do not currently have a lot of hot prospects you have more time to prospect and to find companies or people to sell to. When you have a lot on your plate and you are putting out a lot of fires and trying to close deals than you typically neglect the prospecting part because you are so busy.

So how do you get out of the sales slump? The best answer is not to get one in the first place sounds simple right…well if you are depending on cold calling for all of your prospects than it is not so simple but if you have a steady stream of prospects that are contacting you, a strong referral base, customers that are pleased with your product or service is not as difficult as you think.

If you are playing the cold calling game to find all your prospects than you will continually be in an up-and-down cycle and the chances of going into a sales slump are a lot greater. Please understand that I’m not saying that you cannot find any prospects from cold calls but if you want to make a career out of sales your best bet is to figure out a way to eliminate cold calling.

If you are currently in a sales slump go back over the last three, six, or twelve months and look at your activity. Chances are if you are cold calling for all of your prospects than there will be a period of time in which you were not able to prospect.

If you no longer have to cold call than you would be like Tony Gwynn used to be when he played baseball, slump proof.

Did you know that even the most successful cold callers only have a 2% success rate while cold calling? You know that cold calling prospecting is one of the least effective ways to find new prospects? Go to http://www.sickandtiredofcoldcalling.com where you will get a free 5 part e-course to eliminate cold calling out of your life.

There are many places to get free or purchased business leads and once you do, the next step is to start cold calling the names on the list and start selling on the phone. Just the thought of phoning strangers sends me into a cold sweat and the phone seems to weigh 50 pounds every time I attempt to lift the handset to my ear. This approach to prospecting for clients would send most people into a cold sweat and the fear of rejection might be too great to even get the value out of your leads. So why do it all? My approach is to create my own list of prospects based on a criteria of what I believe is the ideal customer. In other words, I’m deciding/qualifying my prospects to ensure that my time is properly invested.

Do they fit the size of company I have had the most success with? For example; the number of employees and annual revenue. I use the 80/20 rule in building my criteria. When I look at my existing customers I generally find that 80% of my revenue is generated by 20% of my customers. These are my “A” clients. Therefore it stands to reason that I should speak to prospects that have the potential to be my “A” customers.

I ask myself what else makes my “A” clients different by looking at the industry they are in, how many years they have been in business, how did I get in the company, what products and services did they start with and what products and services do they purchase today? Do I have a connection with the Decision Maker or Approver of a decision such as sharing an interest or membership in professional or personal organizations, clubs, hobbies, etc? Once I answer all my questions I look for other companies in my selected territory that fit my criteria. Once this list is created I now have my leads to call and all it took was my time. But I still don’t pick up the phone and call them just yet.

I look to see if any of my customers can provide me a referral and open the door for me with a great testimonial. I call these leads first.

Once these leads have been contacted I begin to make my calls by starting with I’m a “specialist” in their industry solving problems. I state a problem that appears to be the area that my “A” customers seem to have in common when they moved ahead with my products and services. The lead on the phone generally responds with, “That’s interesting, tell me more.” And so I do, as a dialog is now created. I don’t tell them much, only enough to generate further interest in how I can solve their problem and suggest that we meet as “I will be available this coming Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. how does that work for you?”

I never try to sell anything on the phone. My only objective is to schedule an appointment. Most times the fear we have about cold calling is the fear of not being able to sell someone, a stranger, on the phone. We take the rejection personal. My stance is that I’m not selling. I’m prospecting for “A” clients who need problems solved. If I get a “no” or “not interested” then all I determined was that I did not identify the right problem. I will try them again in a week, this time face to face dropping off some bit of information that they may find beneficial from and about their industry. In my 5 minutes with them I will not try and sell anything but rather ask questions about their business; “how is everything, etc? If there is anything I can help you with just give me a call”.

Now, as I keep working these leads I’m no longer calling on strangers. These are people who are now starting to get to know me and every time they see me I give them something that may be helpful to their business. Eventually I identify the right problem and will have created luck for myself. In other words; I will be there at the right time and in the right place to solve their problem.

Remember this: ‘Any prospect worth calling on once is worth calling on again’.

Ray MacNeil writes in his Blog daily for New Entrepreneurs and those people considering the move into Self-Employment. His blog can be found at: http://franchisefun.blogspot.com

There are several theories about prospecting or cold calling for customers. One of them is learning the perfect script as a magic cure all. I find that a good script or properly preparing for your sales call is a very wise technique that can dramatically increase the success of your sales calls. However, plenty of my clients confess that it is not the sales process that trips them up. The most difficult part is picking up that 100 pound phone!

Another theory about cold calling is dead or obsolete. What is meant by that is there are ways to implement savvy marketing in order to get your prospects calling you instead of you calling them.

Does anything sound better than that? Just think about that for a moment. Wouldn’t your job be peach perfect, if all
your prospects called you? The truth is, you probably would not have your current job, if it were that easy to get prospects to call; no business would need to hire sales professionals, if the prospects did the work!

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in savvy marketing. Anything you can do to make the sales process better, more
effective, and easier definitely gets my vote. However, reciprocity is part of any healthy relationship. And when it comes to developing a healthy customer/salesman relationship, calling your customers is one of the smartest marketing strategies you can use. So why would you really want to forgo it?

It never ceases to amaze me how often I hear about the frustration sales professionals experience after leaving
a message or two and the potential prospect never calls back. When this happens, it is often assumed that the prospect is not interested. After years of being in the sales industry, one thing I have definitely learned is to stop waiting to call my prospects, and to stop hoping and waiting for my prospects to call me back. One of the best ways to explain this is to give you an example of me as a customer.

It just so happens that I love Longaberger products. If you have never heard of Longaberger, it is a direct sales company that has beautiful baskets and pottery. A while back I started collecting the Longaberger pottery. I was so pleased with my first set of dishes that I wanted more almost immediately. In fact, for nine months I wanted to order another set of dinner plates. Now understand that I really did want those dinner plates. When we had guests come over, it bothered me that I only had a 6 place setting (that is probably a woman thing). Every week, I thought, “I really need another set of those plates.”

I had the phone number of the sales person, but even though I really wanted those plates, week after week went by without me picking up the phone and ordering them. That may sound illogical. Just understand that I knew I would be parting with $100, once I made that call, so I continually resisted the process. The flip side of this is that I would have been thrilled to order, if the sales person had only called me. I had received several flyers in the mail from her, but never a follow-up phone call.

When I analyzed the situation, I realized that as a customer, I felt that the sales person needed to provide me with
service, before I should open up my wallet and grant HER the commissions! Ultimately I did not want to do what I believed was her job to do. So keep in mind that it is your job to stay in touch with your current customers and it is your job to connect with potential customers.

It is not the job of the customer to find you. It is your job to find your customers. That is why you are being paid as
a sales professional. Your customers know what your job is, and they know it is not their job! If you remember that, you will not fall into the trap of feeling rejected quite so readily.

One super star seller I know once told me that most people put themselves last on the list. They may want to order
more of a product, but they will not take the time to call and order. Time after time, customers will end up saying that they have been meaning to call and order more, but just have not had the time to do it!

Have you ever gone to the store to buy a gallon of milk, but come home with $40 of food? When something is placed before us, we tend to see the desire or need for it. Then, it is a challenge to resist. Our potential customers gain a fuller sense of their desire or need for our product, when we place it before them.

Never expect your customers or prospects to do your job. Place expectations only on yourself. Place the expectation on yourself to follow through and keep trying until you connect!

Tammy Stanley founded and directs The Sales Refinery, a sales training firm that assists independent sales professionals to generate more business through powerful marketing, selling and leadership strategies.

Her book and audio set, Carpe Phonum… How to Seize the Phone, Take Action, and Call Your Prospects, Even When You Lack Courage, reveal how independent sales professionals can increase their sales and profits by moving from sales call reluctance to call willingness. Take her free sales call reluctance self-evaluation test at http://www.carpephonum.com

Is a great script the answer to overcoming Sales Call Reluctance?

One theory in overcoming call reluctance is that there are specific methods to use when calling prospects in order to have the kind of discussion you desire or to get past the gate keeper and warm your way into the heart of the top
decision maker. What I find curious is that the number of methods of just what to say to be successful is equal to the number of experts offering a program.

One expert will say,

“ASK for help; it is the best way to get your foot in the door.”

But another expert will say,

“NEVER ask for help; that is disingenuous coming from a sales person.”

One expert will say,

“ALWAYS leave a message, and make it creative. That way, you are sure to get a response and a sale.”

But another expert will say,

“NEVER leave a message. That is a sure fire way to kill your chances of ever getting a prospect to buy from you.”

Who are you supposed to believe? After all, they are all claiming to be experts.

Is there really such a thing as the perfect or the magic script? My theory is that it does not matter how savvy your marketing is or how clever the words are that you have assembled to say to your prospects, because a voice inside your head always insists that you do not have or know enough to make those calls. I maintain that what turned all those “experts” into experts with great cold calling techniques was not what they said as much as it was that they kept seizing the telephone day after day until they got comfortable seizing the phone, even when they were not comfortable.

You see, you can have a great way of saying things, and I do think that is powerful, but every time you call a new prospect, you cannot be sure how he or she will respond. And that is where the fear comes in. You are about to do something you have never done before. Yes, you have made other calls before this one, but you have never called this new prospect. As soon as the mind realizes that you are calling someone new, the nagging and brow beating begins…

“You cannot make that call now. You do not feel comfortable. Go get a cup of coffee and get ready for the call. Take a break. You are working too hard. You have already had some success today. Can’t you ever celebrate your successes? Look at your desk. How do you expect to generate any more customers with your desk in such disarray? You need to get organized before you go collecting any more customers” etc., etc.

Here is where most people say, “Oh my gosh. Have you been following me around during the day? I feel like you know what’s even going on inside my head.” Actually I do not know what’s going on inside your head, but I have paid close attention to what goes on inside my own. And I discovered a good number of years ago, that what goes on inside my head just is not that unique.

We all hear that nagging critic inside our heads.

Here is an assignment for you today:

See if you can catch that nagging little critic that rages inside your head just once today. It might be just before you are getting in the car to go somewhere. It might be right after you open up a restaurant menu. See if you notice it.

Becoming aware of that voice is the first step to freedom from it. And that is what I maintain is most beneficial and
sure way to daily overcome call reluctance.

Stop listening to that inner critic. Stop waiting to get ready.

SEIZE the PHONE!

Author, Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker, Tammy Stanley founded and directs The Sales Refinery, a sales training firm that assists independent sales professionals generate more business through powerful marketing, selling and leadership strategies.

Her book and audio set, Carpe Phonum… How to Seize the Phone, Take Action, and Call Your Prospects, Even When You Lack Courage, reveal how independent sales professionals can increase their sales and profits by moving from sales call reluctance to call willingness. Get her FREE report, “7 Keys to Easier Prospecting” at http://www.carpephonum.com

I have a friend in the insurance industry who accomplished in one year what some of the real stars in his business accomplish in four years. Not long ago I had a discussion with him about sales call reluctance. Now here is a guy who obviously knows how to pick up the phone and make call after call to the same prospect. I asked him, “So Mike, do you ever experience call reluctance?”

His answer might surprise you.

He said, “Oh yes I do. Everyday.”

Considering that you are reading an article from someone who speaks on the subject of moving from sales call reluctance to sales call willingness, you are probably expecting to learn about the fear behind sales call reluctance and how to stop it or change it. Well, if you have ever watched Monty Python’s Flying Circus, you might remember them saying, “And now for something completely different…”

I am about to tell you something completely different than what you were most likely expecting.

The truth is, no matter what new technique you learn today, no matter how great your sales were yesterday, no matter how nice the last person you spoke to acted, there is always fear waiting for you at the onset of the calls you make tomorrow. I am a firm believer that the techniques you learn about how or what to say are not half as effective in overcoming call reluctance as learning techniques to deal with that nagging voice that pesters you inside your head from sun up to sun down.

The key to seizing the phone is not about understanding your fear around it, or even understanding what has made you feel so fearful about making all those calls, so that you can do away with the fear altogether. How do I know this? I have experienced it. Plenty of people will tell you that the way to overcome that call reluctance is to understand your fear around it. Once you understand why or what has made you feel so fearful about making those calls, you’ll be able to do away with the call reluctance you feel altogether.

I completely disagree with that position because I do not believe it is call reluctance that stops you from making those prospecting calls. In reality, call reluctance is not an actual thing that you can see, hear, touch, smell or taste. It is only an idea that exits in your mind. The difficulty, however, is that the effects of that idea seem very, very real.

Unlike other call reluctance experts who approach this topic with techniques to make call reluctance go away, I maintain that the very act of trying to make call reluctance go away strengthens its hold on you.

For me moving from call reluctance to call willingness is a daily occurrence. Your success is inevitable once you know how to catch yourself right in the middle of your own self sabotage.One of the things that prevents so many independent sales professionals from picking up that 100 lb telephone is the idea that it will be better to call later — when the call reluctance they feel isn’t there.

Far too many sales professionals are waiting until they have the courage to make those calls. They are waiting for those feelings of call reluctance to go away. They believe they will be able to make the calls, once they no longer feel the fear of call reluctance.

If you made a list of people you were going to call today, or if you had an idea in your mind about how many prospects you would call, but you failed to make many of those calls, I am going to bet that what stopped you was the feeling that you somehow lacked the courage to make all those calls. You might have convinced yourself that you had too many other pressing activities (checking email, getting coffee, keeping up with coworkers, following up with past clients, organizing your desk,etc.), but deep inside you are waiting for the fear to go away before you make those calls.

Now, the question I want to ask you is this:

When you did not make the calls you wanted to make today, did you tell yourself that it is not a problem because you can make those calls tomorrow? If so, I suggest you begin to focus on call willingness. Instead of listening to a voice that talks you out of making prospecting calls all day, start suggesting reasons why you are willing to call your prospects. Then, listen to the reasons why you are willing to call your prospects and seize your phone!

Author, Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker, Tammy Stanley founded and directs The Sales Refinery, a sales training firm that assists independent sales professionals generate more business through powerful marketing, selling and leadership strategies.

Her book and audio set, Carpe Phonum… How to Seize the Phone, Take Action, and Call Your Prospects, Even When You Lack Courage, reveal how independent sales professionals can increase their sales and profits by moving from sales call reluctance to call willingness. Get her FREE report, “7 Keys to Easier Prospecting” at http://www.carpephonum.com

You’ve read bits and pieces about the psychology of cold calling.

Most of the popular literature on the subject refers to hurdles that callers face, such as call reluctance, what I refer to as “phone fear.”

Rejection is also much discussed.

But one of the key psychological ingredients of successful cold calling is overlooked; what is known as “flow.”

Athletes talk about being “in the zone” when they’re flowing. They feel they can do no wrong. One move effortlessly follows another, leading to inevitable success.

Baseball batters call it being “locked-in” when they see the ball really well, and somehow it appears larger than usual, and conveniently slower.

Author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, defines “Flow” in his best-selling book bearing the same title.

He says it is “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”

Sounds blissful, doesn’t it?

That’s exactly the point. Csikszentmihalyi says flow is the signature of “optimal experience” and for many people, of “happiness.”

Anything that is completely involving, that requires a certain concentration and mastery can be a “flow” inducer, whether it is roller blading, writing an article, contemplating your navel, or yes, even cold calling.

If it seems that cold calling doesn’t belong on this list you’re tapping into one of the problems that afflicts this crucial sales activity. Most people haven’t figured out how to make it flow, and that’s one of the reasons they’re so unhappy doing it.

Part of a flow experience is the sensation that you’re so immersed in an activity that you lose self-consciousness. How often has this happened to you when you’ve been prospecting?

Unless you’re a total pro at it, probably not very often.

Have you ever wondered why?

I’ll give you one reason: We haven’t prepared sufficiently for it.

In a recent article I critiqued myself for not having assembled a good list of prospects, and knowing this I procrastinated with regard to getting on the phone.

When you have one good name and phone number to call after the next, you can get some momentum going. Think of it this way: “Mo” and “Flow” go together.

If someone says yes, you are thrilled to call the next name, and when you hear a no, you are only a few seconds away from meeting someone more agreeable. You can keep-on-keeping-on, which eliminates one of the major challenges cold callers face: distraction.

There are other ways to create flow in cold calling and I’ll address them in a future article.

For now, get the “mo,” get some “flow,” and you’ll earn some “dough!”

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top trainer, conference and convention speaker, and sales, customer service, and negotiation consultant. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is also the best-selling author of 12 books, more than 1,000 articles and several popular audio and video programs. His seminars are sponsored internationally and he is a faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of sales, management and consulting experience to the table, with impressive academic credentials: A Ph.D. from USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies..

His web site is: http://www.customersatisfaction.com and he can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com His blogs include: YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS! and ALWAYS COLD CALL! at: http://www.alwayscoldcall.blogspot.com

Does that sound harsh? Yes, it does but in today’s world of increasing telephone communications, it is the truth. With the predominance of Call Centers taking over varied functions that influence many areas of the population on a day-to-day basis, the need for Vocal Empowerment in the Call Center is critical to both corporate profitability and individual employee success. The “sound of your agents” has a direct result on the degree of satisfaction that customers rate your company. Often customers equate poor vocal skills with intelligence, interest in problem-solving, and complete understanding of the situation of the caller.

Unfortunately, not just call center agents, but many of us live a vocal lie. Our voices - what we say and how we say it - does make the difference of whether we get the job, the next promotion, or even making it through the interview.

In the Call Center industry, managers grapple with performance measurements when metrics on some agents exceed minimum standards due to the need for repeated information and customer frustration with comprehension. Agent recruiters are always “listening” for clarity and good vocal skills in the next training class that is being assembled. Corporations continue to search geographic locations where dialect is minimal and the potential pool of employees is plentiful. I have seen that with proper short-term training and long-term coaching, call center agents can achieve proper vocal excellence.

Most people think that how they speak as an adult is part of their personality and not a physical skill set that they can change. That is not true. Through vocal coaching, the agent’s vocal ease and ability to be clearly understood without physical strain can be achieved. We learn our sound, our speech, and our vocal image from our environment. Fortunately, we can change that as easily as we first learned to speak. Improper vocal skills learned and uncorrected as a child trying to communicate with those in our world can be reversed.

Call Center Managers and Supervisors must invest in the vocal skills of all agents – whether they have discernible problems or not. Enhanced self-confidence and greater ability to concisely deliver the corporate message is an investment that will pay dividends for the agent, manager, and corporation.

There is no shame in needing this extra skill set to be learned and practiced. Many of the “basics” of education have been overlooked in the last several decades of progressive education. The skills of reading and comprehension are often discussed, but the lack of proper vocal training in pre-school and throughout elementary grades has all but disappeared from the curriculum. There are many training courses, schools and programs that address the needs of remedial reading and comprehension, math, etc., but there are only a handful of experienced vocal coaches that are training outside of the performing arts industry.

Most Call Centers budget for the latest in technology, and many purveyors of software for scheduling, scripting, up-selling, and process training for agents, but without the ability to properly speak and to be successful in vocally deliver the message, the desired results may not be attainable without utilizing the skills of a professional vocal trainer.

The ability to be able to speak with the proper vocal skills for 6-8 hour shifts does not entirely rest on the agents’ vocal skills or lack thereof. Part of poor vocal performance is related to physical posture, work-space ergonomics, and facility environment. With a brief evaluation of the call center facility, and by utilizing some fairly easy recommendations, in conjunction with formalized Vocal Training, can vastly improve the performance of the agents, but also will translate into greater employee satisfaction.

The ability to stave off high employee turn-over is an additional benefit of proper vocal training. By addressing the physical comfort and vocal performance, employees are more likely to stay within their current job.

The essence of Vocal Empowerment is made up of 5 Elements of Effective Voice: Interest, Clarity, Authority, Language, and Listening. When these skills are mastered and become second nature in daily speech, confidence and success follow.

Interest - Interest is an intellectual skill requiring that you orchestrate the rhythms of your sound.

Clarity - Clarity is a physical skill requiring the use of an active, exercised mouth.

Authority - Authority is an emotional skill that expresses your credibility about what you are speaking. Requiring self-confidence and cleanly executed emotional and physical choices.

Language - Language is the process of being able to respond to others with words and phrases which demonstrate interest, are clearly understood, and are informative, knowledgeable and helpful in evoking a sense of authority.

Listening - Listening is an act of respect and openness to others.

I am more convinced than ever with the global community that we all participate in, the need for clear and concise communications is vital to our continued ability to work together in an atmosphere of respect and trust.

When considering introducing Vocal Empowerment training, insist that training class uses interactive, job-centered exercises and techniques that meet every call center agent’s special performance needs in order to produce individuals who speak and move clearly with interest and authority. Demand that the vocal coaches and trainers have completed professional voice training and are able to illustrate before and after samples of their work and results. Request professional references. You are asking your agents to undertake a physical, emotional and challenging course. The trainers must be able to have a complete understanding of physical and vocal interdependence and be empathetic to the agents while still being able to effect a tremendous personal change to varying degrees for your staff members.

The success of your call center, the job satisfaction of your agent staff, and your company’s customer image are dependent on the ability to attain vocal empowerment for your employees.

Katherine M. Hart is President and Founder of Hartfelt Communications, a professional training and communications imaging company. Over the past 25 years, Ms. Hart has trained over 25,000 Call Center Agents, Corporate Executives, Politicians, Actors, Community Leaders. She has developed several programs including ICALL and the Communications Connection - a corporate communications training program to work with developing strong internal communications protocols that translate to greater customer satisfaction. For many other presentation, training, and vocal empowerment programs, please visit http://www.hartfeltcommunications.com Sign up for a monthly ezine-newletter “From the Hart” with vocal tips and communications essentials. To contact Katherine Hart for a recommendation from her network of professional voice-over artists to implement professional voice imaging in your company, please contact her at: khart@hartfelcommunications.com or call 312-786-1868

When you’re selling your product, do you feel like you are bothering people when you call them? Or maybe you’re just intimidated by the whole process of selling over the phone. If so, you are not alone! This is probably the most common business problem I hear about in speaking engagements and individual coaching.

Getting your b*utt on the phone can get you more business several ways. You are reminding the call recipient of your marketing message, building a relationship, giving and receiving referrals and getting sales. Understanding this is the first step toward picking up the phone.

The next step requires serious work. You need to become extremely familiar with your product, your ideal client and the benefits your client derives from your product. Next, you need to write scripts for all possible outcomes. Finally, you need to have a planned outcome for the call and be prepared for that outcome.

Becoming extremely familiar with your product requires first listing all features of your product. This list should include its function, appearance, price, how to get it, etc. From this list, create a new list with the benefits your clients get from purchasing your product. This list can include things like saving time and/or money, improving health or appearance, providing joy, etc.

The next step, which I learned to do from the book “Jump Start Your Business Brain” by Doug Hall, is to make from your list of benefits a new list – of overt benefits. Overt benefits are often quantifiable and help to differentiate your product from others. For example, instead of saying your product saves your customers time, you would say it saves your customers an average of 1 hour per day. Instead of saying that your product improves health, you might say that your product eliminates morning back stiffness in 3 out of 4 people surveyed.

Don’t be surprised if this process takes hours and several iterations before you’re happy with the result. You may want to ask your current and past customers for their input. In my experience, they are usually happy to help.

To become extremely familiar with your ideal customer may also take a substantial time investment. FOR MARKETING PURPOSES, it is important to target a segment of the general market for your product. The reason for this is that people are bombarded with marketing messages constantly from every possible source. You need to make an emotional connection with individuals in order to get your message through, and the best way to do that is to target a group that is interested in buying your product.

Research what turns them on about your product and its benefits and use that in your marketing message.

Once this work is initially behind you, you will need to write a script for every possibility, including, but not limited to:

• If they answer the phone

• If someone else answers and asks to take a message

• If someone else answers and tries to prevent you from talking to the decision maker

• If you get a machine

• If the prospect has questions

Always keep in mind what you are selling – the product or an appointment to sell the product. This is your planned outcome and makes a big difference in your scripts. Also, when they say yes, get whatever important info you need and get off the phone. NOTE: *NEVER* call your best prospect first! Practice on the mediocre prospects first.

Finally, you need to be prepared for the prospect to say yes! You need to have your calendar open, order forms at the ready, be ready to take credit cards or whatever else you need in order to process the ‘yes’. Make it as easy as possible for the sale to take place.

After going through this process, maybe several times, you should feel much more confident. Your prospects will benefit from your product – you’re doing them a favor by allowing them to purchase it! In addition, if they say no, they’re not saying no to you, personally, they’re just saying no to your product. Ask them why they are saying no and keep track of their answers. You can use all information prospects and customers are willing to give you to perfect your sales process.

Now, Get Your B*utt On The Phone!!

Copyright (c) 2007 Audrey Burton

Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is “The Tigress”. Get her FREE Special Report, “Closing the Sale is Not Complicated!” and her FREE monthly email newsletter at href="http://www.tigresscoaching.com/">http://www.TigressCoaching.com .