You Can Sell Anything

Gary Goodman

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780671765927
• eBook ISBN: 9781451602852
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Tips and techniques for selling products and services on the telephone! This book shows you how to profit in the growing telemarketing boom. It is the most sophisticated telemarketing guidebook available. Written in a lively way, this book will sharpen your skills immediately.

CHAPTER ONE

FROM ROLLS-ROYCES
TO PINK ELEPHANTS

What do automobiles, fine art prints, instant pictures, service agreements, and fine wines have in common? They can all be sold by telephone, as many companies are proving each and every day in major cities and small towns across North America.

It has been common knowledge that stockbrokers, travel agents, and insurance underwriters have always had to rely upon this tool for their leads, but today the phone is becoming an indispensable link to commercial power and success.

Item: Jules Pollack, an entrepreneur living in beautiful Carmel, California, and now president of Creative Balloons, used to fight the daily battle of making a living in Los Angeles before calamity struck. As he was walking up the driveway to his house, he saw his young son’s skateboard and decided to give the device a flyer. As it turns out, it gave him a flyer, and he landed In the hospital for eight weeks. Several operations later, his ankle was sufficiently healed from its multiple breaks to permit him to return home.

No longer able to see people in person, as he did before by getting into the car and visiting various places of business, Jules reached out for the next best tool: the telephone. Reluctantly, he started closing business by phone, and he found, to his amazement and pleasure, that he could accomplish phenomenol things by phone. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Jules recalls. “We found that we didn’t have to get on airplanes and drag ourselves across the country to open new business—all we had to do was get people on the phone!”

Jules saw another benefit In the phone—he could find one anywhere, and wherever he did, that’s where his business was. He decided to move to “paradise,” on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula, and the rest, as they say, is history.

BETTER THAN BEING THERE

Phone companies used to have a television commercial that said, “It’s the next best thing to being there.” This slightly defensive claim is too conservative, according to some researchers. In many cases, according to experts, the telephone is better than being there.

When we try to sell people while looking at them “eyeball to eyeball,” several non-productive elements creep into the situation. Prejudice, for one. Prospects may not like us because we’re too young or too old for their tastes, or because we wear our hair in a trendy manner, or because we drive a sports car, or because we wear comfortable shoes that don’t sacrifice ease for fashion.

The proverbial first impressions that we hear so much about are really created by the picture someone receives from us. If they are looking at us, they will use their own usually narrow conceptions and stereotypes to judge us. Often, their first impressions, if negative, will yield to a more sensible image, but why should we go through the hassle if we don’t have to?

By using the telephone, we are in the marvelous position of projecting the image we wish, unfettered by what we look like. As long as we can develop savvy strategies for constructing sales appeals and shaping our voices in subtle ways, we can do even better than we can in person.

Research tells us that difficult customers are often better handled by phone. For instance, instead of getting visibly agitated with them, as we could if we saw the steam coming from under their collars, we can concentrate upon what they are saying and come back with cool replies. Negotiation can be better done by phone, because we aren’t giving ourselves and our positions away as we might inadvertantly do through eye contact and physical body language.

Selling, itself, can go much better by phone, for a number of reasons. In the current corporate world that we live in, selling takes on a “ritualistic” aspect. It appears as if things take a very long time to come to fruition. It may take us several visits to a site simply to determine whether we have a real, live prospect, or if we only have a “suspect,” who isn’t worth pursuing. We can waste our time wining and dining bozos who have no intention other than that of milking our company expense accounts.

By getting people on the phone, we find that we aren’t constrained by the civilities that prevent us from asking frank questions in person. It’s much easier to ask someone, “Do you have the authority to make a buying decision,” which is a very pertinent question, over the phone than while we are in the person’s presence. In person, we fear that we’ll cause the prospect to lose face, so we tend to procrastinate and avoid bottom-line qualifying questions such as this.

Believe It or not, it’s also easier to ask for big deals on the phone than it is in person. When we attach a great amount of ceremony to closing a deal, we make the matter seem very grave, and the buyer senses that there is a great deal of tension riding on his or her decision. When we ask for a yes or no by phone, it seems to be a much more simple matter, and we find that prospects are more inclined to take a plunge without the second-guessing that enters into sit-down meetings with us.

Recently, I spoke before a well-known breakfast club in Los Angeles on the subject of telemarketing, and my specific purpose was to inform the many businesspeople in the audience that they can accomplish great things by phone, if only they give themselves a chance. After the program, I received a call from a computer retailer who had heard my talk. He was bursting with enthusiasm as he told me that he tried closing a prospect over the phone instead of attempting this in person.

“I simply assumed that we were going to do business,” he said, echoing the mood he picked up from my speech. “I said, ‘What well do is put you down for one of our personal models,’ and he said, ‘Why not?’”

I asked the fellow why he hadn’t tried to close over the phone before, and he said, “I didn’t think you could!”

TELEMARKETING ISN’T NEW;
SOPHISTICATED TELEMARKETING IS!

Telephone selling has been around for a long, long time, although phone companies would like us to think that they invented it and called It “telemarketing.” The phone has been used for years to sell everything from newspaper and magazine subscriptions; to tickets for the policeman’s ball, to special retail sales of all kinds. Almost invariably, companies that have exploited the phone have found It an extremely profitable avenue. In fact, it has been so successful that, until now, firms could afford to use just about any sort of telephone “pitch” or technique, and a certain number of prospects would buy if the appeal sounded at all reasonable.

The reason people would buy is because out of any population of prospects a certain number are probably actively or passively looking for what you have to offer, and they’ll be glad you called. Even if your talk is terrible, some will nonetheless “take the sale away from you,” and reward you with a purchase.

This is also known as the Law of Large Numbers, which says: Do enough of anything, and some of it has to be successful. Because we can speak with so many people over the phone within a short period of time, we are bound to get some sales.

There is trouble on the horizon, though. With the explosion of interest that has occurred in telephone selling, the phone wires are buzzing with appeals from all kinds of companies. Most telephone salespeople are real turn-offs for customers, as well point out in a different section of this book. This means that people are getting more calls and are becoming more resistant by having more opportunities to practice saying “no.”

To be successful in the near future, we’re going to have to become much more sophisticated in penetrating customer resistance. This means that our appeals will have to be constructed upon unique principles that are customized to the population we’re calling. Along with reading the Wall Street Journal and various trade publications, we’ll want to look into such esoteric periodicals as the Journal of Social Psychology and conduct computer searches to determine where there is new knowledge appropriate to our sales mission.

Why bother with all of this? I’ll give you an example. There may be no industry more resented than the aluminum siding industry, if you listen to the scores of talk shows that I do across North America, where average citizens call in to gripe about telephone selling. I can usually count on receiving at least one or two calls from irate people who claim that aluminum siding people are trying to sell them, and they own brick homes.

To my knowledge, the aluminum siding industry is not using very sophisticated telecommunications techniques. If they were aware of certain communications research, they would select a two-sided message strategy in building their talks. A two-sided message takes into account the resistance that people feel toward a product or firm, with the sales strategy reflecting this fact. This means that I would develop a strategy that would have a salesperson acknowledge people’s resistance toward the message before proceeding to the heart of the sale.

Here is an example of a two-sided message:

Salesperson: Hello, Mr. Jones? This is Gary Goodman with Goodman Siding here in Glendale. How are you?

Jones: Not interested.

Salesperson: Well, I appreciate that, and you probably get a lot of calls like this. Am I right?

Jones: Sure do, and I usually end up hanging up on ’em!

Salesperson: I don’t blame you, because you probably hear the same pitch over and over, right?

Where does the salesperson go from here? He or she can become dissociated from the typical telephone solicitor by simply continuing the sales appeal or by pointing out that this call is going to be different. As you can tell from the exchange between Jones and the salesperson, the negativity coming from the prospect has been greatly reduced, if not altogether diffused. How did this happen?

From the beginning of the call the prospect was made a “partner” in the sales process. His feelings were “valued” enough by the salesperson to be discussed openly. A sense of control was given to the prospect, which said, “I respect that you have power, Mr. Jones, and that I only have the privilege of speaking as long as you allow me to do so.” The mood of the call was totally different than the typical, one-sided solicitation that is common in much of telephone selling, today.

A two-sided message strategy must be used in certain circumstances only, otherwise it can boomerang on us. If we use this appeal when there is no negativity fostered by the prospect, we can introduce problems where none existed before.

I recall purchasing a luxury car a few years ago when a salesperson really blew the deal by using a two-sided message when he shouldn’t have. I was calling various dealers to get prices on a particular model, and I ended up with a salesman who thought he was pretty sharp. I said I was interested in a car that had been quoted to me as costing a certain amount of money. He said, “That’s not possible.” I said, “It sure is, and if you can’t do better, I’m going to buy it.” He said, “You don’t mean the car at Alhambra Porsche-Audi, do you, because that already has two hundred miles on it!”

I said, “I sure do,” and I rushed off the phone with him and called Alhambra Porsche-Audi, who gave me a great deal You see, before this fellow had mentioned it, I didn’t know Alhambra Porsche-Audi even existed!

Where did I learn about two-sided message strategies, and the circumstances under which they work and fail? From communications research that I did when studying for my Ph.D. in communications from the University of Southern California. I bring it up here to show you that there is “nothing as practical as a good theory,” as a scientist Karl Popper once said, and this is especially the case when it comes to finding competitive advantages in the arena of telemarketing. Seat-of-the-pants wisdom, no matter how dearly paid for through years of experience in telephone selling, cannot approach the value of sophisticated, state-of-the-art knowledge in psychology, business, and communications, and for this reason we need to make our appeals stand out from the rest of the pack that is rushing into telemarketing.

DO YOU SPEAK “TELEPHONE”?

Telephone communication is unique. There are certain modes of expression that are appropriate for teleselling that have no place in face-to-face selling and vice versa. Walk into any successful phoneroom where numbers of salespeople are working and you’ll hear styles of communication that are refreshing and novel.

You’ll find that there is a great sense of intimacy and warmth created almost at the beginning of telephone calls. Some salespeople take the liberty to call presidents of companies by their first names, rather than waiting for a signal that this is okay. Some crack jokes and make people who are normally quite uptight feel at ease and have a good time.

Some salespeople use “phone-names,” just as actors use stage names. They do this for various reasons. Their real names may be hard to pronounce or may not be as memorable as, say, “Bob Parker,” or “Mary King,” or “Sally Stewart.” Many of those who use pseudonyms say that they feel a sense of role distance in what they are doing. This makes them bolder and less fearful of rejection. If people say “no” to Mary Stewart, they are rejecting a message and not someone’s real identity.

In some phone rooms, you’ll see salespeople standing on top of their desks while making their pitches. Ask them why they choose this perch and they’ll tell you that they feel they are in command of the selling situation and feel “on top of things.”

Some phone rooms use bells to signal when people have gotten sales, so when you hear a lot of chiming, it resembles the sound of old-fashioned cash registers at work. Pavlov would feel right at home amidst all of these reinforcements!

Many of the most successful salespeople use very casual language when selling because it sounds “like the way people talk.” Though not completely grammatical, this sort of language gets the job done in making prospects feel that salespeople are sincere and spontaneous. For instance, salespeople may compose presentations that ask, “How ya doin’?” instead of the more formal, “How are you?” which can sound stilted and non-genuine.

Telephone language is also interesting because it is condensed. It packs a lot of wallop into very few words, because listeners tend to be impatient when using the phone. We have to say it fast, or run the risk of becoming involuntarily disconnected. A five-minute telephone sales pitch can sound like the equivalent of an hour-and-a-half personal presentation. Perhaps the ideal length of a telesales call is about three and a half minutes. This means that to be successful, our language needs to be snappy and graphic.

THE ROLLS-ROYCE OF TELEMARKETING

If it sounds like telemarketing operations must have a circus-like quality about them, this isn’t so. Many of the most elegant products and services in the world are being sold by phone, with all of the decorum that one might expect from traffic in such trade.

Charles D. Schmitt is the St. Louis representative of Rolls-Royce Motors, and he has brought a unique style and flair to selling this most prestigious line of motorcars. In addition to using aggressive pricing practices, which rankle his fellow dealers, Schmitt breaks with automotive tradition by selling fully 20 percent of his vehicles by telephone. He keeps a beeper with him at all times, and he uses a 24-hour answering service to make sure he doesn’t miss any serious customer inquiries. (the Wall Street Journal, May 24, 1983).

Schmitt seems to recognize that it doesn’t matter if you are selling a $150,000 luxury car or a $15 book. If you are clever, motivated and informed, you can sell anything by telephone.

IF THE PHONE IS SO EFFECTIVE,
WHY ISN’T EVERYONE USING IT TO GET RICH?

Most people are ignorant of the power of the telephone. Just as we have mentioned that there is a certain telephone language, there is also telephone illiteracy.

Most people have been insufficiently trained in the use of the phone for commercial purposes. Ask average people if they have ever had formal training with this tool, and you’ll find that their “lessons,” if they had any, stopped with the indoctrination received from Mom and Dad. When parents were telling us about this marvelous tool, they pointed out the need to “get off it as soon as possible,” lest we run up a big bill. I believe we have come to equate telecommunication with punishment, because so many of us were chastised for spending too much time on the line, and for failing to do “important” things.

We have also come to think of talking on the phone as “a piece of cake” that any child can do effectively. This thinking overlooks the fact that there are very subtle phenomena occurring in telephone calls about which most people never have an inkling.

Take the beginning of a phone call, for instance. This is a crucial time at which the power relationship between participants in the conversation is forged. Many of us ignore the tone of voice that another person uses at the beginning of the...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• PREFACE
• CHAPTER ONE FROM ROLLS-ROYCES TO PINK ELEPHANTS
• CHAPTER TWO HOW TO SELL YOURSELF OVER THE PHONE
• CHAPTER THREE THE ANATOMY OF SUCCESS: DEVELOPING PATTERNED SALES PRESENTATIONS
• CHAPTER FOUR HOW TO SELL ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE BY PHONE
• CHAPTER FIVE SPECIAL CHALLENGES IN TELEMARKETING
• CHAPTER SIX THERE IS AN ANSWER FOR EVERY OBJECTION!
• AFTERWORD
• INDEX