We live in an age where we are blessed with an abundance of technology. Modern technology that has allowed us to connect with people all around the world in easier and simpler ways.
Of course, it did not take long for sales professionals and business owners to
take hold of these new technologies and used them to sell their goods or
services.
Digital marketing has really come into its own over the past several years and at the time of writing this, sales professionals all around the globe are learning how to use social media to their advantage.
Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Email and blogging have all become a true staple
of any sales person’s tool box. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that
at all; if anything, I support this!
However, it is important to not over rely on one of the best tools available to
sell; the phone.
The telephone, for decades, has been the
best friend of the sales person. Without the phone and without good sales
conversations many a sale would not have been made.
In this article, I will share with you four reasons why you should still pick
up the phone!
Disruptive Marketing
The term disruptive marketing has been made ever popular in recent years. The ability to stop a market or prospect in its tracks and to gain their attention. Creative agencies work tirelessly alongside some of the world’s best copy writers to capture people’s attention and call them to action.
But what do you think is one of the most
disruptive tools in any sales person’s toolkit? The phone!
What happens if you receive a sales email? You can ignore it for a bit, let it
drop down to the bottom of your inbox, or you can simply delete it. What
happens if you receive a LinkedIn message that tries to market a product or a
service? Once again, you can move swiftly on without ever engaging with it. You
can even read a blog post without acting on it.
But what happens when your phone rings?
At the very least, you look at your phone; right? You glance to your phone to
see who is calling and if you are feeling curious enough, you will pick it up.
A ringing phone simply stops people in their tracks and makes them act.
The Personal Touch
Having a real conversation with someone is
far more enjoyable and personal than receiving a copy and pasted email, or even
seeing a generic advert on Facebook. We all love to buy from people we love;
relationships are vital in the sales cycle. If you have the courage and time to
call someone up and have a real conversation, you are going to develop a
relationship far stronger than if you were to just send a Tweet.
Stand out From the Crowd
One of the biggest mistakes anyone can ever make in marketing is to blend in. You don’t want to be a sheep in a field of another 100 sheep with no distinguishing marks. You want to be the black sheep!
If everyone else is using digital marketing to market their product or service, or if every other sales person is using a certain platform to attract new business it is going to be very hard to stand out in an already flooded market or platform.
So, do something different!
Picking up the phone is becoming a rarer trait; but if used to your advantage can
help you to stand out, become memorable and help you to leave a lasting
impression.
Allow Emotion
The emotions we feel are the line that separates us from robots and automation. The connection that two humans feel is far greater than a connection between a human and an email.
By putting a personal touch on a sales conversation over the phone allows you to connect much deeper with your prospect.
Recently, I received a phone call from a number I did not recognise. I picked
the call up, and there was a pause; I was already expecting it to be a sales
call. Within a second or two, I heard an automated greeting. It was clearly a
pre-recording:
“Hello, I have been passed your details to ask you some further questions about
your recent car crash?”
“I have not been in a car crash” was my response. Once again, a pause followed.
Another pre-recorded response came: “Oh, so you have not been injured in the
past two years?”
Curious as to how the system would act if I were not to respond, I remained
quiet. There were two recordings of “Hello?”, “are you there?” before the call
ended.
As I was speaking to, in theory, a robot I felt no human emotion and no need to interact. I don’t know about you, I find it very hard to hang up on people as I worry about hurting people’s feelings – but that’s just me. But when it comes to robots, or machinery, I don’t give it a second thought.
It is the same with when being posed with a question. It can be very hard to be asked a question without responding, would you agree? But once again, I don’t feel a human need to answer a question if asked by an automated robot or machine.
So, do not be afraid to pick up the phone. It still remains to be one of the most effective tools you can use to sell!
Paragon Sales Solutions are Leicester’s leading sales consultants, offering:
– Sales Contracts
– Sales Training
– Social Media Management
– B2B Telesales / Telemarketing
We cater for any size business, and what makes us stand out is that we truly care. Our services can be catered for your business and our sales professionals will work tirelessly to ensure your sales targets are met. Be sure to visit our website for more details on how our sales solutions can help your business.
