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Often times, we overlook the power of
the telephone. There have been many times when I left the answering
machine on to screen my calls. But I discovered that most people
don't like to leave a message. They would rather talk to a real
live human being.
I saw this trait even in myself. When I was in the market to purchase
a modem, for example, I called several companies comparing prices
and features. If an answering machine came on, I normally would
hang up the phone because I wanted the information NOW so I could
make my decision. On modems I was especially interested in buying,
I would leave a message. If the company didn't call me back within
24-hours I forgot about them. In the end I chose to buy a modem
from a company that had a higher price, but they seemed the most
interested in my business and had, in fact, returned my telephone
call.
Now I realize that as one-person operations, we cannot always answer
all our telephone calls, but we can play back the messages as soon
as possible and return telephone calls. In fact, almost every time
I return a telephone message the customer will say: Thanks so much
for calling me back. Some are amazed that I even made the effort.
This tells me a large majority of people are losing a lot of business
because they are afraid to return a few simple 2-minute telephone
calls.
Now let's look at how to handle the telephone call once you receive
one. To reiterate, I landed all my previous jobs due to the result
of an interview with an employer. And one thing I learned from an
executive a long time ago is to let the employer do all the talking
during an interview. Why? I asked. Because when you leave the interview,
the employer will have a good feeling simply because he/she did
all the talking. Think about this for a moment and you'll find it
to be true.
Of course there are variables to this. One time I interviewed with
an employer who was smart. He sat back in his chair, was a man of
very few words and allowed me to sell my skills. This was certainly
a switch but one of challenge, which I enjoyed greatly.
The first step, when faced with a situation like this is to RELAX.
This employer is not God. Getting turned down by this employer is
really no big deal. You were looking before you had this interview,
right? Play any games you have to with your mind to relax. Because
if you appear nervous and frigid, the man of few words will be totally
turned off and probably not hire you. Sure, there are exceptions
to every rule but this scenario holds true for the majority of these
situations.
Okay what have we learned by this? When you are marketing any product
you must think of your customer as the employer you are seeking
to work for. Imagine yourself on a job interview. Pattern your mannerisms
in this fashion and you will find yourself climbing the ladder to
success.
In direct mail, your mailing piece takes the place of your personal
appearance. Sloppy mailings are the same thing as walking into a
job interview for an Account Executive with boxer shorts and dirty
tennis-shoes on. In other words, sloppy mailings damage all chances
for your success. You may be saving money but your company is losing
much more.
So stop for a moment and learn how to conduct yourself in a professional
business manner over the telephone. Learn to recognize the different
types of people by LISTENING to them. Never, never, never do all
the talking. Allow the customer time to explain what they want or
need and then find a way to fill that need in the hopes of securing
an order. Hardselling doesn't work anymore. But when people WANT
to buy from you, you have a good customer for life!!
