The phone is a key aspect of any franchise sales process. It is imperative your franchise sales staff understands all aspects of a successful phone interaction.
I have been a Director of Sales Support for a long while and have been in the franchising world since 1993. My experience has been in management, marketing, sales and regional franchise development and operations. I have also managed profit and loss operations, negotiated leases, coordinated construction of new franchise sites, and lead franchise shows. And it is with pleasure I will share bits and pieces of my experience with each blog post. I will focus on bringing you some insight into the art of phone-lead-management. Let’s start with “Tone”.
Tone:
Today everyone is busier than ever and we are receiving more calls than ever. This is why salespeople must keep every aspect of their calls in mind, and one of the most important is “Tone”. Yes, every salesperson must have exceptional skills to get customers on the phone, gather information, build rapport, generate excitement, and advance the call. And tone is a key factor in these processes. Keep in mind that most everyone is turned off by an in-your-face approach. Using personality matching and a consultative selling approach are the ways to become the type of salesperson that can identify a customer’s personality type and match their rhythm, tone, and style.
When you sell in person it allows the use of many means to create an impression. Such as clothing, hair style, handshake, walk, and posture. Just the physical proximity makes the job of establishing rapport easier. Phone selling requires a skillful analysis of the customer’s voice, tone, words, and inflection as well as being aware of your own. You can’t read someone’s enthusiasm or reluctance in their face or body language, so on the phone, you need to be able to interpret the subtle meaning of every variation of tempo, volume, and energy level as well as the content of their words. Even the pauses have importance.
Do not pick up the phone until you can sound upbeat and happy. While on any call you need to sound competent and positive. Sit straight or if you think better on your feet then use a wireless headset, so you can stand and move around. Actually moving helps stimulate blood flow to your brain and your vocal chords sound stronger and friendlier. Your voice needs to resonate well. Pay close attention to diction, clear professional speech is important to communicate clearly. Don’t use sarcasm in your tone. Have fun in the call, if your customers are laughing, they are more likely to buy from you.
And remember to “Smile” when making calls; it always makes you sound better and conveys warmth and enthusiasm.
Good luck on your calls and creating rapport with your potential new franchise team members!
